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CHAPTER XXIX JEWISH FOLKWAYS Why the term "folkways"-A. Religious folkways as religious poetry in action-As a means of emphasizing life's significance-Their character determined by the civilization to which they belong-I. Jewish dietary folkways-The spirit in which they should be observed-Recital of benedictions before and after meals-z. Sabbaths and festival folkways-How to observe the Sabbath-How to observe the fe5tivals-The festivals reinterpreted-B. Cultural folkways-I. The Hebrew language-2. Jewish names-3· The Jewish calendar-4. Jewish arts. IN Jewish tradition, all religious observances, civil laws and ethical principles are equally designated mi~wot, or "commandments ." The implication is that they were all decreed by God. The distinction first met with in the Mishnah,' between "commandments (pertaining to the relations) between man and God" and "commandments (pertaining to the relations) between man and man," does not remove any law from the category of divine ordinances. Later, a further classification was introduced to distinguish those which were based upon some understandable reason from those which had no such reason.2 Even though some of us no longer regard the traditional practices as commanded by God, we may still refer to them as miswot, provided we avowedly use that term in a metaphorical sense, in the sense that they arouse in us the religious mood. Should our spiritual well-being, however, require the change or abrogation of any of those practices, the fact that they are designated miswot ought not to exercise any inhibitive influence. But it is of vital importance to have a significant term besides miswot for those customs which have been referred to as "commandments pertaining to the relations between man and God." A term is needed that would indicate a different approach from that with which we come to positive law or jurisprudence. The term "folkways" meets that requirement. In the traditional literature, the term minhag denotes a ritual practice for which there does not seem to be any basis in the authoritative writings, and which by the 431 432 JUDAISM AS A CIVILIZATION mere reason of its being in vogue exercises a claim on conformity. It is never applied to the customary practices which are prescribed in the Torah, because it lacks the connotation of being as imperative as those practices. It therefore comes nearest to expressing what is conveyed by the term "folkways." If we were henceforth to designate all "commandments pertaining to the relations bet'7een man and God" as minhagim or "folkways ," we would accomplish a twofold purpose. First, we would convey the thought that they should not be dealt with in a legalistic spirit, a spirit that often gives rise to quibbling and pettifogging. They should be dealt with as the very stuff of Jewish life, which should be experienced with spontaneity and joy, and which can be modified as circumstances require. Secondly, we would convey the implication that not only should as many "commandments" or folkways as possible be retained and developed, but that Jewish life should be stimulated to evolve new and additional folkways. Folkways are the social practices by which a people externalizes the reality of its collective being. The more alive the collective being, the more it abounds in affirmative folkways. Of negative folkways, Judaism has plenty, but of affirmative folkways calculated to render Jewish life interesting and contentful, it has at present far too few. The reinterpretation of "commandments pertaining to the relations between man and God" as folkways has been facilitated by their having been designated and treated in recent years as ceremonies . The very term "ceremonies" implies that they arise not by the command of God but through psychological necessity. Samson Raphael Hirsch was consistent in opposing the designation of the mi~wot as "ceremonies." In that de!',ignation he sensed the implicit denial of their supernatural origin. Although Moses Mendelssohn was a staunch upholder of the belief in supernatural revelation as the basis of Jewish law, he was too much influenced by the enlightenment to be content with the traditional conception of the mi~wot, and advocated their observance because they helped to maintain the solidarity of Jewish life.' But since the designation "ceremonies" stops halfway between traditionalism and modernism, the term "folkways" is preferable. It is more explicit with regard to the origin of the mi~wot, and more clearly suggestive of the course to be pursued with regard to them in the future. [18.188.40.207] Project MUSE (2024-04-19 00...

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