basic judaism

I was quite disturbed when a respected religious clergy said that “Jewish Law” meant a presumption of guilty. I apologize in advance if there was some tid bits that I missed in this meaning but as soon as I heard this I was flabbergasted. Maybe in the times of Talmud there was such great judges that this could have occurred but in today’s times that appears to be out of place. For I believe in my bones that a person must be presumed to be innocent before an judgement is passed. It is better to error in the course of innocents because we must believe that G-D seeks the final judgment not us. I even quote the bible (loosely) to stand up for my convictions in which a person accused of murder is given a sanctuary city where they can stay to protect themselves against the redeemer of their blood.  Here are some of the problems (below) that could occur if someone was presumed guilty.

(1) NO TESTIMONY– Why would you need to allow a person to present their case to those who have accused if him/her if you’ve already decided the verdict?

(2)EXTREME PUNISHMENT– Those assumed to be guilty would receive an undue punishment that didn’t fit the crime because judges would sit in a holy then thou position.

(3) NO EXCUSE– There would be no way to present a different picture of what occurred and truly be listened to, if guilty was already decided.

(4) INNOCENT WOULD BE CONDEMNED– No matter how fair your justices would be some innocent people would slip through those cracks and their life’s would be destroyed.

“Basic Judaism” understands that you might be driving down the same highway but end up going a totally different path. We understand that a Rabbi and the wise books may not always be available to consult when driving past 55, yet we still want to make sure that we are on the right path. Here are several ways to make sure that path we travel on our “normal day” gets to where we should be going everyday.

(1) GREATEST GOOD/LEAST HARM SHORT & LONG TERM- Immediate gratifications can cause long term problems so think carefully about what you should do first.

(2)WORLD AROUND YOU- It is important to be informed about the “good book (Torah, Talmud) but also keep an eye on the world around you. For you can keep reading and not look up as you fall into a giant hole. G-D didn’t stop with the book and is involved in our life everyday, every place.

(3) FUN- A faithful life should be fun as well full of humor and happiness. Restrictions are meant to add to those good times. We may not go out on “Sabbath” so we can travel the world on Sunday.

(4) RESPECT/RITUAL- It is not enough to tolerate those that are more traditional but respect and understand where they come from.  Just because that path may not be ours doesn’t mean we don’t clean the path for our brothers & sisters.

(5) DOUBT AS WHOLE- Life might be bumpy at times but the smooth road is ahead. G-D has allowed those bumps so we can learn from them and make sure we steer away from them in our life’s journey.

Where does the rational for the “Basic Judaism” movement come from? Is it made from the sky? Well in a sense it is for although it is important to study the good book we also must explore the world that G-D has given us and learn from the examples that we see in our daily life. It is not to partake in the habits or rituals that go against the book but to just read and not see what G-D has put in front of us is missing great deal of the puzzle as well.  We not only must watch the world but be active players in promoting the truth and helping the world move to a better place by our actions as well as words.  Faith must be in the holy words and but also in the world around us as well.