The word “religion” comes from the Latin “ligio”, as in ligament, which means “ties”. Religion is a force that ties us together - together with one another, and together with our Creator. It binds and bonds us together as a People.
In American law, we join together in community voluntarily. We agree to give up some of our personal freedoms (such as keeping everything we earn) for the greater good. As Americans we believe in this greater good and work to maintain it. In some circles this is called “patriotism”. Without this voluntary by-in, the whole system would fall apart. There are not enough police to keep everyone from breaking the law if they chose to do so. Still, your citizenship is voluntary. You can give it up at any time.
Judaism comes at it from a different angle. We abide by Jewish law because we are commanded. According to the Torah, we are bound by the “mitzvot” (commandments) because our ancestors at Sinai entered into a covenant (brit) with Gd. There is nothing voluntary about it. (In fact, in one mainstream interpretation of Jewish law, you can never really convert out of Judaism.) Our service is not because we want to be loyal, but rather because we “owe it” to Gd. Our loyalty comes from personal gratitude, not simply a common sense of people-hood.
Our American Constitution begins “We the People”, because “We” wrote it (not just Jefferson and Madison). We imbue our government with authority. In Judaism, Gd is the source of authority and we obey the laws that Gd gave us. And yet, Gd gave us the authority to develop His laws as times changed. In this sense the two systems overlap. The degree to which change is warranted, justifiable, and indeed necessary is what separates the right side of the Supreme Court from the left, as well as the various movements in Judaism. Understanding the process by which civil law is developed, comparing and contrasting it with the development of Jewish law, gives us a greater understanding of how we became who we are today and where we may be going as Jews.
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I agree that law is what binds us together. A break dwon in the law leads to chaos and systems begin to fail. I also believe that Jewish law binds us together and creates sustainability.
However, I'm starting to believe that most of my observance are not done out of a sense of gratitude, but becuase of my belief in - once you have aquired knowldege about a thing (in this case commandments) you can never unknow it. Isn't that why we obey the laws and lessons? We have been given them, taught them and shown how they work - now we must act accordingly.
My parents taught me things to help me susutain myslef and my future family. I can't say that I follow their teaching out of gratitude. I follow their teaching for my own sustainability. To show my gratitude, I remember them on Mother's Day and Father's Day. I tell them as often as I can that I love them. I share with them my accomplishments. When I am failing in my lessons, I am not being ungrateful, but need more practice, and no doubt more guidance. I follow Gd's law because it is a lesson that I have learned. When I am intentionally not following a commandment and a failure occurs - I don't believe that I am being punished for not obeying. If Gd where a human, I would probably get an "I told you so".
My gratitude for receiving the commandments is done by observing religious ceremony, praying with my community and celebrating the miracle of a sustained life - in this case a Jewish life.
Nu. What's my point? The commnadmnets, I believe with my limited knowledge of them, are mostly about person-hood and people-hood. My religious observances are a way to acknowledge that they came from a metaphysical place, and that makes their core unchanging - even though our understanding changes.
ps - i really enjoy your musings, and yay, a blog. i wish more rabbis would do this.
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