By now, two things are almost scientifically proven: (1) the human behavior, which defines human moral principles, is steered by individual genes’ combination, and (2) the great majority of Jews have common genes’ combination, which steers their behavior along the moral lines defined as Judaism. This statement does not contradict the basic belief in Judaism: the spiritual principles of human life were presented at Mount Sinai by the Supreme Power called God to the human tribe called the Jews since this tribe were genetically prepared best to understand the principles, follow them and help the other tribes to do so.
Now after over three millenniums of Jewish spiritual Torah-guided development, the Jews are visibly divided into two spiritual groups: (1) the Jews by reason and (2) the Jews by prayer.
The Jews by prayer
From the news media:
Satmar Rebbe Rails Against Secular Education Bill.
A powerful Hasidic leader has slammed a bill in the New York State legislature that would enforce laws that require religious schools to teach secular subjects.
Some Hasidic schools for boys routinely flout the existing laws, offering minimal time for English, history and math, or skipping the subjects altogether. The new bills that would give regulators new tools to enforce those laws come amid increased statewide attention on the lack of secular education in some Hasidic yeshivas.
The leader of the Kiryas Joel-based segment of the Satmar Hasidic sect, Grand Rabbi Aaron Teitelbaum, said, “We should pray every day that these evil doers [those who insist on secular subjects in Jewish education] should not lay their hands on the Jewish children here in America.”
“The worldview taught in public school, it’s hard to even bring it to my mouth,” Teitelbaum said.
So, Satmar Rebbe does not want any secular education for the Jews. The reason is clear. He is one of the leaders of the strictly orthodox religious streams who believe that a better world for everybody should be built by God and God will do so only if the Jews will be asking Him endlessly by Torah-inspired prayers. If it is so, no secular education that is necessary for building a better spiritual and material world for Jews and Gentiles is needed – in the view of the Rebbe and his followers. That is Judaism by prayer.
The Jews by reason
The reason is clearly defined in the Torah: since the humans are created in the “image and likeness of God” the Creator, the Jews as the Chosen have to help the other human tribes continue the God’s creative work to build a spiritual and material better world for all humans. God does not need our prayers – God needs our creative work “in His image and likeness”. Prayers are needed for us to figure out what and how God wants us to create but the prayers are not the ultimate goal. To figure out all that and then work on implementation, the secular education is needed – without such education, the prayers become the ultimate goal, and that is not what unites and identifies all Jews.
The Jews by reason and the Jews by prayer should be spiritual Torah-guided friends, and the rabbis should be working on creating such spiritual friendship. Unfortunately, that is not the case.
