[net.religion.jewish] Humanistic Judaism revisited

arig@cvl.UUCP (Ari Gross) (03/22/85)

> 
> Humanistic Jews, unlike the Orthodox, do not discard a mitzva when the
> original instructional example has been vitiated by social or
> technological chage, but instead find and carry out equivalent
> contemporary ways to carry out as many of the Mitzvot as possible. I
> personally observe the above mitzva by contributing to an institution
> which carries out research in food science and agricultural technology.
> The Orthodox would no doubt claim that I am the one in danger of
> discarding mitzvot, by abandoning the traditional way of carrying them
> out. My personal opinion is that my interpretation is the one closer
> to relevant Jewish traditions.
> 
> 						Adam

    Two questions :

    1. If the Torah's whole point is "feed the poor, clothe the needy",etc
why did it give all the intricate laws of pe'ah,leket,shichecha -- there are
already injunctions in the Torah to help those who are poor,hungry,.........
without specifically commanding us to leave over the corners of the field?

    2. If the Torah is not of divine origin then why should "relevant Jewish
traditions" be of any concern ? Why not just stick to Judaeo_Christian ethic
and contemporary notions of morality? Would this be any different than
interpreting the mitzvot and keeping them as you please?


                                                   Ari