New to Torah Judaism

You've heard of Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox Judaism, but what is Torah Judaism? Torah Judaism means that you live your life according to the torah. "But don't all branches of Judaism follow the torah?" Well, they all claim to, I suppose, but do they all in fact do so? The answer is not so clear.

What does the torah say? And why should I live my life according to what it says in the torah? And even if I decide that living a torah judaism life is proper, how do I know whether to follow Reform Judaism, Conservative Judaism, or Orthodox Judaism? Which one conforms most closely with what the torah says?

What does the torah say?

The torah instructs Jews how to live their lives. It provides Jews with guidlines, laws, restrictions, commandments of what to do and what not to do. The torah reccommends attitudes towards the world, towards other people, towards opinions, towards philosophies that all Jews should adopt. The torah instructs how to interact with others in business, in interpersonal relationships, with family and friends, and places limits on who we can marry, what we can eat, when we can work, and what we can wear.

At first glance, and to the uninitiated the torah with it's 613 commandments may seem overwhelming and oppressive, but to the committed Jew the torah is what allows a person to live a life of true freedom.

You may ask, "How is a person free if they have to live according to a set of rules, and so many of them?" And that is a good question because isn't the definition of freedom to have right to do whatever you want whenever and however you want to do it?

To that I would answer you, no. That is not the definition of freedom. Let me explain...

Who is truly free?

Lets say a person smokes cigarettes. They have the right to do so if they so choose, don't they? Of course they do. At least in America and other "free" countries they have the freedom to choose to smoke it they want to. Is the person who chose to smoke free to choose to quit smoking if they want to? You may say "of course they are!" But are they really?...

I used to smoke and I will tell you that it is not easy to quit smoking. It takes a great deal of strength and committment. It takes fortitude and you have to be motivated to do it or else the drive to fulfill the nicotine craving will dominate. So is the smoker truly free or a slave to his or her desires?

The smoker may want to quit, but his or her body craves the cigarette. To be truly free, this person must be able to choose the more noble, more righteous choice. Most people would agree that in this case the right choice is to ignore the craving to smoke and put down the cigarette. But is it the easy choice? No! However, choosing it would make you free, but the choice does not come easily. Not without a fight. Not without a committment. Not without knowing the evils of not choosing to quit.

In essence, freedom requires active choice based on knowlege and fueled by strength, commintment, and motivation. The person who gives in to their every desire, to the whims of their physical body and the needs of their personality is clearly not free, but instead is enslaved to the overwhelming noise created by the deficiencies in their physicality and personality.

In my next post on Living Torah Judaism we will continue our discussion by examining why a person should live life according to what the torah says.