The Curse of Religious Boredom

“Man is the only animal that can be bored.”^[1]

Psychologists tell us that one of man’s greatest enemies today is boredom. Sometimes, when reading a paper or popular journal; watching television or a DVD; using an MP3 or an iPod; or posting on Facebook every hour to inform our friends of what we just did, we are confronted with the most absurd manifestations of monotony and apathy. Believe it or not, there are people who spend their time rolling around Europe in a barrel and couples who dance the salsa for hours upon hours in order to break a record. Others seek entry into the Guinness Book of World Records by developing the stunning art of eating more ice cream than any human since the days of pre-historic man.

We common people are obviously deeply impressed that at least some geniuses have grasped the ultimate meaning of life. They have accomplished what nobody ever dreamed was humanly possible.

Deep Sea Fish

What is boredom? It is a disorder that has stricken our modern world, as a result of our wishes being too easily and too quickly satisfied. Once the need has been fulfilled, we immediately feel the pressure of new urges because we cannot live without them. We are like deep-sea fish. We thrive on atmospheric pressure, and without it we are lost. Since people in Western cultures are easily able to satisfy most of their desires, they begin to look for absurd pursuits to satiate their new appetites.

It is remarkable that in the last 50 years we have transformed most beneficial occupations into anti-boredom devices. Take the case of brisk walking. This was a very healthy undertaking until we decided to turn it into a contest in which people are forced to walk harder than they are really able to. Some end up in hospital, while others commit suicide because they failed to break the record. On several occasions, it was suggested that these people be fined because while running their heads off they didn’t notice the flowers along the road, or the beautiful landscape. This was, however, completely rejected on the grounds that those who won the race received flowers in the end, and this time from the hands of a pretty young lady. Even more preposterous is the case of swimmers who try to cross the English Channel between Calais and Dover in record time. They seem unaware of the ferry service that would get them there much faster.

Of course, if this is done because it is great fun and a way to relax or raise money for a charitable cause, it should have our full support; but if it’s done solely out of boredom, it becomes self-destructive.

Even more problematic is the fact that thoroughly bored people often disturb their fellow human beings in ways that are completely distasteful. They make others pay the price for their failure to deal with their own boredom.

Having Your Fling

It has become a common experience, among people seeking a quiet corner on this planet, that after setting up a folding chair on a tranquil spot at the seashore or in a forest, intending to listen to the waves of the sea or the blowing of the wind, the peace is suddenly disrupted by the blasting of an iPod with speakers turned up to maximum volume. Looking in the direction from which the noise is coming, one sees young people lounging in their folding chairs and smiling as if to say, “Go ahead. Make our day!”

The parents of these teenagers will say that it disturbs them as well, but they’re unable to do anything about it. “But youth, of course, must have its fling!”^[2] This is the well-known excuse for children who do the totally unacceptable. It tolerates chutzpah, which then necessitates therapy for the further development of youngsters who will otherwise be unable to become respectable members of society. Anyone unwilling to grant them their fling is depriving the world of future geniuses and deserves to suffer intense guilt feelings.

It is remarkable how many parents seem to believe that their children should indeed have their fling so as to guarantee their proper development. This is even more surprising since these very people fanatically cut the grass and bushes in their gardens, understanding that otherwise the vegetation would grow wild. It never occurs to them to apply similar standards when attempting to educate their children. When reading about the wantonness of today’s youth, they simply shake their heads in dismay.

Having one’s fling should mean proving that one is a mature human being, as in the German expression ausleben, which means to live out one’s potential. A particular strength people have, potentially, is to care about other human beings. Those who have not made use of this capacity have not yet “flinged,” since one of the most beautiful aspects of humanness has been withheld from them.

be-kiso, be-koso, be-ka’aso—u-be-sachako

Our Sages make a very interesting point^[3] when they say a person’s character can be tested in three different ways: be-kiso, be-koso, uve-ka’aso—by his pocket (Is he a miser or a spendthrift?); by his cup (How does he hold excessive alcoholic intake?); and by his temper (Can he control himself when provoked?). But according to one of the Sages, there is a fourth test: af be-sachako—also by how he plays, meaning how he spends his free time.

One of the great blessings of our day is that more and more young people are starting to realize that life is not just about Facebook. Many of them are showing a keen interest in matters of the spirit. Lectures on religion and philosophy in famous universities and other places of learning are becoming increasingly popular. Young people are looking for existential meaning and a high-quality spiritual mission.

In Israel, we see a large number of secular young men and women interested in studying Talmud, Midrash, and Jewish philosophy, in their attempt to understand what it means to be a Jew and what Judaism has to offer the world.

Committed Atheism and Religious Plagiarism

Most interesting is the fact that young people are finding their way back to Judaism in rather unconventional ways. Official outreach programs are losing their grip on Israeli society. Much of the time they have bitterly failed because they tried to put highly talented and creative people into a suit of armor that didn’t fit them. Some of these outreach programs are being replaced by a new phenomenon: Jewish self-discovery. It is not uncommon to see young, bareheaded men with long hair and earrings wearing tzitzit;^[4] others insisting on eating kosher but never entering a synagogue; young women lighting candles Friday afternoon but not observing Shabbat—praying with great fervor and going off to a party. There are even committed atheists who will enthusiastically join prayer sessions. And women, whose dress code perhaps leaves much to be desired, sincerely kissing mezuzot before entering a shopping mall or gym.

Surely, not all of this is a sign of maturity; no doubt, in certain cases it is superstition. Still, what we observe is that many people are searching for a sense of authenticity.

It is an aversion to religious plagiarism that keeps these people out of mainstream Judaism and the conventional synagogue. Repetitious prayer is a killer when it is not accompanied by discovery and novelty. By paving their own way, these people develop a fresh approach to what Judaism is really all about—open to new adventures. They are keenly aware that one cannot inherit Judaism but only discover it on one’s own through an often difficult spiritual struggle, and even warfare.

The religious establishment can make no greater mistake than interfering in this development and giving advice. Trying to force one’s views on these people will uproot the seeds that have been carefully planted. “You will always find some Eskimos ready to instruct the Congolese on how to cope with heat waves,” said Stanislaw J. Lec.^[5]

The religious establishment needs to realize that with regard to Jewish practice many people have generally fallen victim to boredom. Today, show and ceremony have become too much part and parcel of Judaism. Ceremonies are for the eye, but Judaism is an appeal to the spirit. The only biblically required ceremony in today’s synagogue service is the blessings of the priests, and even then members of the congregation are asked to close their eyes!^[6]

In biblical days, the prophets were astir while the world was sleeping. Today, the world is astir while the synagogues are sleeping.

Blessed are the young people who are waking up. Facebook is great, but it will not ignite a fire in our souls and will not conquer enduring boredom. Maybe we’ll realize this when the secular seekers show us the way. May they succeed!

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Questions to Ponder from the David Cardozo Academy Think Tank:

1. It’s been said that “Judaism is the religion that demands the most while promising the least.” Daniel Gordis once wrote that Conservative Judaism has lost many of its members simply because it requires nothing of them: “Human beings do not run from demands that might root them in the cosmos. They seek significance, and for traditions that offer it, they will sacrifice a great deal. Orthodoxy offers that, and the results are clear. Liberal American Judaism does not, and it is paying the price.”^[7] Notwithstanding his penultimate sentence, do you feel that this failure to provide meaningful demands is a danger endemic to observant Judaism as well (or perhaps some streams of it)? If so, how would you counter this failing?
2. “Religion begins with a consciousness that something is asked of us,” wrote Abraham Joshua Heschel.^[8] Meanwhile, psychologist Victor Frankl maintains that “self-actualization is possible only as a side-effect of self-transcendence.”^[9] Both of these thinkers emphasize the need to live for something beyond ourselves. If traditional outreach has failed to provide this kind of transcendence, what means might succeed in integrating today’s spiritual seekers into traditional Jewish life?
3. Rabbi Cardozo suggests that the religious establishment not stand in the way of young people seeking new ways to experience Judaism: “By paving their own way, these people develop a fresh approach to what Judaism is really all about…. The religious establishment can make no greater mistake than to interfere in this development and start giving advice.” But how is refusing to step in different from the behavior of parents who dismiss their children’s misbehavior as a “youthful fling” and “turn chutzpah into necessary therapy?”

Like most religions, Judaism maintains that closeness to God requires a suspension of our autonomy. What is peculiarly Jewish, however, is that Judaism builds this suspension of autonomy into daily life. By limiting what we eat, how we dress, and when we create or desist from creating, Halacha provides a framework in which we can connect with God through the mundane. But Halacha too can succumb to “religious boredom,” becoming perfunctory and lacking in conviction. What means can be used to infuse observance with enthusiasm? Are their particular mitzvot or other aspects of Jewish life that “ignite a fire in your soul” and makes make you feel that what you do matters?

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Notes

[1] Erich Fromm, The Sane Society (London and New York: Routledge, 2002), 23.

[2] Gilbert & Sullivan, The Mikado, Act I, Part VIII.

[3] Eruvin 65b.

[4] These are specially knotted ritual fringes that are attached to each corner of a four-cornered garment, which religious Jews wear under their shirts. See Bamidbar 15:38-40.

[5] Unkempt Thoughts (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1962), 27.

[6] Abraham Joshua Heschel, Man’s Quest for God: Studies in Prayer and Symbolism (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1954), 134.

[7] Daniel Gordis, “Conservative Judaism: A Requiem” Jewish Review of Books vol. 4, no. 4 (Winter 2014): 11.

[8] Abraham Joshua Heschel, God in Search of Man: A Philosophy of Judaism (New York: Farrar, Straus and Cudahy, 1955), 162.

[9] Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning (New York: Pocket Books, 1984), 133.