The first two statements are:
1) “I am Adonai, your God, who brought you up from Egypt,” 2) “You shall have no other Gods beside me.”
These are the only two that are worded in the first person, in which God seems to be speaking directly to the people, and they are the only two that hint at any sense of a mandated belief. They are clear and, if we believe Maimonides, self-evident. Therefore there are only two beliefs that a Jew must hold:
1) We know God through history, and through the Exodus in particular, and 2) God is singular, unique, and alone. You could label these very simply as: 1) identity and 2) singularity. These, and only these, are the things that a Jew must believe.
One way to remember these two mandatory beliefs is to engage in the typically-rabbinic practice of alternative reading (ketiv/keri), specifically by slightly re-vocalising the Shema. If you change only one vowel (from a sheva under the shin to a kamatz), then the central statement of Jewish belief would read: “Israel heard: Adonai is our God, Adonai is One.” Instead of a command (“Hear, O Israel!”) the verb becomes a descriptive perfect aspect with Israel as the subject (“Israel heard”).
This gentle rereading of the Shema can serve as a reminder to us of the only two required beliefs for a Jew – the only two theological statements which were heard directly from the Divine at Sinai: 1) Adonai is our God (identity), and 2) Adonai is One (singularity).
Judaism is not a religion. Or, more accurately, Judaism is not only a religion. There are beliefs which make up a part of the complex of Jewishness but they are few in number (literally two, as we have seen) and fairly non-prescriptive. Most of the key questions that “religions” attempt to answer (the afterlife, the nature of the soul, the beginning and end of the world, and so forth) are open ones in Judaism.
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In my book, I explore some of them and offer partial pictures of the polysemous answer(s) that are provided. However, because these broader theological ideas are not mitzvot, not commanded as part of the brit (covenant) and therefore not mandated beliefs, they are matters of philosophy. As a result, there is a huge leeway of possible beliefs that one can hold about these questions and still be well within the acceptable framework of Jewish community.
Unlike the dogmatic structure of religions, which legislates against thoughts, the only beliefs that push someone into the realm of minut (heresy) are those which contradict the two mandatory principles – the identity of God and/or the singularity of God.
Embracing the realisation that Judaism is not a religion liberates us from needing to make it fit into predetermined Christian categories. It permits us to re-read our texts with new-old eyes. It frees us to reconsider God, creation, authority, morality, prophecy and theology. This is not some puerile quest for purity – there is no such thing.
We cannot pretend that Judaism has not been influenced by Christianity (or Islam, or Zoroastrianism, or others) in profound ways. We cannot purge these influences – nor would we want to do so.
To attempt to strip Judaism back to its core, free of any outside influence, is an icarionic task – it is inherently self-destructive. However, we can both accept the complex and often syncretic history of Jewish belief while also applying to it an examination of its ideals, an exacting test of its textual truth.
We may not be able to completely remove non-Jewish influence, but neither must we tacitly accept it and allow it to shape the way in which we read
A Spark of Total Darkness – Decolonising Jewish Thought, Izzun Books is out now. Adam Zagoria-Moffet is rabbi of St Albans Masorti Synagogue
Image: the Exodus is referenced in the First Commandment
