why observe Jewish law?

[cellio]

A friend asked (in a locked post, so I won't link) why I follow Jewish law. What do I get out of it? I want to record my answer here.

I follow the law because it improves my relationship with God and because it elevates mundane tasks.

Consider eating. Animals eat. Humans need to eat, but we have minds and souls and we don't have to be like animals. The simple act of saying a blessing before ("getting permission") and giving thanks afterwards ("grace") elevates the otherwise-coarse act of eating to a holier status. Now consider actually choosing to restrict what I eat (and how I eat it) because I understand that this is what God asks of us. It's such a simple thing to skip the shellfish and, in return, God might reach out a little to me just as I reach out to God. That's a win!

When I was in the process of becoming more religious (that is, moving from being an apatheist to actually paying attention to God), I found that if I sincerely tried, even with baby steps, I saw positive results. Psychologists might well say that that's because I caused those changes through a more positive outlook; if so, so what? Does that matter if God -- or my God-concept -- was the underlying force? We're supposed to take an active role; if by praying to God I get no direct effect from God, but the act itself causes me to improve my own behavior, isn't that still a win? Well, it's not just prayer that can produce that effect. Keeping Shabbat, eating properly, striving to repair the world, studying torah... it's all bundled up in there.

Comments

[mrpeck.livejournal.com]

I've only barely scratched the surface but the basic philosophical definition of soul was pretty much 'alive' and this goes all the way back to Aristotle. In that sense, all living things have souls (Aquinas at least, if no one earlier, breaks this into plant, animal, rational, and angelic souls). Humans, of course, have rational souls and you did hit on key distinction (as best I understand it at this time) is that we are capable of abstract thought and so can process ideas and act against our instincts. As someone who has been close to dogs all my life, I can agree that they do certainly seem to have some processing going on in there but there is definitely a difference between them and humans.

This is a part of philosophy that I find to be very interesting but I have to admit that my grasp of it is incomplete. I know he's not of your religious tradition but even in a strictly philosophical sense (which is how the course I'm taking approaches it), Aquinas has some interesting thoughts on this stuff.

Okay, I'll stop rambling now. :)

[cellio]

I encourage you to ramble whenever you're minded to do so. This is interesting stuff. (I haven't read Aquinas.)