Sacred Thought, Sacred Action Revisited

One of the major contributions to Judaism in our time by Martin Buber is the distinction he stressed between ?religion? and ?religiosity.? Religion is the institutional, carefully structured, formal aspects of the faith community containing established doctrine and mandated action. Religiosity is the inner meaning, the irreducible spirit, the essence of the doctrine and practices of the faith community, that which constitutes the essential purpose of the institutional structure. Thus, in Buber?s landmark unpacking of the life and literature of Hasidism, he pointed out that what the tzaddikim (spiritual leaders) considered decisive in the observance of religious ritual was the intent and spirit, the aim of the action, the inner purpose of the panoply of practices the faithful were engaged in. Each person was obliged to unite action with its purpose and thus develop wholeness as a truly religious personality.

This is the thrust of the luminous body of teaching which flows from the pen of Abraham Joshua Heschel. It was, indeed, to grasp the ideational essence and spiritual intent of Jewish thought and practice.

?Religion as an establishment must remain separate from government. Religiosity is a voice for mercy, a cry for justice, a plea for gentleness, virtues that must be kept apart. Let the spirit of prayer dominate the world, interfere in the affairs of man. Prayer is private, a service of the heart; but let concern and compassion, born out of prayer dominate public life.? Heschel emphasizes that ?Jewish tradition insists that no religious performance is complete without the participation of the heart. It asks for kavanah, for inner intention and participation, not only for external action. Kavanah is awareness of the will of God.?

The writings here, then, are designed to unpack, to ?excavate,? if you like, what Buber and Heschel have perceived as the ?religiosity? of Judaism?s faith assertions and religious practices.

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