High Holy Days 5772: Adult Discussion

Vows Ancient and Contemporary

If the traditional approach to halachah is, for us modern liberal Jews, “implausible, impossible and unnecessary,” how then do we anchor our religious practice in something beyond our own idiosyncratic choices? Rabbi Michael Marmur, former Professor of Theology at the Hebrew Union College, suggests that vows may be a way of creating a common and binding practice for liberal Jews, for whom the traditional justifications for Jewish law no longer work. Join Rabbi Aron on Yom Kippur afternoon, to explore the traditional practice of vows and see how this may be helpful to our own quest to balance individual autonomy with religious commitment.

The Jewish practice of making vows dates back to Biblical times. Most famous is the vow of the Nazirite, but there are other Biblical examples including Hannah, Jonah, and Jepthah. Vows were freely made individual commitments, sometimes motivated by feelings of thanksgiving, or by a desire to attain a more sanctified life. In later generations, though vows were viewed with some misgivings, making commitments to God were a part of Jewish character development.

All are welcome to join Rabbi Aron in this conversation during the break between the Yom Kippur morning and afternoon services (approximately 1:30–2:30 pm).