Pagan Jews dancing naked in the mud?

You know the End of Days must be near when...

A growing number of young, liberal Jews are now turning to a movement known as Jewish Paganism, according to a recent article in The Forward. Yes, you read that correctly, I said Jewish Paganism!

So, what in the hell is Jewish Paganism you ask? Well, it is using some trappings of hebrew language, and some selective quotes here and there from the Talmud, to bring in leftwing Jews to celebrate Paganism under the [false] pretense that it is still really being Jewish. Actually, it is being explained as the REAL Jewish experience, unlike the phoney Judaism of the Talmud and the succeeding millenias of Rabbinic commentators since.

Here's an example of the REAL Judaism they are talking about:

I was skinny-dipping in the mud springs on the shores of the Dead Sea with Rabbi Ohad Ezrahi, a longhaired renegade kabbalist who runs a commune in the Judean Desert. We were enveloped by the softest, silkiest mud I've ever felt — it was like moving through thick cream. Then the rabbi told me to dive down as deep as I can go. When we each came up for air, he said, "At this moment, you are penetrating Mother Earth at her deepest place."

So this is Jewish paganism: naked, covered in mud, communing with the God (or Goddess) in nature. It's sensual, it's controversial, and it's the polar opposite of the reserved, dressed-up brand of Judaism that fills many synagogues. And thanks to a new generation of young rabbis, it seems to be growing.

And this:

"Paganism is fundamentally about relationships — with trees, fire, earth, air, spirits and other people," Ezrahi said. "It's about not seeing the world as an object, but seeing it as alive." For some in the Jewish community, this translates into rituals celebrating the "Divine feminine" (which the Kabbalah has been doing for centuries anyway). For others, it means cultivating "eros," which can mean anything from love and sexuality to more general notions of life force.

Plus, of course, this:

For Rabbi Jill Hammer, whose organization, Tel Shemesh, is dedicated to "celebrating and creating Earth-centered rituals within Judaism," contemporary paganism is actually nothing new. Contrary to those who say that paganism equals idolatry, or that "pagan Judaism" is no different from, say, the messianic Judaism of Jews for Jesus, Hammer argues that "paganism has always been part of Judaism.

And, finally, this:

As we sat in New York City's Central Park, Hammer told me that she was never inspired by the Hanukkah menorah as a symbol of freedom. "But then I experienced taking a single candle and over eight days letting it grow to eight candles, just as the sunlight grows after the winter solstice. The earth is teaching me, and connected to my tradition. And I have that experience in my life — of being in a dark place, and then, God willing, the world becomes light again."

Hammer paused as she told me this story. The wind blew, and some hippies played "Imagine" over in Strawberry Fields. And then Hammer said, "I get mad at the rabbis for making Hanukkah about a war, when it's really about something that matters in our lives."

Oh yeah, this sure is REAL Judaism, alright...What a heaping pile of liberal Bull Sh!t they're selling. Incidentally, pure hedonism and idolotry is the polar opposite of Judaism (in case you were really wondering), but I'm sure some rich, Club-Medish liberal Jews will be sending off their teenage kids to Pagan Camp for the summer thinking they are having a real Jewish experience.

Oy Gevalt.

-MZ