Hong Kong Liberal Religious Forum

Spiritual Seekers Society ssshk.tripod.com

Talk: Humanistic Judaism in Action

Date: 6 Jun 08 (Fri)
Time: 7:30pm - 9:00pm
Venue: Hong Kong Christian Institute (HKCI), 10/F, 11 Mong Kok Road, Mong Kok, Kowloon
Speaker: Dr Julie Ruth
Language: English with Cantonese translation
Fee: free
Registration: not required
About Humanistic Judaism: www.religioustolerance.org/jud_huma.htm


尋道會 ssshk.tripod.com

講座：活現「人文主義猶太教」

日期：零八年六月六日﹙週五﹚
時間：晚上七時三十分至九時
地點：香港基督徒學會，九龍旺角道11號藝旺商業大廈10字樓
講者：Julie Ruth 博士
語言：英語附廣東話傳譯
費用：全免
報名：無須

About Dr Julie Ruth:

Dr Julie Ruth has a Doctorate in Education and other degrees in media/communication, literature, literary/cultural studies, education/ESL teaching and women's/gender studies (MA), all from Melbourne, Australia, her home-city. She is currently nearly finished a 2-year contract in Hong Kong (2006-2008) as a NET (Native English-speaking Teacher), teaching English (oral) to teenage students in an all-Chinese Catholic secondary school. She also taught English briefly in Taiwan just before coming to Hong Kong. She is returning to Melbourne in July and does not yet know what her next challenge will be.

In Australia, she has worked in: executive and project management, teaching, lecturing, educational support, research, resource production, community development and human rights. Some of these have been in the Melbourne Jewish community. Of special relevance to this talk are:

a. extensive leadership in the JSHS (Jewish Secular Humanistic Society), Melbourne (1991-2001)
b. co-founder/first principal (1992-93) of the JSH School (1992-2002)
c. doctoral research/thesis (1994-97) on JSH school foundation (DEd: University of Melbourne, 1997)
d. protege of (late) Rabbi Sherwin Wine (US) with her own speaking tour: HJ communities (US, Canada, Mexico, 1996-97)
e. prof. practice as (secular) Jewish Celebrant: marriages, funerals, namings, rituals (Australia: 1995-2006)
f. human rights activist: refugees/immigration detention: humanistic Jewish responses (2001-03)
g: Building Bridges: inter-cultural human rights work: Jewish/Muslim relationships (2003-05)
h. lifetime studies and communal work in Jewish education and community development & activism

And in Hong Kong (2006-2008):
a. member of UJC (United Jewish Congregation of HK), including guest speaker in adult ed. program
b. guide, speaker & group-leader at recent Anne Frank Exhibition
c. Jewish/Holocaust educator to her Chinese school & other Chinese locals
d. human rights activist in her school/to others re. attending June 4 Vigil
e. visits to Jewish communities in Beijing & Shanghai (& Taipei), & remote school project (Janxi Province) of UJC

Rev Silas Wong has shared his impression of the gathering in his Chinese blog:

今晚尋道會邀得一位從澳洲來港教學的猶太人 Julie 講述人文主義的猶太教（Humanistic Judaism）。從來以為猶太人必尊猶太教為圭臬，並視舊約律法和耶和華至尊無上。誰知竟有猶太人不信耶和華上帝，卻以人文主義代之。其實，二這猶太人組織起源於二十世紀六零年代美國底特律的一位離開正統猶太教的拉比 Sherwin Wine。他們尊重猶太人的節期和文化，但卻將宗教因素排除，換言之，他們有點像中國人的同鄉會或社團，且能由其負責的 Celebrant（如政府的宣誓官）主持婚喪禮。他們在記念新年或逾越節等節期時，都會以別的言詞如「根據他們的傳統」取代律法或上帝的論調。

多年前，我和內子在外國一機場候機時，也遇過一對猶太人夫婦，他們也說不信耶和華，因為若有上帝，何故他們的民族如此不幸！我的心也為此感到惘然。現在同樣聽見如此的猶太人社群，他們在流離之間仍能保存自己的民族特色，雖則已與正統猶太教有雲泥之別。故我稱之為猶太主義，正有點像尋道會背後的 UU 主義，也將人文因素放於信念中。

會後，我們還一塊兒到附近的齋舖吃晚飯(Alex 按：Julie 是 vegetarian)，期間亦不斷有問有答，如猶太人為何不信耶穌是神的兒子？他們吃東西的規條是否仍根據舊約利未記等？我實在開了眼界，也令我泛起一絲的愁絮和對猶太人的思念。

http://www.hkflash.com/diary/read.asp?i ... d=17693663

Julie's sharing was very inspiring.

Sherwin Wine was a rabbi in an American Jewish synagogue. In the 60's, when he found out that God was not believable, he left the synagogue and started his own tradition of Humanistic Judaism which does not require belief in God and hence modified Jewish traditions and rituals to non-theistic language. You can imagine the pressure he faced. Sherwin Wine's honesty and courage ought to be appreciated and adored.

Julie was active in her Humanisitc Judaic community in Australia and contributed a lot, including acting as a Celebrant for rites of passage.

It was very exciting for me to learn the existence of a humanistic version of Judaism. How good it will be if there is a humanistic version of the most popular religion in the West---Christianity. Fortunately, there is. It is Unitarian Universalism (UUism). UUism started off as a free-thinking and humanistic version of Christianity. UUism has evolved into a non-Christian liberal religion. I love UUism because of its encouragement of free-thinking and humanism.

Humanistic Judaism @ Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humanistic_Judaism

Society for Humanistic Judaism www.shj.org

International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism www.iishj.org

International Federation of Secular Humanistic Jews www.ifshj.org

Christianity without God (Book Review)
http://ssshk.freeforums.org/christianit ... w-t91.html

Rabbi Sherwin Wine's Humanistic Judaism was mentioned in the book review.