The question is basically about what has been recently dubbed “Orthopraxy”. “Praxis” means you perform all the Jewish rituals and attends all its religious functions—attending Synagogue, put on teffilin, circumcise your sons, keep Kosher and Shabbos and Yom Tov, etc., but have no internal conviction whatsoever that what you are doing is true and really meaningful in the philosophical sense. You simply belong to a faith community without having any faith as an individual.
There are two questions here:
Is it valid way of life from a Jewish theological perspective?
Does it have any value at all or is it better to be consistent and drop out of the community?
- Is it valid?
No. There is a myth that Judaism’s main difference with Christianity is that Christianity primarily requires that its adherents believe (and not much else) and that Judaism primarily requires actions and rituals. “Deed vs. Creed”.
But this is completely false. Judaism requires belief and conviction about its fundamentals of faith. The Rambam declared that one who does not believe has essentially lost his membership to the Jewish community even though he appears to be a part of it externally.
Such people need to be rejected socially because usually, a person can’t keep his true opinions to himself indefinitely. He will wind up having a negative influence on the society in which he has integrated himself into.
The effects of Orthopraxy on one’s family are especially tragic: Imagine a father who goes through Shabbos without singing zemirot, without talking about the Torah parsha, who dreads learning with his kids and hearing their nonsensical teachings that they learn in school. Inevitably he will be sending conflicting messages to his family and they will be very confused.
It is a tragedy that should be desperately avoided.
But how do you “force yourself” to believe? This brings us to the next question:
- Does it have any value at all?
Absolutely--As a temporary mode of outward behavior to get you through a period of crisis.
We all go through moods and phases of religious enthusiasm and lack thereof. The important thing is not to panic or do anything drastic in the heat of the moment to sever your ties with Judaism. The human mind is very fickle and without training and discipline it can become quite confused and be in constant flux.
The first thing to tell yourself is that this is a temporary phase of uncertainty and it is nothing to be scared or embarrassed of. But don't be passive or resign yourself to the situation.
You can employ various strategies to deal with disbelief and go through various types of reading material to regain faith. With the kiruv world so accessible to each Jew today via e-mail, one can write questions to knowledgeable and sensitive rabbis anonymously and receive individualized guidance on virtually any personal religious issue. There are many resources available today and it is a shame to have to struggle through this kind of challenge on your own.
When logic and philosophy fails, it may indicate an issue with Judaism that is not completely philosophical/intellectual. A crisis in faith may be due the corroding effects of one's social or intellectual environment or premature exposure to some powerful critiques against religion which can be quite disorienting. Countering these effects takes consistent and determined effort.
One powerful emotional antidote is reading the histories of Jews or communities who went through periods of great adversity and persecution for their Jewishness and remained steadfast—The Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, the Holocaust, etc. Jews retained a deep faith despite the fact that everything around them was telling them to stop believing.
By connecting to the amazing story of Jewish commitment throughout the millennia, we can put our seemingly looming doubts into their proper perspective.
