An Analysis of the Solel Synagogue’s Role in Promoting the Personal Success of its Congregation

8/3/2019 An Analysis of the Solel Synagogues Role in Promoting the Personal Success of its Congregation

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RLG101H

Introduction to the Study of Religion

Professor: Ken DerryTA: Kevin Hodges.

An Analysis of the Solel Synagogues Role in Promoting the Personal Success of its

Congregation

By: Tony (Hang) Gao

Student number: 998999384

Date of Submission: 2011-11-03Word Count: 1325

Group member one: Tony (Hang) Gao Solel Synagogue

Group member two: Robin Santiago Date of attendance: 2011-10-15


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Judaism has always fascinated me, because of continuous persecutions through out the

ages. Most religions, e.g. Christianity are persecuted at the beginning of their expansion,

but Judaism is particular in this regard. Nietzsches concepts of power, i.e. the will topower, was life changing; hence my selection of power for this analysis. Religion,

according to my observation, is not essentially bad. It is not a device used to deceive

people into oppressing themselves; it is not a way to keep the oppressed content withtheir oppression. Religion, according to my observations, is beneficial to participants

because it can be used as a source of inspiration to motivate one to move up the social

ladder; and it promotes personal success in society. The former argument refutes Marxsreligion as ideology theory (Nye 2008); the latter is argued in accordance with Webers

idea that religion promotes self discipline (Nye 2008). The general economic atmosphere

of the synagogue and the Bar Mitzvah will be described, respectively, to substantiate this

thesis.

Here is a word of caution to the unsuspecting reader. The conclusions drawn from this

single visit to a particular religious service have rather limited uses, for these conclusions

may only be applied to this particular synagogue and congregation. My impressions ofthe congregation and service may be distorted, since the service was almost delivered

entirely in Hebrew. Although we followed using translated texts, the atmosphere of theservice was definitely compromised. To study a religion from the outside has its benefits,

but it is impossible to be empathic to the congregation because of the wide gap between

my culture and beliefs and their culture and beliefs. Bias is universally present; I came

into the service with the knowledge of the holocaust, the alleged Zionist regime in Israel,etc. all of this interferes with and shapes my impressions. Thus, it is impossible to be

impartial. Overall, this analysis has limited uses, is somewhat distorted because of bias

and the language barrier.

The lobby of the synagogue had a Victorian feel to it, primarily due to the glossed dark

brown wooden walls and furniture. Well dressed men, women, and children chatteredhere, anticipating the start of the service. From time to time, more families would arrive,

after parking the occasional Mercedes-Benz. On a wall was a display case containing a

multitude of ancient roman coins, spanning from the time of the first revolt toVespasians era. The room of the actual service is comparatively barren, but within a

cupboard behind the rabbis the podium lays a sacred object. It is a wooden box or

casing, with silver plating that beautifully reflected light, allowing the box to shine.

Inside this casing was a scroll containing texts from the Torah. As the service began, therabbi joked: If by any chance, we should hear a cellular phone ring during this service,

our usher will be happy to approach you for a donation.

The description above, of a Jewish synagogue, does not conform to Marxs theory on

Christianity and Judaism. Marx suggests that Christianity and Judaism allow society to

escape or accept their economic problems, much like how opium helps the addict toescape through pleasure (Nye 2008). This process of constant escape is detrimental to the

oppressed, for it prevents them from climbing up the social ladder by distracting them

and creating a world in which a hierarchal power structure is natural (Nye 2008). The

Solel service was not a drug that distracts the congregation from economic suffering, for


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there was no economic suffering. These people were not being oppressed, they may be

the oppressors. The congregation, judging from their dress and methods of transportation,

is part of the upper middle class. This assertion is further reinforced by the relative wealthof the synagogue (Torah scroll, Roman coins, atmosphere), for the synagogue draws its

wealth from the congregation. Donation is the means with which the synagogue achieves

this. Thus creating an expectation to donate, this expectation forces the community tostrive for material wealth. This is the opposite of what Marx has said, that is, in this case,

religion promotes wealth creation. This is illustrated by the rabbis joking comment that

has serious connotations regarding donation. Thus, the Solel synagogue was not a devicewith which the ruling class could trap the working class in oppression, for there was no

economic oppression; rather it promotes individual wealth creation by way of its request

for donations. Marxs theory applied when greedy capitalists worked labourers like

animals without government regulations; but society has progressed.

The congregation was seated, with the Torah in their hands, awaiting the boys rite of

passage. The boy of thirteen was wearing a black suit, a white scarf that hung over his

shoulders, much like a cape, and the iconic Jewish cap. This attire was quite similar to therabbis; which made him a point of attention, within a well dressed congregation. The Bar

Mitzvah commenced with the opening of the ark (a cupboard), which revealed ashining and brilliantly decorated wooden box; containing the Torah. This sacred artefact

was passed from the shoulders of the grandparents, to the shoulders of the parents and to

the shoulders of the boy. Carrying the casing, the boy toured the room, while the

congregation directed their prayers and nods towards the artefact. Subsequently, the boydelivers his address to the congregation; regarding Moses meeting with God at Mount

Sinai: as Moses descends the mountain, the Israelites notice that beams of light are

shining from Moses face. Moses proceeds to cover his face with a veil, for he wanted tofocus the light within himself. The rabbi uses this analogy to offer some words of advice:

You have a great deal of talent, intelligence, if you can harness those talents, and bring

that light inward as Moses attempted to do, then you will have all that energy, all thattalent stored up within you ready to share with the rest of the world. I for one will be very

curious to see how that light shines as you go into the future.

Clearly, this event is a turning point in the boys life; every stage of the Bar Mitzvah

implies that the boy is becoming a more than a boy, perhaps a man. For example:

knowledge and wisdom, as well as responsibilities, were passed from parent to child,

symbolized by the passing of the torah; the boy entered a higher spiritual and social realmwhen he held the Torah as he walked around the room; the boys address declared that he

has the will and skill to become fluent in Hebrew and he understood the teachings of the

Torah; and with the blessing of the rabbi, the boy sheds his childishness and assumesresponsibility for his transformation into a successful member of society. According to

Weber, Protestantism promotes self discipline and hard work; the promotion of these

qualities was a factor that led to the development of the individualistic capitalist system(Nye 2008). These qualities are, arguably, also the foundation for personal success, i.e.

power. The Bar Mitzvah does not so much as explicitly promote these qualities, but it

forces responsibility on the child; and subtly expects success (i.e. I for one will be very

curious to see how that light shines as you go into the future). Thus the Bar Mitzvah


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facilities success by empowering the child (first, second and third examples), and

weighing down the child with expectations (fourth example).

These cases both demonstrate that religion, according to my observations, is beneficial

rather than detrimental to the individual, as insinuated by Nye. The Solel synagogues

Bar Mitzvah was a ritual that fed power to the boy and expected success of the boy. Theexpectation for donations propels the faithful to economic success. Thus it is reasonably

to conclude that the one who participates in Judaism at Solel synagogue will be more

likely to achieve success, than the one who does not.


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Bibliography

Nye, Malory. 2008.Religion: The Basics, 2nd edition. London and New York:Routledge.


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An Analysis of the Solel Synagogue’s Role in Promoting the Personal Success of its Congregation