This week, we read the story of the parting of the Red Sea, perhaps a first step en route to the revelation at Sinai—the moment recorded as the receiving of the Torah. Reflecting on these pivotal moments, Rabbi Woznica shares thoughts on the role of religion—and the challenges of secularism—in our modern Western lives.
The Consequences of Secularism: Cut Flower Ethics
In 1951, in “Judaism and Modern Man,” Will Herberg introduces the idea of “Cut Flower Culture”:
“The attempt made in recent decades by secular thinkers to disengage the moral principles of Western civilization from their scripturally based religious context, in the assurance that they could live a life of their own as ‘humanistic’ ethics, has resulted in ‘cut flower culture.'”
Consider this: One can pull flowers from the soil, observe they still look good a few days later, and conclude they do not need the soil that nourishes them. Soon, however, without the soil, the flowers wither and die. Herberg makes a brilliant analogy: “So too with brotherhood, justice, and personal dignity—the values that form the moral foundation of our Civilization. Without the life-giving power of the faith out of which they have sprung, they possess neither meaning nor vitality.”
In other words, without the religious soil in which these values are rooted, these values wither away. One can certainly also take other religious principles (such as charity and the value of human life) from the Biblical and religious soil that nourishes them for a generation or two. Ultimately, without that soil, I believe that they, too, will wither away.
For those who value these ideals, it is vital to keep them firmly rooted in the religious teachings that have nourished them for thousands of years.
—Rabbi David Woznica