As a Universal rabbi and author, I sincerely believe that some Jewish values are universal and the world may benefit by learning more about them. Judaism has always had a universal aspect even if we rarely engaged in seeking converts. Judaism has also continued to evolve and needs to adapt in the 21st Century to keep up with science and human moral progression. The world changes and Judaism needs to keep up with it.
Universal Judaism is a new Judaism that will reject any aspect of Judaism that does not reflect the values of loving your neighbor. For example, we reject the traditional view that gay people sin and fully support the right of gay people to have intimate relationships with each other and marriage. The Torah was wrong about this (and many other things) and we do not consider any discrimination towards any group of people found in the Torah to be valid. As is evident, we also do not believe that the Torah was written by God, but was composed by human beings thousands of years ago. Therefore, anything written in the Torah may be challenged by new discoveries in science, philosophy and truth. Our emphasis is truth, not dogma.
This is not to throw out the baby with the bath water, but to retain only those values that we believe a loving and merciful God would inspire. Universal Judaism will continue to evolve over time and our positions may change to keep up with the maturity of human understanding.
Our support of the right kind of values that will help us all to come together as members of the same species in peace and understanding is critical at this time. We share much more in common than we have differences. Let us pray and work for the unity of all humankind in universal love and respect.
Grants Pass
Oregon
97526
United States
