The Head, the Heart and the Hand Jew

By Avi Eisen
Montclair State University

Above is the symbol of Congregation Agudath Israel in Caldwell, NJ; the head, heart, and hand Jew. This symbol, for me, is a reminder that there is more than one way to relate to God, a concept I myself had not understood until almost a year and a half ago. These three aspects relate to things we as a part of the Jewish community should do even if we as individuals cannot perform them all.

The head Jew is the thinker, teacher, and student. The Conservative Movement has always tried to create ways to adapt our ever-changing culture to the rich history and traditions of our Jewish lifestyle. We continue to better our understanding of the world we live in by learning about the various advances in our society, while looking for guidance from the traditions of the past, seeing if we can learn something new as these changes occur.

The hand Jew lends help to anyone who may need it, be it something big like Israel, Darfur, etc., or just helping various people who pass by every day. This represents people who take time out of their day to help someone who may be unable to do so themselves no matter the reason, like visiting the elderly, chauffeuring someone who is unable to drive, donating money to a cause, etc. The hand Jew actively pursues ways to help other people.

The heart Jew has been described to me as the praying Jew. However, if you examine the Torah, no one prayed during the time of the Bible. B’nai Israel performed ritual sacrifices and even those were mostly performed only after someone transgressed.

This is a very powerful thing to realize. Someone would bring a sacrifice when they did something wrong. This means the person would have to admit to themselves that they made an error. Then they would have to parade their sacrifice through the streets on their way to the Temple where everyone could see. The individual would then have to confess their sin to the Kohen (priest) before the Kohen could transfer the sins to the animal and sacrifice it.

I believe the heart Jew is a Jew of faith. Not just faith in God, but faith in themself. They have the conviction to believe in what is right and to follow these beliefs to the end, no matter where it takes them. Maybe they also have faith in God and go to shul regularly to pray. But I think that it’s more than that. The heart Jew stands by their beliefs, ready to act on them.

These three aspects encompass the many different things we do as Jews, and how, in their own way, they all relate back to God. Relating to God and believing in God are not only about the things we say to God (prayer) but about the things we do as well. These three aspects guide us as to what we should do as Jews, and helping strive to better ourselves and everything around us.

[Posted 5/25/06]