IN PRAISE OF TRADITION

Could it be that tradition is gradually replacing religion?

If I raise this question today, it's because I found myself in a situation where I had to decide on a course of behavior that on the one hand was religious, but on the other more sympathetic, rather accommodating.

All our lives, we've lived with traditions, handed down to us by our parents and grandparents. We never asked why. It was perfectly normal.

But nowadays, traditions are being lost. Let me give you a simple example. The sacrifice of a rooster for the boy and a hen for the girl on the eve of Kippur. These little beasts were supposed to separate us from our faults and sins by dying in our place. At least, that's how the process was explained to us.

All this is called the Kaparot, a kind of atonement, redemption, penance - in other words, we need to be forgiven. There's also the case of Rosh Ha-Shana with its customs, which are part of the tradition, the apple, the pomegranate and the honey, as well as the 7 vegetables with couscous.

I'm tempted to believe that traditions are the culture of a people. And why not? When you realize that they've been with us for generations. They seem to be eternal.

Far be it from our parents to teach us what Montesquieu once said: "Ignorance is the mother of tradition".  No matter.

Funny as it may sound, I tend to associate tradition with progress. It owes it politeness. I find that the two arise from the same movement. Although some traditions are rather old-fashioned without much explanation as to their nature.

Here I am, ready and willing to choose one over the other. I confess I've lived a lot with my religion. It may have been good for me, but in the long run, it's repetitive. The charm is gone and so is the novelty.

I'm trying to imagine a battle between these two subjects. Who will win? And it's at this point that I come across a sentence by Arno Klarsfeld that shook me up a bit, because I saw myself in it: "Throughout the centuries and eras, the Jews have preserved and maintained their traditions without assimilating, and this non-assimilation was proof not only of their religious faith, but also of their deep love for their lost homeland".

Finally, what better way than to light two candles on Friday evening to welcome the CHABAT, a wonderful tradition that will never disappear.