犹太男孩的成年礼

今天应邀参加了犹太男孩的成年礼（Bar Mitzvah），很受启发。现对此做点简单的介绍。

According to Jewish law, when Jewish children reach the age of majority (generally thirteen years for boys and twelve for girls) the become responsible for their actions, and “become a Bar or Bat Mitzvah”. Prior to this, the child’s parents hold the responsibility for the child’s adherence to Jewish law and tradition and, after this age, children bear their own responsibility for Jewish ritual law, tradition, and ethics and are privileged to participate in all areas of Jewish community life.

由此可见，犹太男孩在十三岁就要开始为自己的行为负责。可是, 难道仅仅是年龄吗?

In modern Jewish observance, the occasion of becoming a Bar or Bat Mitzvah usually involves the young man or woman being called to read the Torah and Haftarah portion at a Shabbat service and may also involve giving a D’Var Torah, a discussion of that week’s Torah portion. From this point on, males become entirely culpable and responsible for following Jewish law once they reach the age of 13, and females once they reach the age of 12.

从孩子对所要求部分经文全部用希伯来语诵读的这点来看，就可以看到孩子对其的熟悉程度。犹太男孩之所以可以在十三岁就开始对自己的行为负责，恐怕主要还是因为其早期对旧约的学习所至。也就是说孩子们对旧约中所包含的犹太律法、传统、道德早已耳熟能详了。家庭、学校以及社会当然也会提供必需的一些教育，但我个人认为，宗教学习，保证了孩子们学习的连续性和系统性。无论人们对旧约圣经作出怎样的评论，但它里面所包含的许多价值观，却具有普世的价值。比如，虔诚恭敬，心怀感恩，强调奉献，人的有罪认定，建立信仰，忏悔（就是反省之后的悔改愿望），契约精神，诚信，公平，正义，自制，尊重传统，等等，所有这一切才是一个人必须拥有的的真正的价值内核。本着这样的价值观去生活，加上恪守旧约里面固有的戒条，像摩西十戒，一个孩子就不太会迷失了。 以我一个非基督徒的眼光来看，中国的教育缺少了宗教教育这一个环节，加上又割裂了传统教育，就使得今天中国的教育直接就把人引向功名利禄的这条旁门左道了。


（一点随感而已，写下来以为纪念。）