Tradition and Change

Tevye singing about "Tradition" in Fiddler on the Roof

It was quite a few years ago now that I watched the movie “Fiddler on the Roof” for the first and only time. I remember, though not well, the movie itself as quite a bombastic display, and being a little difficult to feel totally invested in.

Yet, the underlying theme has stuck with me: That of the timeless evolutionary battle, between the ideals of “tradition,” or the fixed-nature, and “progress”, the ever-changing one. 

In the story, the main character Tevye (pronounced Tev Yuh), is a bearded, magnetic bear-of-a-father, whose many redeeming qualities are often overwhelmed by his strong self-identification with Jewish beliefs. It opens with Tevye’s most memorable belting of the word, and song: “Tradition!” - A resounding dedication to 'tradition' as the righteous way of life. And more specifically, the traditional roles of the father, mother, and children, as well as that of match-maker - the one responsible for assigning partnerships to the children, and thereby ensuring life will continue in the traditional way. 

Thus ensues a 3 hour battle between tradition and changing of the times, for Tevye's three daughters have the audacity to wish to choose their own husbands. Tevye much prefers the traditional method of the village-matchmaker.

First this is tested by a daughter who chooses to marry below her perceived class, to a tailor instead of a 'rich' butcher. A second daughter then falls in love and departs with a radical social activist - poor Tevye’s worst nightmare! Until that is, the third daughter marries outside of the Jewish faith altogether - an unthinkable act against tradition, which leads Tevye to cast her out of the family. 

Despite its shortcomings, the film's clear focus on this theme marked an inflection point for me. Something which I had never considered so directly before - when is tradition the preferred route on the road of life, and when is it right to embark upon the sea of change?

For many, tradition is the all important constant, bringing balance and stability to life. For some, like poor Tevye, that translates to feeling that all change is unacceptable and out of harmony with the way things are meant to be. 

For many others, and on the other end of the spectrum, change is not only upon us, but represents the primary hope for humanity - the idea that we can and will evolve beyond what we are today, through forward 'progress'.

When viewed as separate realities, we are left with one side focused on keeping things the same, and one side focused on the making of change. 

Whether these dueling perspectives find themselves at odds in social customs, economic policies, governance, education, culture, or literally any other human endeavor, tradition and change appear to be engaged in a perpetual battle for directional supremacy. 

Recently someone stated to me: 'Tradition is that which has worked in the past.' The implication in this statement seemed to be, ‘so we should value it above all else.’ Indeed, we should value it. As Tevye would have us realize, in our traditions we have common ground for relating to life and serving one another with some continuity through the passing of generations.  

And yet, to relate to tradition alone as a kind of salvation, without also acknowledging the perpetual evolution which accompanies human existence, is a very incomplete formula. This reminds me of a similar sentiment I once heard stated as someone’s philosophy for their life: “Let nothing new arise.”

Well, good luck! Change is one of the few promises of the human experience. This is both what makes tradition necessary - to hold some thread of commonality and togetherness over the shifting sands of time - and also why it must not be applied rigidly, lest we place ourselves in the perpetual tension of living in opposition to the very nature of life itself.

In the case of poor Tevye, his attachment to tradition comes at the cost of his own family’s togetherness. To compound his plight, the village which represents the best of tradition as he could define it, becomes subject to a forced eviction by the non-Jewish, Russian authorities. 

Tevye's story presents the consideration of how to reconcile life, between existing established patterns and the ever-evolving journey of consciousness? Are we able to realize the import of both aspects of the human experience? Or has our own pendulum of understanding swung towards only one side of this relationship? This can easily be identified in the 'staunch' conservative, perceived as being totally closed off to anything new, or the 'radical' progressive, often pushing for change no matter the actual need or ultimate cost.

A good litmus test might be these two questions:

1. Are you able to perceive value in having established traditions, be they social, economic, religious, political or other? 

2. Are you able to acknowledge a basic pattern of evolution and change as a fundamental quality of life itself?

If one of these two is hard to trust or believe in, then perhaps we should be willing to dive a little deeper into our own relationship to life.

Contrary to popular belief, the two ideas are not actually mutually exclusive at all. In fact, if one can sincerely give space for the two to exist simultaneously, we may even learn to be a witness of the important role that both play.

The real issue we are up against, is our own willingness and ability to not be self-identified in duality. That is, to strive to relate to life from God's perspective, not the human one of polarization and separation.

For every example of a tradition which works for some, there is the example of a tradition which has righteously been abandoned for others - Lest we still cling to our right to own other humans as slaves, or the expressed devotion of sacrificing goats on the altar at church, or find ourselves in a perpetual battle of swords and arrows with our neighbors from yonder hill - traditions must change. 

This also isn’t to say, that all change is good. Forced and insensitive change can and does lead to identity crisis, loss of purpose, and spiritual and material despair. Change is ideal when it is tempered, tested, and arrived at through gradual refinements, to ultimately arrive at new, positive directions - that we may in fact, ultimately realize these changes, as new “traditions.” 

Often such shifts are far from the subtle, 'organic' course of events of life, however, and change is instead born out of necessity, and even desperation. We must simply do our best.

For our own spiritual journey, when we step back from our personal likes and dislikes, judgements and pedestals for relating to life, we may easily observe that the establishment of tradition will always give way to change, and positive change will often bring about the creation of new tradition - that which is worth passing on.

In this way, rather than a battle at all, one refreshes and renews the other. 

For each of us, we may learn to carefully balance our own relationship to life - through keeping traditions which serve us, and also stepping gracefully into the change which God will inevitably bring about. This is the fiddler on the roof - playing the song of tradition, while balancing precariously on the roof of change.

Perhaps then, we can both honor and respect that which has come before, while we yet remain non-attached to any dogmas for how things must be; in this we are both balanced, and open to the infinite possibilities which the Spirit may present this day.

Lord, may we know and honor all traditions which thou hast given us and which yet serve the good of this world, And may we also be willing to make all the righteous changes in our life, to find you here and now, in all that is preserved for tomorrow, all that is born of your Spirit today, and all that is ready to dissolve back into you. Help my own most treasured tradition to be my daily devotion presented on the altar of my love for Thee. Thy will be done Lord, on earth, as it is in Heaven.