Rabbi Philip Weintraub
Congregation Agudas Israel
Parshat Lech Lecha
10/12/13
Last year at this time Rebecca and I stood before you to celebrate the birth of our daughter. We spoke of the family and Jewish history of the name we chose, using this parsha Lech Lecha, to discuss the power of names. In our parsha this morning, we find Avram and Sarai becoming Avraham and Sarah, cementing their Jewish identity through the power of a name change. In our tradition, names have great meaning. It is said that when a child is named, the parents have a prophetic moment, knowing that their choice will be a representation of their child. Sometimes this prophecy does not work. Some people simply do not match their names--and sometimes people change their names to match their true selves.
Naming and identity go hand in hand. Even the pronunciation of the same name can have different meanings. Using variations of Avraham, we can see this concept. If you name your child Avi, you probably are an observant Jew, but not ultra-Orthodox. If your child is Avruhum, you might be more frum. If your son is Abe, he might be old English or American--the same with Abraham.
In the last two weeks, there has been a lot of tsurris about the Pew Foundation’s survey of American Jews. High intermarriage, Jews that are proud of being Jewish but claim no religion, dropping affiliation, and the decline of Reform and Conservative Judaism are all causing stress among rabbis, cantors, educators and other Jewish leaders. Writers are bemoaning these numbers and in the popular vernacular: generally freaking out.
At the same time, I have seen many articles looking at the numbers through rose-colored glasses. They note that at no time in history could Jews be this proud of being Jewish, be so open in schools, work, life that they were Jewish and face as little discrimination and anti-Semitism, as Jews in America face. Some even argue that assimilation is great and that our relatives fresh off the boat would be happy that their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren can just be Americans without the Jewish part.
Like most Conservative rabbis, I tend to take a middle-ground on issues. I am happy to hear that many Jews feel strongly about their Jewish identity, but I think that living a Jewish life strengthens Jewish identity even more than some undefinable Jewish culture. As Mordechai Kaplan wrote, Judaism is a Civilization. It is the art, the music, the langage, the land, the people, the writings, the history, the practices. It is everything that Jews do. Yet, for that to translate as an inheritance, as a yerusha, it needs a makor, a source. In my mind, Gd, Israel and the Jewish people together form the core, the essence of Judaism. To live fully as Jews, we must interact and have a relationship with all of these facets. This is the lesson I teach over and over again. This is what brings meaning to our lives and to our families.
Reading the articles about current demographics, it seems like many wonder about the chicken and the egg. Are Jews less interested in Judaism because they intermarry or do they intermarry because they are not interested in Judaism? On one foot I do not have a simple answer to this question. When I look at Jewish history I see that in many societies, whether due to prejudice or anti-Semitism, it was simply impossible for Jews to intermarry. There were always Jews that left the fold. (One of the surprising statistics to many liberal Jews was that approximately half of Jews raised Orthodox either are now more liberal Jews or do not identify as Jewish. Meaning that assimilation is a challenge not just for liberal Jews, but for Orthodox ones, as well.) In the past, if someone was no observant, they were out of the community. If someone married outside the faith, their relatives sat shiva. Today we have discovered that someone can have a strong Jewish identity and have non-Jewish spouses or parents. Someone can work on Shabbat, yet say Kiddush before going to the office! (The funny thing about the last example is that 100 years ago, that was pretty common. Synagogues had early minyanim on Saturday and Holidays not because people wanted davening at 7 and cholent by 10, but because people were going to their stores!
For some these recent studies are cause to mourn. Without putting on rose colored glasses, I think we are at a crossroads of Jewish history. We can continue as we always have, and we will be fine--to a certain extent. Or we can ask more questions. We can consider what is working in our communities and what is not. I have mentioned before that just because a program or event worked in the past, does not mean it will work now and just because something failed previously, does not mean it will fail now.
Time, technology, life change faster now than ever before. As I look to the future of Judaism, the Jewish life I pray my daughter will have, I think the possibilities are endless. Within the Conservative umbrella, there are new learning opportunities, independent minyanim and communities that did not exist a decade ago. There are Jews across denominations who are bridging traditions and modernity in ways our ancestors could not have dreamed. Do they all fit into traditional definitions of Jewish law? No, but even within the four amot of halacha, there has been much innovation. Questions of life and death through the power of medical technology, organ donation, fertility treatments have all expanded our understanding of Jewish law. Science and technology have not only made observing Shabbat more complicated but help us understand the Divine in new ways.
At the end of the day, Judaism--especially in a place like Newburgh--, helps us with something sorely lacking in American society today--community. Whether in politics, community service organizations, fraternal organizations, have seen a significant drop in interest. Many today seem to care more about themselves than others. We see politicians who care only about being re-elected. They ignore their responsibilities, their (and our) obligations to the less fortunate. We see Masons and Elks and bowling teams with fewer and fewer people. We see churches around the country with fewer and fewer people in their pews. What we need today, more than ever, is community. This is what I see here. This is what I hope my daughter will have. We see people looking out for one another, helping one another with meals during shiva, assisting after the birth of a child. I see friends helping friends. I see families helping families. I see a reminder that we are not alone. Gd is with us AND Gd’s representatives are with us. To the ones we assist, we are angels. When we assist others we are GD’s presence, we are the image of GD. Let us not forget that!
My undergraduate thesis advisor, Jonathan Sarna, closed his powerful book (and an adult education offering for the spring): American Judaism with the words of Simon Rawidowicz, who in a few short lines bared the souls of generations of Jews, writing:
A nation dying for thousands of years. . .means a living nation. Our incessant dying means uninterrupted living, rising, standing up, beginning anew. . .If we are the last—let us be the last as our fathers and forefathers were. Let us prepare the ground for the last Jews who will come after us, and for the last Jews who will rise after them, and so on until the end of days.
When I read those words almost ten years ago, I was immediately struck by their truth. So often Jewish history and the fear of the future becomes the lachrymose conception of Jewish history; they tried to kill us; we won; let’s eat. As the Passover Haggadah reminds us, an enemy has risen against us in every generation, yet we have prevailed. In addition to the threats from without, every generation has been withered by assimilation— whether it was Assyrian or other pagan religions, Hellenism, Zorastrianism, Christianity, Islam, modern secularism; all have siphoned off some of the best and worst of every Jewish generation. And yet, we continue.
And yet we thrive.
Dr. Sarna signed my copy, writing “In the hope that you will write fresh chapters in this history.” My prayer is not that these words come true for me, but they come true for all of us and for our children. Our heritage, our Judaism, our life is rich and a blessing to the world. May our Jewish names and identities always be with us and may our lives be shaped by the Divine Will to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with Gd. Amen.
Sources include:
- Jonathan Sarna, American Judaism, Yale University Press (October 24, 2005)
- http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/01/us/poll-shows-major-shift-in-identity-of-us-jews.html?_r=2&
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