Rabbi Philip Weintraub
Congregation Agudas Israel
September 26, 2014
Rosh Hashanah Day 2
Lo alecha ham'lacha ligmor,
Lo alecha ligmor.
V'lo ata ben chorim l'hibatil mimena,
V'lo ata ben chorin
In Pirkei Avot, a collection of Jewish wisdom in the Mishnah, Rabbi Tarfon teaches “ He used to say: It is not incumbent upon you to finish the task. Yet, you are not free to desist from it. If you have studied much in the Torah much reward will be given you, for faithful is your employer who shall pay you the reward of your labor. And know that the reward for the righteous shall be in the time to come.”
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. . .in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.” With those words, Dickens began a novel that I have never read. His Tale of Two Cities, writes of the trauma of the French Revolution, a chaotic, violence-filled time. Written in 1859, war had only recently been concluded in Crimea. Darwin’s Origin of the Species was about to be published. Turkish troops bombarded Aleppo after a pogrom against Christians. In the United States, we were on the eve of the Civil War, with slave states and free states competing in Congress. Just three years before, a Senator from South Carolina beat a Senator from Massachusetts on the Senate floor. The world was in turmoil.
One hundred and forty years later, Billy Joel sang:
Rosenbergs, H-Bomb, Sugar Ray, Panmunjom
Brando, The King And I, and The Catcher In The Rye
Eisenhower, Vaccine, England's got a new queen
Marciano, Liberace, Santayana goodbye
We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it
In recent years, we have seen violence around the world. From September 11 to the present, we have seen violence on a terrible scale. Terrorists of all stripes have gathered together under flags of religion and attacked those who did not worship or believe as they did. The rights of women have been under attack worldwide and even in our own country, women’s access to healthcare has been under siege. For the first time since the Shoah, we saw widespread anti-Semitism--not just anti-Israel behavior but true anti-Semitism. We saw Jews attacked in Paris, throughout Europe and even in Boston, LA and the Upper East Side. While we feel safe here, we have more security for these services than in other years.
At the same time, we have seen survey after survey lamenting the lack of Jewish participation in communities, further assimilation, and many questions about the future of the Conservative Movement. Yet amidst all of this tsurris, I have been watching these walls go up. I have seen the Jewish community unite in ways that could not have been imagined even a few years ago. Within our own shul, we have seen huge increases in participation, connection and community. Our numbers may be limited, but our impact is tremendous.
This morning, I want to share a little bit of my own vision, my own beliefs and my own dreams for what is possible here and in the Jewish world. In these words, I hope to inspire you. I hope to dream with you. I hope to help you hope.
At the core of my being, I believe in Gd, Torah and Israel. While those beliefs can not easily be summarized without us remaining here for a semester, I believe that Jews have a Brit, a covenant with the Divine. As such, we have special rights and special responsibilities. When we live our lives in accordance with this covenant, we find ourselves happier, healthier, and more whole. In my understanding, this brit is part of the purpose of the entire world. By fulfilling the mitzvot, by observing the commandments, we are truly helping to improve the world on a cosmic level. Now, whether or not you believe in the Gd-shaped hole I spoke about last year, or see your life as having such cosmic significance, most people find greater satisfaction in their lives when they see themselves as part of mission. The unification of Gd, Torah and Israel bring us to a realization of the covenant and to our greater purposes as Jews. I understand that not all of us understand Gd, Torah and Israel in exactly the same way. That is OK. Learning and living together, we bring a deeper wisdom and a deeper connection to Gd.
I believe that Gd limits Gd’s own power, giving us free will. This means we have the responsibility to make good choices--just like a responsible parents teaches their child about right and wrong, and then gives them the freedom to make good choices (at developmentally appropriate ages). Yet, sometimes everything works out perfectly, whether we call it karma or Divine Providence, in my kishkes, I know there is more to it!
Torah was a gift through revelation at Sinai, yet as Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote, Torah was our first Midrash. The Holy Scroll we read from was touched by human hands, by scribes and scholars who tried to turn what they heard into a document we read today. Through our oral tradition, through our commentaries, through our conversations, the text and the law changes to reflect our own situation, the revelation continues to THIS VERY DAY. Gd might have known that one day teenagers would have iPhones, but the Talmud did not. We have to figure out what use of them is kosher! As Jews, we must continue to adapt to the world, but help the world adapt to us--bringing our Jewish values to every aspect of our lives, to everything we do.
Israel is a gift. It is a land, a people, a nation, a modern country. It was given to Abraham by Gd and through the miracle of the United Nations, Jewish dreamers, and the Israel Defense Forces, it came from practically nothing into a great nation. Today it is a vibrant country. While not without its challenges and its numerous detractors, Israel is our home, our refuge. If life changes here or for our brethren around the world, we are safer when we have a place where we can escape, as needed. The very existence of this state is a miracle.
With every fiber of my being, I believe that the Brit, the covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah, is expressed authentically and powerfully through Conservative Judaism. In our movement, we see that when we open our doors to all Jews (and those with Jewish souls who have not yet discovered their Judaism), we can understand Gd, Torah and Israel more fully and fruitfully. By acknowledging that women are human beings with Jewish obligations, counting them in a minyan, accepting their right to stand on and teach from the bimah, we see our tradition more powerfully. Different people have different strengths, keeping an entire group of people out of leadership roles deprives the Jewish people and community of essential leadership. Sexuality is an important expression of our family values, yet our understanding of family is changing. Some families have a father and a mother, others have two moms, or two dads. That is not a threat to our faith or our society, but an opportunity to bring holiness into the world.
Jewish law, halacha, is neither static nor unchanging. It reflects the context and the culture of the time--as well as the Divine Will. In a Jewish book store, I once saw a yiddish book about Passover. In it, Jews wearing streimels (fur hats) and black coats crossed the sea--with no women in sight. Within 100% certainty, I can tell you that the Israelites did not wear fur hats. They wore what their Egyptian neighbors wore. This is an important reminder that modesty, appropriate clothing for shul and work, all change depending on the context, yet is an important Jewish value. I am not about to wear a bathing suit to shul, but if I was in a swim meet, it would not be appropriate for me to wear a kittel either!
When I eat, I make choices about the food that enters my body. As part of that sacred covenant, I keep kosher. In my own home, every processed food item has a hechsher, a mark showing that it is kosher. Yet, I also believe in the Jewish values of k’vod habriut, of respect for others. I know of the importance of hachnasat orchim, of welcoming guests. If you do not YET have a kosher home, I will still come visit, if invited. I will even have a cup of coffee, something to drink or something kosher in your house. My relationship with YOU is just as important as my relationship with Gd. I see within each one of you the Divine spark, the reminder that you were created b’tzelem Elohim, in the image of GD.
Conservative Judaism has a tremendous future ahead of it. As the vital center of American (and worldwide) Judaism, it teaches that we can and must be a part of the world around us. We were not meant to hide behind ghetto walls, but must be demonstrating to the world the values that we live by. We must teach those around us that to be good Jew is to be a good person, that responsible business ethics, medical ethics, mentschligkeit, are the core of Jewish values. While neither Orthodoxy or Reform are monolithic, while each has strengths and weaknesses, I believe that Conservative Judaism is STILL the future of American Judaism. We can be authentic, knowledgeable in our own traditions, while living fully as Americans. We can recognize the wisdom in our greater society, while rejecting the materialism and violence that seems to be a part of that society. In this country, we are blessed with a Constitution. While some of its rights are regularly debated, we live here in safety, security and with great opportunity. In America, we can live freely as Jews, can promote our viewpoints without threat and thrive. As Conservative Jews, it may be time for us to be more vocal about our views. We are the founders and supporters of virtually every Jewish communal organization in the country. Around the country, Conservative Jews are the biggest donors to both Federation and Chabads--that is a good thing--unless you are donating to Chabad because you think they are more Jewish than we are--THEN it is a BIG problem. As the bridge between Reform and Orthodox, Conservative Jews are uniters. While we can suffer from middle child syndrome, we must speak up, teach our children and demonstrate that we are living examples of our tradition. We are essential parts of the Jewish chain of tradition. We need to shout that from the rooftops. To a certain level, we need to evangelize within and without. We need to teach others that they can find more holiness in their lives by observing Jewish tradition and if they are not yet Jewish, we need to welcome them in and help them find their Jewish neshamas.
My message this morning is that we should not despair, but hope. My classmate, Rabbi Joshua Rabin, wrote similarly in this quarter’s Kolot: Voices of Conservative Judaism. Read it and be inspired!
Recently, I spoke with a member of the community. In no uncertain terms, he told me that he was glad he was older, that he had lived a wonderful life and was not sure that was going to be possible for the next generation. This person had lived through World War Two, the Shoah, the Korean War, Vietnam, race riots in this country, the Civil Rights Movement and so much more. My response was that I could not imagine being born in any other time, that I am happy now and see that there is so much hope for the future. Don’t listen to those screaming the end is near. The future is bright, IF we work to make it so.
Wednesday night, I began with a story of hope. Yesterday and on Yom Kippur, I am continuing this message. Yes, there is systematic change needed for our country to thrive. We need to make sure that poor people get a real chance at the American Dream, that education is affordable, that public schools are excellent, that an education brings opportunities for good jobs here and not just in China or India. We have to make sure that a Jewish life is affordable, that kosher food does not break the bank. We have to make sure that our institutions do not just survive but thrive, that they teach moral character, Jewish values, and inspire their members to live better, more whole, more fruitful lives. Even with President Obama, race remains a complicated and fraught issue in this country. There is much work to be done.
In a complex world, it is easy to despair. We can say that hope is lost, that nothing can change, that WE cannot change. Yet time and again, we discover that with a little bit of elbow grease, much can be accomplished. Martin Luther King, Junior spoke powerfully, "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."
As Jews, we have a responsibility to be an Ohr LaGoyim, a light unto the nations. To be that light, we need hope. We need the confidence that we are working on a great task, working on a great partnership, working with Gd. Looking around this room, I know that we are going in the right direction. We are working on a Holy Mission. As, Andy Grammar has been singing,
I know it's hard, know its hard,
To remember sometimes,
But you gotta keep your head up, oh,
And you can let your hair down, eh.
CAI is a place where you can let your hair down, and together we can lift our heads and hearts up. At the end of the day, there is no place I would rather be than right here, with you, right now. Today is the day the Lrd has made, rejoice in it!
L'Shanah Tovah Tikatevu, May you be written for a good year.
ps All song lyrics are the property of their copyright holders.
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