Talmud Yoma

Rabbi Philip Weintraub

2/8/14

Parshat Tetzaveh

When is it ok to kill someone?  

Would we be better off without the yetzer hara, the “bad” impulse?

At what age do we start teaching children to fast for Yom Kippur?

When should a sick person or pregnant woman eat on Yom Kippur?

Does your office or a synagogue need a mezuzah?

Did Abraham follow the entire Torah?

What actually happened in the Holy Of Holies, the Kodesh HaKodashim, on Yom Kippur?

What’s the deal with the scapegoat on Yom Kippur?  Who is Azazel?

How did Manna look, taste, feel?

How did the High Priest use the Urim and Tummim to ask Gd questions and prophecize?

And why does it take until the 8th and final chapter for Yoma to get to the issues of fasting, bathing, avoiding comfortable shoes, and tshuvah?!

These are just a few of the questions that are discussed and sometimes answered in Tractate Yoma, the volume of Talmud theoretically discussing Yom Kippur.  While ostensibly a Holy Book, a volume discussing the details of the actions of the High Priest on Yom Kippur--the Avodah service we read that day, it includes many big ethical questions, amidst long discussions on sacrifice and offerings.

In my mind, Yoma is a perfect example of Judaism in the modern world.  As modern Jews, we live today, in the United States.  We do not offer sacrifices in the Temple, but instead come to synagogue.  We pray and watch what we eat, yet we do not tie a crimson thread to a goat and shove it off a cliff on Yom Kippur, waiting for the thread to turn white as snow and announce that the People Israel have been forgiven this year.  Yet we might blow shofar over the Hudson River or toss our crumbs in, symbolically throwing our sins away.

Some Jews might write off our traditions and our texts as antiquated, but amidst the discussions of sacrifices or where to go the bathroom or how large a mikvah needs to be, we find questions that resonate today.  We discover issues and problems that we share with our ancestors.  

In Parshat Tetzaveh, what we read this morning, Aaron, the High Priest’s uniform is discussed.  Amongst the details large and small are the issues of the breastplate, with the 12 jewels for the 12 tribes.  Within it, Exodus 28: 30  writes: “Inside the breastpiece of decision you shall place the Urim and Thummim, so that they are over Aaron's heart when he comes before the Lord.”

I might imagine that the primary issue the Talmud would have with our parsha is the specific details of the garments.  What did they look like? How were they constructed?  If the Temple would be rebuilt tomorrow, would the Cohanim be properly prepared? Exactly how did the prophecy work?? Yet the bigger issues the rabbis worry about is human--jealousy and honor!  Will the Cohen Gadol, the high priest, be upset if someone else wears his clothing?  What should the priest who leads the army wear?  What about a temporary Cohen Gadol?  

An important principle to the rabbis (and to us) is that we should always strive to raise our holiness, that we ma’alin bakodesh v’ein moridin, we increase holiness but do not diminish it.  Once a backup Cohen Gadol has worn the garments of the COhen Gadol and served in that role, he can no longer be a regular priest, yet once the Cohen Gadol is healthy enough to resume his duties, he does so, because he cannot decrease either!  The backup Cohen Gadol remains in limbo until the main Cohen Gadol dies!  

To any West Wing acolytes out there, it makes me think of when President Bartlett stepped down when his daughter was kidnapped.  The Speaker of the House took over, but had to resign his position.  From wikipedia: “The Speaker is required by the Presidential Succession Act of 1947 to resign as he can act as President only "upon his resignation as Speaker and as Representative in Congress". Walken himself states that no one can serve in two branches of the government at once”.

Returning to our Gemara, there is another section that really touched me.  After seven chapters of focusing on the role of the High Priest, with the various asides I began with, the last chapter focuses on the meat and potatoes of our modern observances--fasting, affliction, etc.  “The biblical basis for all the Yom Kippur prohibitions is Leviticus 16:29, which instructs, “You shall afflict your souls, and shall do no manner of work.”” Yet the rabbis are very uncomfortable with asceticism.  They do not say we must make ourselves uncomfortable.  We do not have to turn off the A/C or the heat on Yom Kippur (as needed).  We do not need to sit on nails or fast for weeks.  We are simply commanded to refrain from a handful of routine actions, to recognize that the day is different, to focus on reforming our souls and ignoring our bodies for 25 hours.

Yet, the rabbis are very concerned over those who are not pillars of health.  If pregnant women are hungry, they are required to eat.  They are to be reminded that it is Yom Kippur and if that does not stop their hunger, they MUST eat.  If a person is ill, we check with a doctor.  If the doctor says the patient must eat and the patient does not want to eat, he is forced to eat.  If the doctor says the patient can fast, but the patient feels he or she needs to eat, we listen to him or her and allow a broken fast.  Health comes first.  Even the chance of saving of a life allows the violation of the commandments of Shabbat (or Yom Kippur).  

In this building, we have discussed the importance of ethical and living wills, of medical directives.  In the last chapter of Yoma, these issues come to the forefront.  How far do we go to save a life?  What about if there is virtually no chance that the person will live?  Answers are given, but they are debated to this very day.

Earlier I mentioned that this tractate was a paradigm, a model for all of Jewish life.  Even as it includes sections that seem irrelevant to modern life, we discover that through study, the ideas and emotions, the questions and the answers ring true today.  I know many of you look at Torah, read commentaries and think about big questions.  As a rabbi, as a thinking Jew, we must make this part of our lives.  Whether it is 5 minutes a day or the hours we spend together on a Saturday morning, our lives are richer, more nuanced, more challenged, more meaningful when we make study a part of them.  

Shabbat Shalom

Sources:
http://www.jtsa.edu/PreBuilt/ParashahArchives/jpstext/tetzaveh.shtml

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glen_Allen_Walken

http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-life-and-religion/160836/daf-yomi-68

A brief thought

I just read this article on the Times of Israel:
http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/reigniting-prayers-passion/


Discussing the drama around SAR and Ramaz allowing women to wrap Tefillin at minyan (with caveats and conditions), the author wonders how we can inspire prayer rather than stifle it.

To me this is much of the lesson of the parsha. Mishpatim follows Yitro. After the highs of the Aseret HaDibrot, we have the details of the laws.  How do we jump from one to the other?

The simple answer is that we cannot live at a wedding.  We live in real life.  God knows that and puts all of those laws after the big ones.  The way we live each day is the representation of the ideas of last week.  The way we talk to our spouses, do our business, love, live and work is more accurate than how we perceive our ethics!  We have to walk the walk, not just talk the talk.  If we can find passion in that, we are truly following God's ways!

Are you a listener or a solver? Are they mutually exclusive?

Rabbi Philip Weintraub

Congregation Agudas Israel

Parshat Vaera

12/28/2013

What does it mean to be listener or a leader?  When do they overlap and when are they different categories? In our parsha, Va’era, we hear about the dynamics of Gd, Moses, Aaron and later on, Pharaoh.  

In this parsha (and others), we find Moshe as a reluctant leader.  He feels that he does not have the necessary skills.  He is not a comfortable speaker.  He fears people will not listen to him or will not respect him.  He goes to his mentor, GD, with these concerns and GD does not seem to respond.

י  וַיְדַבֵּר ה", אֶל-מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹר.	10 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying:
יא  בֹּא דַבֵּר, אֶל-פַּרְעֹה מֶלֶךְ מִצְרָיִם; וִישַׁלַּח אֶת-בְּנֵי-יִשְׂרָאֵל, מֵאַרְצוֹ.	11 'Go in, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, that he let the children of Israel go out of his land.'
יב  וַיְדַבֵּר מֹשֶׁה, לִפְנֵי ה" לֵאמֹר:  הֵן בְּנֵי-יִשְׂרָאֵל, לֹא-שָׁמְעוּ אֵלַי, וְאֵיךְ יִשְׁמָעֵנִי פַרְעֹה, וַאֲנִי עֲרַל שְׂפָתָיִם.  {פ}	12 And Moses spoke before the LORD, saying: 'Behold, the children of Israel have not hearkened unto me; how then shall Pharaoh hear me, who am of uncircumcised lips?' {P}
יג  וַיְדַבֵּר ה", אֶל-מֹשֶׁה וְאֶל-אַהֲרֹן, וַיְצַוֵּם אֶל-בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, וְאֶל-פַּרְעֹה מֶלֶךְ מִצְרָיִם--לְהוֹצִיא אֶת-בְּנֵי-יִשְׂרָאֵל, מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם.  {ס}	13 And the LORD spoke unto Moses and unto Aaron, and gave them a charge unto the children of Israel, and unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt. {S}

GD seems to ignore Moses’ concern.  Yet, he now begins to speak to Aaron, as well.  In effect, Gd appoints Aaron as Moses’ spokesperson, and then continues as if nothing happened!  The rest of the chapter details genealogies and it is not until chapter 7 that we hear more about this appointment.  There we hear:

א  וַיֹּאמֶר ה" אֶל-מֹשֶׁה, רְאֵה נְתַתִּיךָ אֱלֹהִים לְפַרְעֹה; וְאַהֲרֹן אָחִיךָ, יִהְיֶה נְבִיאֶךָ.	1 And the LORD said unto Moses: 'See, I have set thee in God's stead to Pharaoh; and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet.
ב  אַתָּה תְדַבֵּר, אֵת כָּל-אֲשֶׁר אֲצַוֶּךָּ; וְאַהֲרֹן אָחִיךָ יְדַבֵּר אֶל-פַּרְעֹה, וְשִׁלַּח אֶת-בְּנֵי-יִשְׂרָאֵל מֵאַרְצוֹ.	2 Thou shalt speak all that I command thee; and Aaron thy brother shall speak unto Pharaoh, that he let the children of Israel go out of his land.
ג  וַאֲנִי אַקְשֶׁה, אֶת-לֵב פַּרְעֹה; וְהִרְבֵּיתִי אֶת-אֹתֹתַי וְאֶת-מוֹפְתַי, בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם.	3 And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and multiply My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt.

So on the one hand, Gd was a clear leader.  Gd heard Moses’ concern and immediately addressed it.  Gd solved the problem, forcing Moses to confront his issues and move on.

I wonder how this method of mentoring would work in the modern day.  If I were to go to one of my rabbinic colleagues/mentors, I would hope they would address my concerns, rather than just fixing them.  Yet, Gd does exactly that.  

When we hear a problem are we supposed to fix it or listen and allow the person to make their own plan?

Regarding this issue we sometimes speak about gender dynamics.  Whether true or not, some say that “women listen” and “men fix.”  I am sure we could find dozens of examples where this is absolutely true or absolutely false, but I think that ideally, listening and fixing are two very important tools in our interpersonal toolbox.

As most of you know, one of the ways I continue my rabbinic education is through clinical-pastoral education, CPE.  CPE is a program that focuses on listening.  We are to be non-judgmental, calming presences.  The focus is on hearing people where they are.  It is not about doing nothing, but about helping the person feel their feelings, recognize their situation and decide what they need to do.  Rather than giving a person the “answer”, the focus is on helping them discover their choices for themselves.  Being present and allowing them to consider their own feelings or choices can be very powerful, especially when one is present with people who rarely get to consider their own actions or feelings.

On the other hand, there are many cases when giving a solution is quite helpful.  In the military, it is much better for soldiers to follow orders than to write their own.  In an operating room, the surgeon tells those around her what they need to do.  In one’s own home, sometimes it is better for a parent to say “this is what we are having for dinner.”

At the same time, Rashi, our friendly medieval rabbi and commentator, writes that the midrash emphasizes that Pharaoh must be spoken to with respect to his position.  Even as Gd commands them to tell Pharaoh “let my people go”, he reminds them that they must respect the dignity due to his office.  (This is a lesson many in politics should remember!)  Yet, it is not just for those in positions of power.  When we talk to others, whether we are listening or trying to solve their problems, we must show them the appropriate respect.  I think this says a lot about the Jewish tradition that even as Gd helped the Jewish people leave Egypt, with all of the signs and wonders, we were still concerned about Pharaoh’s feelings and public image!

I read an article recently about parenting.  It was about how a father interacted with his children.  As they were growing up, he would regularly advise them how to deal with different situations.  After awhile, he realized he was missing out.  He was not giving them the space to discover their own solutions.  One day he decided to try just listening.  He found out that his children had gained great problem-solving skills in spite of him.  When given the opportunity, they could find their own way to reason.  He also discovered that sometimes a problem did not need to be solved at all.  Sometimes his children just wanted him to empathize, to acknowledge that teenage life (like all life) isn’t always fair, that friends can be mean and frustrating.

In the Jewish tradition, shalom bayit, peace in the home is a very important value.  It is so important that Gd told a lie of omission to Abraham to preserve his peace with Sarah!  In the interests of shalom bayit, sometimes it can be helpful for partners to think about what kind of conversation they are having.  Do they want their spouse to ONLY listen and empathize OR do they want suggestions OR somewhere in between?  

Gd and Moses in THIS place in Torah offer us one model, but it is NOT the only one.

Questions to ponder:

Are there sources in the Torah that demonstrate empathetic listening?

How do we decide what model to use in any given situation.

Relational Judaism?

Rabbi Philip Weintraub

Congregation Agudas Israel

Parshat Toldot

November 2, 2013

This week we are reading Parshat Toldot.  We tell the story of Isaac and Rebecca, of Rebecca’s prophecy, the birth of Jacob and Esau, the convoluted blessings of Jacob and Esau and Rebecca’s driving role throughout the parsha.  What we have in this parsha, is the motivations, the drive, the influences of our biblical characters, what makes them tick.  In life, we can consider these same factors in how we treat each other, how we listen to each other, how we hear each others stories.  For many Jews, the Torah is a book of laws, of instruction.  While I certainly believe that is true, I think that the narratives, the stories are really what inspire us.

In Rashi’s commentary on the beginning of the Torah, the first verses of Genesis, he writes:

[Rashi] "In the beginning..." Rabbi Yitzhak said: The Torah should not have begun until "This month shall be for you [the first of the months]" (Exodus 12:1) which is the first mitzvah (commandment) which the Jewish people were commanded.

Here Rashi quotes one understanding of Torah, that it is a book of laws.  Yet he then continues:

[RASHI] Then for what reason does it begin with "In the beginning..."? Because of "He told His people the power of His works, to give them the inheritance of nations" (Psalm 111:6) That is, if the nations of the world say to the Jewish people, "You are robbers, because you conquered the lands of the seven [Canaanite] nations", they can answer them: "The whole world belongs to God, who created it and gave it to whomever it appeared right to Him. It was His will to give it to them and it was His will to take it from them and give it to us."

By sharing the story, the narrative, we claim ownership not only of Israel, defending our claim against the other nations, but we also claim ownership of our story.  We show our connection not only to the land, but to ourselves, to our heritage, to our peoplehood.

In the 11th century, Rabbi Yitzhak (Isaac) Alfasi, commonly known as the RIF, changed our understanding of the Talmud.  By cutting out much of the debate and leaving only the conclusions, he presented a preliminary code of Jewish law, a severely edited version of the Talmud.  For centuries it has been used to help determine Jewish law.  Yet a few centuries later, Jacob ben Solomon ibn Habib did the exact opposite, he created a version of the Talmud with only the midrashim, the stories, the narratives.  Exiled from Spain, he published his great work in Thessalonika.  Recognizing that the exiled Jews needed not only the laws, but the stories that inspire us, the narratives that help us see the holiness of our lives and our Torah.  (One of my teachers, Marjorie Lehman has published a phenomenal book about his motivations and writings, while an academic book, I think we could have a great discussion about it one day!)

This past Monday and Tuesday I spent at JTS, studying with the Rabbinical Assembly and JOIN-the Jewish Organizing Institute and Network.  The conference was called “Clergy 2.0: Leading Through Relationship.”  It accords with a book I just picked up and much of the recent research on strong and effective Jewish communities.  What the research tells us is that for us to be successful, we cannot just ask people the same questions and do all the same things.  We have to be part of our greater Jewish community, our national USCJ community, but we also have to be uniquely Newburghian.  We have to use our local talents and stories.  We have to really know each other as human beings and be a relational community.  Now, many of us have had many, many conversations with each other over the years.  Yet, with all of that, we can find that we have “known” each other for years, and do not truly know each other.  We know the surface, the names, the places, but not what motivates and drives us.

In the coming months, I would like to reflect on the lessons I learned at this conference.  I would like us to have the opportunities to share our stories in different ways.  I want to know what drives you?  What do you enjoy?  What inspires you?  What aspects of our congregation push you to be better?  How does prayer or spirituality drive your life?  Where do you find GD?  By asking and answering questions like this, we can greatly improve our interactions with each other, within our congregation and help us truly be a relational community.

As an example, I will share one story from my week.  My wife and I have similar computers and our chargers work interchangeably. My computer’s charger died.  I ordered a new one.  Wanting to play around and see if I could fix it, I did not immediately throw out the broken one.  My wife seeing two cords downstairs tosses one.  Unfortunately she threw away the working one.  At first I was really annoyed.  I just spent good money on a new charger and she threw the old (but working one away), leaving upstairs the dead one!  The next morning though, I laughed.  My grandparents would have found it pretty hilarious.  Why?  My grandmother, is a pack rat.  If she could keep anything, she will.  My grandfather was a tinkerer, he would fix things and resell them, but he also hated clutter and junk.  He would regularly toss things from the house, causing my grandmother stress--but keeping their apartment in good order.  When he passed away, that check was gone and her apartment became very, very cluttered.  For me, seeing their relationship parallel to my own made me consider my own tendencies to keep more than I need!  It makes me even more grateful to have my wife in my life, who can help keep me from saving every interesting article I ever find or every thing I have ever written!

In just a brief story like that, you can see that family is important to me, that I am proud to stand in the footsteps of those that came before me, but that I am also aware of the less positive traits I have and that I have inherited.  By being self-aware, I can hopefully work on my behavior so that I do not NEED Rebecca to toss my junk for me!

In a shul setting, we could talk about what brought you or me to your Jewish heritage.  Are you here because of your parents’ or grandparents’ inspiration? Did you have a moment in life where you felt the presence of GD and wanted to keep that feeling?  Do you love the melodies of the service?  Are they a comfort for you?  Does the beauty of our sanctuary help you find peace in the crazy world in which we live?  Do I inspire you through my words?

For me, I think back to a moment in Valdosta, GA.  While I can talk more about it another time, on one foot, as a 17-year-old, I subbed for the rabbi, who had known me for all of two weeks, but saw that I had the ritual skills to cover.  Standing on that bimah, I found my home, and have worked to find myself there since then.  He took a chance on me, recognizing that this young whippersnapper might be able to share a few words of Torah and lead the services.  That is one reason I am proud to stand before you today.

What are your stories?  What drives you?  To answer those questions, I would like to continue the listening campaign I began when I arrived.  Yet, I want to change how I listen, the questions I ask and better discover you and your interests.  I want to partner with you in getting to know our community on a deeper level.  I want us to consider our future and make CAI the best community it can be.  I want to thank you for all that you do and hope that our years together will lead to better relationships for all here at CAI.  

Shabbat Shalom!

Are we all sinners?

Rabbi Philip Weintraub

Congregation Agudas Israel

Sometimes I feel that there are so many details in Jewish law that it is impossible to follow them all. Nobody can. So everybody fails at something (at least) sometime. Are we then all "sinners"? How can we live with constant failure?

Below is my answer. At the link are three other rabbinic perspectives!

http://www.jewishvaluescenter.org/question.php?id=1057&cprg=%2Fsearch.php%3Fsearchtxt%3Dsinners%26what%3DA

In many ways, I think this is one of the classic questions of life, law and Judaism.  How can we live with constant failure?

I think the classic answer is another question: is the glass half full or half empty?  Do we look at this as constant failure or constant success?  

The ritual mitzvot are essential to our lives.  Keeping kosher, observing Shabbat and festivals, praying regularly bring great meaning to our souls.  They structure our lives and help us find balance in a world always leading towards excess.  They teach us that we are most happy when we are happy with what we have, but also remind us that there is always more we can strive for--not just materially but spiritually.  Many of these mitzvot we might classify as bein adam l’Makom, between a person and GD.

Yet there is another entire section of mitzvot--those bein adam l’chavero, between an individual and his friend.  This includes vast sections of Jewish law--business ethics, familial ethics, sexual ethics, and more general interpersonal relationships.  Jewish law teaches us that we must be honest in our business dealings (that we are forbidden to have two sets of weights and measures--or two sets of books).  We are commanded to love our neighbors and not to stand idly by if they are in danger.  Jews are to treat one another with respect.  In all of these departments, we probably fulfill many mitzvot we never even knew were mitzvot!  

Whenever someone introduces him or herself to a rabbi, the introduction often continues, “but I’m not religious.”  I’ve heard this from doctors and garbage collectors, lawyers and airline ticket agents.  Yet, many people picked careers that match their Jewish values.  Reproductive specialists help couples fill the command to “be fruitful and multiply.”  Lawyers are advocates for the poor and those that need help.  Garbage collectors remove that which is disgusting from our homes, allowing us to pray and eat in places that do not smell terribly.

To be technical, we do all sin at times, but we also do many, many more mitzvot.  In the Aseret Hadibrot, the Ten Commandments, it says that Gd visits iniquity to the third and fourth generation of those that hate GD, but shows mercy for a thousand generations to those that love GD and keep the commandments.  In GD’s great mercy, we are given opportunity to atone--every day and on Yom Kippur.  We acknowledge our shortcomings, reminding GD that we are imperfect and must be judged on the scale of the imperfect.  

I want to end with two Hassidic tales:

A chassid once asked his rebbe, "why should wepray on Yom Kippur, after all, we will inevitably sin again." In response, the rebbe asked him to look out the window behind him. Outside there was a toddler who was just learning to walk. "What do you see?" asked the rebbe. The disciple replied, "I see a child, standing and falling," Day after day the chassid returned to witness the same scene. At the week’s end, the child stood and did not fall. The child’s eyes expressed the achievement of having attained the impossible. "So with us," said the rebbe. "We may fail again and again, but in the end, a loving God gives us the opportunities we need to succeed."

Another classic story. Reb Zusha was on his death bed, and he had tears streaming down his face. "Why are you crying?" asked his disciples. "If God asks me why I was not like Moses or Maimonides," answered Reb Zusha, "I will say, I was not blessed with that kind of leadership ability and wisdom." But I am afraid of another question," continued Reb Zusha, "what if God asks, Reb Zusha, why weren’t you like Reb Zusha? Why did you not find your inner being and realize your inner potential? Why didn’t you find yourself? That is why I am crying!"

Of the 613 mitzvot, many require the Temple, the ability to offer sacrifices.  For those, we have alternate paths, we remember the Temple, we recite the sacrifices.  Yet there are other mitzvot that we can fulfill.  We must continue to try to fulfill all the ones we can.  We must continue to try to be the best people we can be.  We must treat each other with love and respect.  We must remember that we will fail, but like the toddler, we must get up again and keep trying.  Tomorrow is another day and another opportunity!  The glass is half full.

Parshat Lech Lecha and the Jews 2013

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& 

 

 (After Shabbat I found this article and was inspired and interested by it: http://forward.com/articles/185461/pew-survey-about-jewish-america-got-it-all-wrong/)