Rosh Hashanah Sermon
September 28, 2011
A couple of months ago,
I met with a small group of some of the top Jewish leaders Philadelphia, and
one of them said that he really wondered if the Jewish community in America
would exist in another generation. I have
thought a lot about that statement, and I must agree that there are threats to
the very existence of our Jewish community, but actually, the threat to our
existence comes from the fact that conditions have never been better for Jews
in America. We are totally accepted into American society
as never before.
In their important new book about religion in our country, American
Grace, the authors study how Americans feel about all the different
religious groups in our country, and they found that Jews are the most popular
religious group in America. [American Grace,Robert D. Putnam and David
E. Campbell, Simon & Schuster, 2010, New
York]. This
news may come as a surprise to us because our people have suffered from
thousands of years of persecution, oppression and exile from virtually every
nation in which we have lived – in spite of all of this – we have finally found
a home in America where we can worship as we please and be an equal partner in
this wonderfully diverse and religiously pluralistic nation.
Yet, how are we dealing with our success? We are disappearing!
The entire landscape of Jewish life in America is changing in ways few
people understand. We are several
generations removed from our European ancestors, who came to this country, and
whose roots are barely known by most American Jews today. Our numbers are declining: our birthrate is not replacing our losses;
the American Jewish community is growing older; we are losing people simply due
to lack of interest. And then there is
the generation of 18-35 year olds, many of whom have very different attitudes
about religion in general and Judaism in particular. [Rabbis Alan Henkin and Paul Kipnes, CCAR
Journal, The Reform Jewish Quarterly, CCAR, New York, Spring 2011].
Yes, the rapidly changing landscape of the American J.C. poses many challenges
to us as a people. The good news is that
we are totally accepted into the mainstream of American society. We got what we wished for.But now that we are
not faced with much anti-Semitism, how will we maintain our identity? And in this changing world, what is
Jewish identity? I believe this is the
essential question, because the very definition of Judaism is changing, and how
we define Judaism will determine whether we continue to exist. Will we keep our Jewish community intact,
strong and vibrant? Or will we meld into
the great fabric of American society and disappear?
I believe we are at a pivotal moment for the Jewish community in America. We are at a crossroads. We can shrie and complain about how
much things have changed, or we can recognize the challenge and seize the
moment. And I believe it is the duty of
Congregation Rodeph Shalom to take the lead in showing the world what the
future of Judaism in America
can be. If you want to know where our
community has been in the past, go to the magnificent new National
Museum of American Jewish History on Independence
Square. But
if you want to know what our future will look like, come to Congregation
Rodeph Shalom, and join in our vision, as we stand on the shoulders of our
historic congregation’s founders and dedicate ourselves to ensuring the future
of the Jewish people.
But before we can envision a future, we need to understand where we are
now. Changes in the landscape of the
American Jewish community are affecting the way Jews relate to synagogues, Israel and all
of our institutions. A recent Pew Forum
on Religion and Public Life concluded that the U.S. is a nation of “religious
drifters,” where denominations and labels like Reform and Conservative do not
mean as much as they once did. Americans
are attempting to “invent new ways of describing and participating in a faith
that often does not seem to respond to the changes in society...Today, instead
of religion defining Jews, Jews are defining religion.” [paraphrased from Rabbi Stephen Pearce,
“Shifting Landscapes: The Response of
Modernity to Faith, Social Advocacy, and Demographic Change.” CCAR Journal, New York, Spring 2011]. And if the Reform Movement does not recognize
it, we will soon be relegated to a nice exhibit case in the National Museum of
American Jewish History.
This congregation has changed a lot since the days when we were composed
mostly of German Jewish families, classical Reform, homogeneous in background
and belief.
But today, Rodeph Shalom is as diverse as any congregation in America,
reflecting the beautiful patchwork quilt of the future of American
Judaism. We are not all on the
same page, regarding our background, our views on Israel, on worship style or in our
belief or non-belief in God. All of us
together are seekers, all of us together:
Jews by birth and Jews by choice, Interfaith families, Black, White,
Asian and Latino Jews, straight or gay, people from all socio-economic
backgrounds and family constellations, Reform, Conservative, or Orthodox
backgrounds, Believers, Atheists or Agnostic …we are all
seekers. We are all on a spiritual
journey, searching for profound moments which give meaning to our lives. We yearn to find something in ourselves that
gives us an understanding that we are a part of something greater than
ourselves. We need to be a part of a
sacred quest that transcends our isolation, takes us away from the “bowling
alone” syndrome and removes us from the solitary life symbolized by the i-pod. And we do this by connecting with others who
are on a similar journey.
This is the vision of our Congregation: to create profound connections
and to be as a sacred family to each other.
This past year, a number of our Board of Trustees members did some
in-depth work to try to seriously analyze our congregation and where we are
going in the future, and they wrote a beautiful vision statement which you will
see and hear much about it in the coming months, as this vision will infuse
everything we do. The very purpose of
our congregation is to create profound connections which add meaning to our
lives – connecting us to each other, to Judaism and to the Divine.
The great 20th century Jewish thinker Martin Buber described
these connections as being the only way to really understand what God is. When
we enter into a genuine relationship with another, we also discover God. And we can feel God’s presence, or as Buber
calls it, we can “meet” God in the ordinary activities of daily life, if only
we would enter into genuine dialogue
with others. As a result of this
“meeting,” we can become more sensitive, more responsive and more human. We become more spiritually enriched by
creating profound connections. [Finding
God. Rifat Sonsino, Daniel Syme,
UAHC Press, New York,
1986].
This is the search most American
Jews are on now, and this must be the vision of our congregation, to help
everyone find meaning and purpose in life.
On the dawn of this New Year, let us commit ourselves to take the lead
in creating a renaissance of Reform Judaism.
Now is the time to recreate Judaism in America, and we must be on the
cutting edge of this effort. We can
light the path to the future of liberal Judaism, as I believe it is up to you
who are here today to take up the obligation to ensure the very survival and
vibrancy of the Jewish people.
And we do this by radically
altering our thinking about the very nature of who we are and for what we
stand. Everything we do should be viewed
through the lens of our vision. Every
prayer service, every learning opportunity, every social justice effort, every
meeting, every social event – everything we do should be for the purpose of
creating profound connections. Everything we do should be an opportunity to
engage with each other so that we may develop stronger relationships with each
other, so that we may be a family.
Our vision will be reflected in
everything we do, and it must begin with Shabbat, our “Palace in Time” [The
Sabbath, Abraham Joshua Heschel. Farrar, Straus
& Giroux,
New York, 1951]. All week long,
we busy ourselves with a routine that takes our hearts and minds away from that
which is most important. During the
week, in our congregation we break up into various “connection groups”
according to our interests and our demographics. But on Friday night, we come together as one
congregational family to welcome Shabbat, to pray together, to support each
other in times of need, to celebrate with each other in times of joy, to
socialize together and to build a strong sense of community.
On Friday night we lift our
voices in prayer, embracing the faithful as well as the skeptic. We do this by creating the kind of uplifting
and transformative worship experience that will attract all of our diverse
congregation, a service that is participatory, accessible, warm, inclusive,
welcoming, spiritual and meaningful. A
service that will help us to create profound connections among each other and
with the soul of Jewish prayer. As
Martin Buber said, the purpose of Jewish prayer is to connect people in
community, so they may know the mystery of feeling the presence of God among
us. This is how you create the miracle
of community.
I believe more and more members
of the Rodeph Shalom family feel that it would be unthinkable to begin
their weekend without participating in Shabbat services, every Friday night at
6:00, your “Palace in Time.”
But if we are to be a truly
visionary congregation, each of us must accept the obligation to learn more
about Judaism. In his new book Empowered
Judaism, Rabbi Elie Kaunfer wrote “Jews of all ages are thirsting for a
meaningful engagement with critical life questions and want to open up the
texts of our past to deepen that engagement.”
[Empowered Judaism, Rabbi Elie Kaunfer, Jewish Lights Publishing,
Woodstock, VT. 2010].
Our congregation takes this challenge
seriously. We are expanding our offering
of opportunities to learn from important scholars and transmitters of Jewish
knowledge on Sunday mornings, 1st Wednesday evenings of each month, Friday night
speakers, Saturday morning Torah Study, Introduction to Judaism courses, and
much more. Our vision is to engage all of our members in the lifelong
transformative study of Judaism.
What does it mean for Jewish
studies to be transformative? I have a
friend who told me I had ruined his life (I hope he was kidding). He used to play golf every Saturday morning,
until a couple of years ago, he started coming to our Saturday Morning Torah
Study Class. He found it so meaningful
and stimulating that he comes to Torah Study
every Saturday now. I’m sure he
still finds time to play golf, but he reached a “tipping point” in his life,
and in his attitude about what is most important. Now that’s transformative study!
This is really what our vision is
all about. It is about helping people
“move from being apathetic and cynical about Jewish life to being passionately
engaged in building a new community.”
[Kaunfer, ibid]. Our vision is
about transformative innovation. We are
at a turning point in Jewish history, and if we do not change, Judaism in America will
die.
In fact, we may be at one of the
most pivotal moments our people has ever known – we may be at a “Johanan ben
Zakkai” moment. When the ancient Temple in Jerusalem
was destroyed by the Romans in the year 70, this disastrous event marked the
end of the Israelite religion as they knew it. But Johanan ben Zakkai, one of
the greatest sages of that era reinvented the religion. He inspired the people to create a new way of
being Jewish – he was responsible for the creation of the synagogue system, which allowed Judaism to flourish in
the diaspora. So radical were his
changes, that he is still known today as the man who saved our religion. He inspires us still today, as one who preserved
much of the sacred traditions, but was not afraid of transformative innovation.
I believe we are at another
“Johanan ben Zakkai” moment today. And
we, in our congregation can lead the way to a new understanding of what it
means to be Jewish. And it is all about
the search for meaning. In everything we
do, we will help people answer life’s essential questions: Why do I exist? Why do I walk this earth? What is my purpose? We will be the place where people can find
meaning and purpose, because we are grounded in values. The values of community, the values of
uplifting and meaningful prayer services, the values of transformative
learning, the values of social justice and urban engagement, and of advocating
for change in our city and in our world.
The values of welcoming interfaith families with open arms. The values of drawing inspiration from the
beauty of the musical and visual arts.
The values of welcoming all who come to explore and deepen their
connection to God and Judaism, where it is okay to be a skeptic – to wrestle
with the many faces of the Divine in our journeys of growth and
spirituality. We will wrestle with God
on Broad Street.
We will be a congregation which
encourages Jews to search for meaning, community and connection, to counter the
feelings of loneliness, despair and dislocation in our world – a place where
people can tell their stories and be valued – and not be judged. We will be a Congregation of Conversations, a
Congregation of Relationships, a congregation where all of us are passionate
about Judaism.
And if we do, we will become the
most dynamic, vibrant and meaningful Jewish congregation in America – the
beacon of light to those who are longing to learn new ways to be Jewish. These must be more than words. Please join us in this mission, for we must
do this for our children and our grandchildren, and for the future of Judaism
in America. There is much at stake. It is up to us to accept this challenge, and
to awaken our human spirit to all of the possibilities that lie deep within us.
AMEN.
Material gathered from:
American Grace, Robert D.
Putnam and David E. Campbell, Simon & Schuster, 2010, New York.
Rabbis Alan Henkin and Paul Kipnes, CCAR Journal, The Reform Jewish
Quarterly, New York,
Spring 2011. Rabbi Stephen Pearce,
“Shifting Landscapes: The Response of
Modernity to Faith, Social Advocacy, and Demographic Change,” CCAR Journal, New York, Spring
2011. Finding God, Rifat Sonsino,
Daniel Syme, UAHC Press, New York,
1986. Empowered Judaism, Rabbi
Elie Kaunfer, Jewish Lights Publishing, Woodstock,
VT. 2010. Ideas from Rabbi Peter Rubinstein, Rosh
HaShana sermon, 2010. Rabbi Lawrence Hoffman Rodeph Shalom scholar in residence
and consultant and ideas from Sacred Strategies, Transforming synagogues
from Functional to Visionary, by Isa Aron, Steven Cohen, Lawrence Hoffman,
Ari Kelman, Alban Institute Press,
Herndon, VA., 2010. Ideas from Rabbi
Karyn Kedar.The Sabbath, Abraham Joshua Heschel, Farrar, Straus &
Giroux, New York, 1951. Many quotes from
the Congregation Rodeph Shalom Vision Statement,