David Ellenson: Reform Judaism Isn’t an Island – Forward.com

As always, our teacher David Ellenson speaks words of truth:

These days, everyone seems to have something to say about what they think is wrong with Reform Judaism.

We have heard that the Reform movement is, at best, in stasis and, at worst, facing a significant decline in its membership rolls. Some argue that Reform institutions are insufficiently nimble and overly bureaucratic. Others point to what they see as an underlying ideological or theological malaise, suggesting that Reform Judaism does not galvanize Reform Jews to acknowledge and act upon their covenantal obligations.

Many of the critiques come from within our movement, others from outside it. Most are offered as constructive criticism, while a few are mean-spirited polemics. (Glenn Beck has even got in on the act!)

Amid this wave of criticism and consternation, we should not lose sight of the great strengths that Reform Judaism displays. As I travel throughout the United States and Canada, I see synagogues where attendance at services is significant and worship is spiritually inspiring. I see thriving Reform day and afternoon religious schools, and summer camps where Judaism is a richly lived experience. I also see countless numbers of Reform Jews engaged in meaningful Torah study, acts of social justice and the forging of inclusive communities. Still, one need not ignore these triumphs to recognize that there is more than a modicum of truth in many of the expressions of concern and the critiques that we are hearing.

The organizational structures of the Reform movement often do not act in purposeful and coordinated ways to address the many challenges confronting the Jewish people. Too seldom is there an overarching vision of liberal Judaism present to guide the Reform movement as we attempt to address the great demographic and religious issues of our day.

To be sure, the fuller context of North American Jewish life as a whole must be taken into account if the challenges that the Reform movement faces are to be properly assessed and appreciated. After all, the unprecedented opportunities that Jews on this continent enjoy have resulted in ever-increasing assimilation and indifference among millions of North American Jews. This is the communal price exacted for living in an open and accepting society.

In such a setting of individualism, where traditional kinship and associational patterns among Jews have been eroded by mobility and acculturation, each Jew is now a “sovereign self,” and it is not easy to “command” Jewish participation. These forces that challenge the continuity and relevance of Judaism for so many Jews constitute a sociological storm with which the Reform movement has had to cope.

It is only fair to remember that this is a challenge for all Jews, not just for the Reform movement. However, the Reform movement is committed to outreach and inclusion, to not neglecting any Jew. Our hope is that we can inspire and motivate those persons on the periphery of our community and bring them back to a center. Reform Judaism calls upon itself to address Jews of “thin” Jewish culture, i.e., those who lack a strong background of Jewish education and involvement, while not neglecting those who were raised in an environment of “thick” Jewish commitments and affiliations. Of course, this is no easy task.

There is no magic bullet to resolve the challenges we face. Organizational reform is surely desirable, but institutional reorganization cannot accomplish the task of making Reform Judaism relevant to all Jews. Similarly, theology and vision are crucial. Nevertheless, we should not be naïve and assume that a commanding and compelling theology will inspire all Jews to participate meaningfully in Jewish life.

Here we must recognize that Judaism is an adult religion. We must acknowledge that the complexity and plurality that mark modern life do not allow for simple answers to multivalent and textured problems. Indeed, I harbor no illusions that there are any quick fixes to the problems that confront North American Judaism.

The recognition of the enormity of the tasks that confront the Reform movement does not excuse us from our responsibilities. If anything, this knowledge requires us to ask with urgency how the movement can best be organized and act. Our goal must be to inspire modern Jews to affirm traditional Jewish commitments to God, Torah and Israel while simultaneously insisting upon an open and honest engagement with the modern world.

Rabbi Leo Baeck once wrote, “An inheritance cannot be fabricated, let alone forced. It can only be assumed by a freedom that has the ability to build on it. When a man forms his life, he begins to create community. He is not only born into community as if by fate, but he has now been called to the task of molding it.” We who are his heirs must live up to this call.

Rabbi David Ellenson is president of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion

David Ellenson: Reform Judaism Isn’t an Island – Forward.com

Equality in Delaware

Okay, so the joke about the Reform movement is that it's a list of Democratic Party initiatives with some holidays thrown in, but I'm going to live up to that joke for this post.

I try not to get political, but this is, for me, a Human Rights issue, rather than a political one, though it's manifesting itself politically.

I have recently added my name to a list of clergy (Jewish and Christian) supporting an initiative by State Senator David Sokola and Representative Melanie George to introduce Civil Partnership in the State of Delaware. This bill will create a recognized legal relationship for same-sex couples, with all benefits and obligations. This is fully in accordance with the values espoused by the Reform Movement (both the URJ and the CCAR), and are not new issues for our movement (Gay marriage has been endorsed since at least the 1990s).

The bill is supposed to be filed on March 22nd. I'm not sure I'll be able to be in Dover for the formal filing, but I sincerely hope it succeeds and will do what I can to support it. If you are a Delaware Resident, I encourage you to voice your support for this bill by contacting your representative and State Senator.

For more information, please go to www.equalitydelaware.org

Earthquake and Tsunami relief

There are many places to help with relief efforts for Japan. I'm going to highlight two from the Jewish world.

the URJ: http://urj.org/socialaction/issues/relief/

Mazon: http://mazon.org/2011/03/11/mazon-responds-to-the-earthquake-and-tsunami-in-japan/

Hey Jack Kerouac

So yesterday (Saturday the 12th) was Jack Kerouac's birthday. In theory, not very relevant to a Jewish blog (he was a spiritual Catholic and sometime Zen Buddhist, after all). Except for me, where the connection was obvious and personal. When I was exploring my own spirituality in adolescence and early adulthood, Kerouac's own journeys--described in On The Road, The Dharma Bums and Pomes All Sizes, which had just come out when I was in college--served as guides for me. His own struggles for connection with God and people resonated with me (and still do) and in a way reflect my own quasi-mystical explorations for understanding what Divinity is and how to encounter it. That his books have not become like, say, Salinger's Catcher in the Rye; that is, scrubbed clean for use in school curricula, is a very good thing in my mind. His work is still fearless and dangerous and filled with both a sense of awe and appreciation for what is unknowable, and waits, like any good Mystery, to be discovered by each new generation of seekers.

So happy birthday "Ti Jean".

Hey Jack Kerouac - 10 000 maniacs by pseudomino

Jewish parenting and Day Schools

I don't normally talk about Jewish parenting here, in part because there are those who do a better job of discussing the subject (Rabbi Phyllis Sommer's imaonthebima blog--look in my blogroll--is a good example). But Marisa and have regular conversations about day schools, which are becoming more and more relevant as Elishai gets older (he'll be in pre-K next year). So when Phyllis posted this blog post from the Frugal Ima and her family's debate of day-school vs. summer camp, I was intrigued and thought it was worth reposting here. Even if you aren't interested in Day Schools (or even if you do), I think there are arguments here about living a meaningful Jewish life and imparting Jewish tradition to your kids that are relevant. This list in particular of what you can do without a day school education (and should do regardless):

I truly believe that any family can impart a sense of love for being Jewish and tidbits of Jewish and Hebrew learning in their home if they are even a little bit determined. It takes hard work, yes:

• You have to to celebrate Shabbat - every week.
• You have to read Jewish books and listen to Jewish music - all the time.
• You have to take your kids to shul, and not just for their friends' bnei mitzvah.
• If you keep kosher, you have to pack lunch for them - every day.
• Jewish values language has to become part of your everyday vocabulary.
• You have to make a big deal about preparing for and celebrating the holidays - every holiday.
• You have to prepare yourself to answer your kids' questions about Judaism and God, or at least know how to find the answers with them.
• When you send your children to Hebrew school, you have to make it a priority, take it seriously, review/reinforce at home, and make sure they attend - every class.

I think we in the organizational world think that day schools are some kind of magic bullet, but the reality is that families who send their kids to day schools are also more likely to make shabbat, engage in Jewish art and cultural activities, keep kosher, use Jewish language, celebrate holidays in the home and go to shul. And just about any educational or parenting expert will tell you, kids learn by having their experiences reinforced at home. That's as true for helping with Math homework as it is with Jewish identity. This isn't to discourage from us as parents sending our kids to day schools--far from it! Rather it's a good reminder that we can't simply entrust outside 'experts'--synagogues, day schools, camp, etc.--to make our kids Jewish. That's something that only we as parents can do. And as one congregant reminded me this past week when I did some God Talk (and thanks Jeff for the reminder): parents have as much responsibility--if not more--than any rabbi or synagogue to teach their kids to value their Jewishness and maintain it.

Anyway, check out the whole posting as it's quite relevant.

Thanks for your answers and another question

So thanks for all your answers (on Facebook and in private) to my question about co-op hours and 'incentivized' volunteer time. Not sure what I'm doing with the information yet but it's something I want to explore. And thanks to Ken Kamm for pointing out The Kavanah Co-Op, a 'congregation' predicated on the idea of shared, participatory and collaborative work among its members.

This is something that's been resonating with me for a while. I'm always asking myself the question, "if I wasn't a pulpit rabbi, what synagogue would I join?" Chances are, it would look a lot like an independant minyan or chavurah; an informal, relatively unstructured community of peers coming together to create meaningful encounters with Judaism. At its heart, that's what all synagogues are. In fact, many (at least from what I've seen) were spontaneous expressions of a desire on the part of a group of Jews to create a supportive community that met their individual spiritual needs. Somewhere along the way, they accrued more and more structure: tasks that used to be done informally become formal and organized. You hire staff to do what volunteers used to do, you add more programmatic and physical offerings (events, a building, etc.) to meet expanding and varying generational needs. Mission creep sets in--or the synagogue truly evolves with the times and changing leadership.

Lance Sussman once said something in a gathering of Reform rabbis that I quote frequently: synagogues are dealing with a 19th century infrastructure (dues, boards, hierarchies, buildings, etc.) with congregants who have a 21st century mentality (destructured and decentralized lives, portability, etc.), and we have to figure out how to catch up to them fast. Or, as my youth director said quoting last week's NFTY convention: innovate or die. But the synagogue has always done this, from its earliest beginnings in the Babylonian Exile. And I have no doubt that, even through tectonic shifts in generational understanding, demographics, and Movement redefinition, the healthy synagogues will survive and be stronger for it, and be radically different, as different as the grand edifices of the 19th century were from the shteibles that preceded them and the suburban quasi-JCCs that followed.

A lot of that transition will come from how we talk about God. That sounds funny, as most synagogue talk (at least organizationally) is about physical, governmental and organizational structures, and not really about theology. At least one Reform Rabbi suggests that this is the problem: we spend all of our time talking about empowering the individual and creating programming without strengthening the theological underpinnings that lead to greater observance and personal practice, essentially creating empty shells. While I disagree with the conclusions and some of the assumptions of the writer (even if we bought into a more hierarchical theology, who's to say that anyone would find it credible?), he does raise a very interesting point, one that is also being made by the Independant Minyanim: Synagogues need to be about creating meaningful, spiritual and sacred encounters with Judaism and Jewish tradition, not only for 'mere' self-preservation, but (as Art Green argues in Radical Judaism) to empower Jews (and those who would participate) in living out a universal message of shared responsibility for our world and each other, created in the image of God. Classical Reform, for all its cold distance, got that, as surely as Neo-Chasidism and its warm fuzzies does today (now there's an image, neh?). But so long as we spend more time talking about stuff and less time talking about meaning, the less likely people are going to engage for any reason other than for services rendered (or as Menachem Creditor once quipped to me: "We get it--now let's make Torah together!").

This is especially relevant for me tomorrow, as I'm talking with the Brotherhood about God, and especially my own theological thoughts, which should be interesting since, as one congregant and friend once put it, my head is in Cincinnati, but my heart is in Lubavitch (well, at least Bratslav, or maybe Apt).

So, for those who can't make it tomorrow, let me ask you a double-barreled question:

1. What would you ask about God and encountering God (however defined by you)?

2. What do you expect to encounter in the synagogue (or your house of worship) and what do you want to encounter?

Congratulations

So congratulations are in order to Shoshana Martyniak (aka Shvaygshosh) who brought Barry Rubin (who writes the RubinReports) to Beth Emeth to talk about Israel, the Middle East, Libya, Egypt etc. It was a very successful Friday night, with a packed house full of engaged and thoughtful Jews of all ages. As an admitted peacenik, I found it fairly depressing at times, but thought Dr. Rubin himself was a good and articulate speaker (even with bronchitis!).

As I said Friday, there were moments when I felt like Dr. Rubin was citing the title of Al Vorspan's book, "Start Worrying: Details to Follow", but as the Hasidic story ends, it's good for a Jew to worry, especially about Israel. But, while we should stay wide-eyed, I still feel we should keep an open mind and be fully cognizant of the challenges Israel faces not only from her neighbors, but internally as well.