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Sarah’s Bat Mitzvah – a day prior to this writing – was, like the others, distinctive and moving. In addition to Sarah’s beautiful voice – and her wisdom – we heard profound words of Martin Buber read by her sister Claire, Loren Petrie’s first Torah reading in 28 years, and a moving gift presentation by Linda Heimerdinger – in her first official duty of her new presidency!
For those of you who were not present, I’m including here some of what I said to Sarah, and which you may find interesting:
Rabbi Robert Levine, at the dedication of our new building, gave us a challenge which may be equal to that which Moses faced in the wilderness.
For 2000 years, Reb Robert reminded us, we as Jews have stuck together, have persevered in large part because we have been a persecuted people. We were beaten up by the Romans, then by the early Christians, then by the Crusaders, then by virtually every government in Europe culminating in the Holocaust. Through all this we persevered. We clung tenaciously to our heritage. If we were going to die, we wanted to die with the “Sh’ma” on our lips.
There is still anti-Semitism in the world today, but as Jews in America we are, happily, exposed to very little of it. This, of course, is a blessing. But what does it mean for us as a people? Will we be able to remain a viable people without that overt discrimination? Will Judaism continue to mean as much to us?
This is a huge challenge. Some Jewish organizations are worried, worried particularly about the younger generation of American Jews who are often less connected to our Jewish congregations than their parents. What to do about that?
There are literally hundreds of things you could do to help meet this challenge, to keep Judaism vibrant, to keep the connection alive. But let me suggest to you just three – the very minimum, the basic of the basics:
Number 1 – Light the candles every Friday evening, and light them with at least one person whom you care about deeply.
Number 2 – Judaism has been well described as a magnificent but rough diamond with countless edges or surfaces. Among these surfaces: Jewish worship, Torah study, Jewish history, Jewish women and the celebration of Rosh Chodesh, Jewish music, Jewish art, Jewish literature, social justice, our connections to Israel, Israel’s connections to Palestine, vital interfaith relations, Jewish mysticism, Jewish meditation – I could go on all morning.
Basic #2 is to select at least one of these surfaces and make it your own.
Basic #3 – Devote yourself to that central tenet of our faith, tikkun olam, healing the world. Simply refuse to allow a week to go by without doing some act of tikkun olam – some act of helping to heal the world in some way, regardless how small. Provide, in the words of Elie Wiesel, “messianic moments” for loved ones or for persons in need, be attentive to a person who feels left out, make another person feel worthy, buy a bagel for a homeless person, go and work in one of the projects with which our congregation is involved in the Dominican Republic or Argentina or India or Israel. Ask yourself at least once a month what you’ve done to heal the world.
Just these three things. If Jews in America did just these three things, we would meet that challenge of Reb Robert. Judaism in America would remain vibrant and exciting and luminous and alive without any need for discrimination to hold us together.
B'shalom,
Jim
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