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[The following is an expansion on my Rosh Hashanah comments… it is still written in my delivery format -- my apologies if this makes it more challenging to follow]
“Affirmative Judaism” – Not
a New Movement, but a New Moment
Commentary for the Start of
a New Year, 5776
Rabbi Steve Weisman – Temple
Solel, Bowie MD
Starting
omens – 16th year, 25 as Rabbi, 5776 – all perfect squares
Back
to the Future 2 – this is the year,
And
in the movie, the Chicago Cubs win the World Series!
Contrast
that with an honest and sobering look at the world –
headlines
and realities scream out for our attention:
Iran deal global
warming
Gun violence immigration
reform
#black lives matter electoral
rights and reform
Syrian refugees
and
so many more – indeed AJ4J and Iran vote
Our
own realities as a congregational mishpachah and community
Also
require a greater amount of our time, energy and focus –
If
not from all of us, at least from our leaders
And
let’s give ourselves permission to admit up front,
that none of us are looking forward to Yizkor this
year
b/c
the number of friends and neighbors we lost this year
was
painfully large
It
is so very easy to get so caught up
in the needs and challenges of the moment
that we lose perspective,
and spend far too much time dwelling in the
negative.
Don’t
get me wrong – every one of these items
And
several dozen more that go unnamed for the moment
Deserve
and require our attention and involvement.
Will
hopefully receive appropriate focus in New Year
But,
before we can be a congregation of caregivers to the world
Fulfilling
God’s first command to all of us thru Adam and Eve
That
we be good stewards of all of Creation,
Before
we can fully embrace the imperative to work for tikkun olam
We
must, as all good caregivers do,
Remember
to take time for ourselves,
maintain equilibrium, make
sure we are strong,
B/c
if we cannot maintain our own strength and wellness
We
will be no good trying to help others.
This,
to me, is one of our gifts as Jews,
But
one that too often gets lost, or overlooked
Judaism
allows, maybe even requires us,
To
take time for ourselves
To
maintain both strength and balanced perspective
These
HHDs, especially this RH
Can
be, and now more than ever, needs to be
A
moment of our personal and communal
Spiritual
recharge.
As
Hillel taught – Im ein ani li mi li… If
I am only for myself…
Friends,
this season is the now of our Jewish year,
These
HHDs feel like the now of our time and circumstances
This
is the world’s birthday, after all
As
we will remind ourselves in the morning
As
we fulfill the mitzvah to hear the sound of the shofar.
Birthdays
are times of joy, and celebration – first and foremost.
They
are also times of looking back at where we have been,
Of
sharing our joy with those closest to us,
But
also times of looking ahead – with hope, and vigor
And
the excitement of what lies ahead in the new year.
FB
has changed how we do birthdays –
For
myself, at least, I marvel at how much they are improved.
Several
hundred people, from every corner of our lifetimes,
Reach
out and stir up memory and connection,
THAT
is a real-life blessing!
My
standard wishes, for those who are closest to me,
as expressed in that medium, read like an RH card.
And,
as is often the case, recognizing this changed reality as a truth
Has
allowed me to shift my understandings and behaviors
In
other areas as well.
So
even as I acknowledge that there are many needs in our world --
Both
uniquely Jewish and at times frighteningly universal
(and
we will look at THAT balancing act on YK) –
needs
that require our attention,
Even
as my own prophetically-inspired Reform Jewish soul
Hears
the cries, and yearns to reach out in response and support,
Even
as we all acknowledge the need for our hope that
5776
will be a better year for the Solel family than 5775 was,
I
KNOW that our first act of the new year MUST be
To
embrace the joy, and hope, and celebration of the New Year
Especially
with the great positive omens this year,
And
to use this opportunity for a spiritual recharge and refocus,
When
that reminds us of all the positives in our lives,
Encourages
us to add to them, and maintain our balance
In
many congregations on these HHDs, there is a natural excitement –
For
some, new clergy leadership or other changes are the source;
For
others, it is the new possibilities and opportunities
Inherent
in the shift of prayerbooks to Mishkan HaNefesh
For
others, like ours, we need to create that excitement for ourselves –
Playing
on both the (hoped-for) comfort of the familiar,
&
the natural hope & excitement that comes from new beginnings.
We
will turn to challenging ourselves more on YK – as is fitting
Of
course, for those who cannot wait,
there is plenty of material
available on the lobby tables
plenty of ways to choose to
get more involved
to
begin to make more of a difference.
Embrace
the comfortable and familiar – but do not be fooled by it…
We
are in the midst of change – significant change
In
no small part because the larger world
of which we actively choose
to be a part
is
changing with frightening speed.
Many
of us joke and say that we don’t do change well as a congregation
But
I am here tonight to speak to that no longer being the truth…
It
may have been true, even a few years ago,
But
we are a very different congregation tonight
In
a very different world
at the start of this new
year
than we were even a couple
of years ago
at
the start of our 50th!
And
the best part is, much of that change happened quietly enough,
Smoothly
enough, with little or no drama,
That
many of us are surprised when we recognize the truth.
That,
and the reassuring fact that, most of that change has been
Both
deliberate, and for the better,
Evolutionary,
not revolutionary,
With
still other elements in the process of changing even as we speak.
Our
world is changing. Daily. Sometimes by the hour.
Our
Reform movement has changed and is changing.
That
our congregation is in the midst of change is both needed and good
And,
with the arrival of these HHDs,
we seek, thru atonement, to change ourselves!
To
help us tonight, I would like to propose a significant change
in how we refer to and see ourselves as Jews.
I
do so NOT to seek to create a new form of Judaism,
But
rather to reflect who I believe we already are
and who and what we seek to
be,
as Jews, as members of the
Solel family,
for most of us still as
Reform identifying Jews.
It
is only a little more than a decade since our movement changed name
UAHC
à URJ, WRJ and NFTY (and regions) before that
To
reflect changing times & sensitivities,
who we had already become.
We still
are, and will continue to be, a SOLEL –
and even if we did not originally chose the name
for
all of its political and philosophical implications,
we
embrace still the ideal of being trailblazers
building
ramparts in the (relative) Jewish wilderness.
And
be clear – Reform still carries great meaning and power
I
am not running from that identity,
But
rather, hoping to strengthen it
By
making myself and others think about
What it really says about us
and others.
Indeed,
I have rarely been prouder to call myself a Reform Rabbi
Than
in the last few weeks,
With
our statement on the Iran deal, and AJ4J.
But
I am also aware that, for many, both scholars & the next generation,
We
live in a post-denominational world.
And
therefore, I need to be able to express myself for who I am,
And
hopefully you will come along,
so we can do likewise as a
community,
Without
the baggage of labels
That
may not be as positive to others
As
they are to me or you.
If
we can find language that more accurately reflects
who we already are,
who and what we take pride in being,
doesn’t
that strengthen us?
If
that same language also makes it easier
For
others to see value in who we are,
Removes
stumbling blocks and makes them want to join us,
Then
it is even better!
So,
starting tonight, in this new year,
You
will hear me start to refer
At
least to myself, at first,
As
an “Affirmative Jew,” and “Affirmative Rabbi.”
And,
if I am correct in this, as I believe I am,
I
hope we will begin to see ourselves and call ourselves
An
“Affirmative Jewish Community”!
As
with all well-managed change, for me at least,
This
is NOT nearly as revolutionary as it may sound at first.
But
rather, the product of natural evolution over time.
“Affirmative,”
as descriptive of my Judaism, works in (at least) 3 ways:
First,
it is a statement that one of the perpetual goals of my Jewishness
Is
to affirm the history and values, laws and teachings
Of
3500 years + of Jewish tradition
On
who I am and wish to be
Even
as I struggle to re-imagine how Judaism should look today,
For myself and others.
Second,
it affirms Judaism as a “way of life,”
More
than just a religion, or culture, or ethnicity
And ergo, that there are
multiple valid ways of being Jewish.
Few
of us, as individuals, start by embracing Judaism as a way of life.
Rather,
as individuals, we see it is primarily, if not exclusively,
As
one, maybe two out of religion, culture, or ethnicity.
Therefore
I seek to be more than inclusive,
More
than respectful or tolerant,
But
truly accepting of and open to
new and different ideas and
identities from my own,
that allow others to care,
feel and do Jewish, as I do;
Accepting
others’ self-definitions,
Even
when wildly different from my own,
Even
as I maintain that connection to our past
Individually,
communally, historically, practically,
By
valuing k’lal Yis’ra’eil –
The unity and totality of
the Jewish people;
Even
more important, accept them for who they are,
Not
automatically seeking to change them to my definition,
But
genuinely offering opportunities
To
those who seek them.
Third,
by embracing these truths, and focusing on Jewish values
I
seek to develop a Judaism that allows me
To
see the world, and be seen by the world
In
the affirmative – as a positive force and value.
Here
are some of the things that do NOT change for me
in embracing this new descriptive:
1. Being American defines my
Jewishness
2. Being Jewish defines me as
an American
3. BOTH define who I am as a
person
As
an Affirmative Jew, I take ownership of these truths
And
their implications,
Even
the ones that create cognitive dissonance at times.
I
do so POSITIVELY, and proactively,
Defining
and AFFIRMing the person they make me,
The
community they lead me to seek, build, and be part of,
Refusing
to allow others to define me negatively or passively.
2 E.G.s
-- I am a Choveiv Tzion – a lover and supporter of Israel –
BY
MY OWN CHOICE, and ON MY OWN TERMS,
Which
at this moment is neither AIPAC nor J Street,
But
still stridently pro-Israel.
My
love and support for Israel must be, empirically,
Different
from someone who lives there,
For
their experience is different,
And
therefore, so must their priorities be.
But,
that difference does not mean
They
are more authentic than I – in most things,
That they are automatically more (often) correct
than I am.
It
DOES mean their voice must count more
On
existential matters within their community,
Just
as mine must count more than theirs,
On
essential matters to my community.
Not
because one of us is right, and the other is not,
But
rather, because of our different positions in different places.
Put
practically, as a person who is an American, and who is Jewish,
I
value true peace more highly than almost anything,
And
therefore, my tendency is to prefer
A
negotiated agreement over going to war.
As
an American,
I recognize that there are opportunities and responsibilities
Unique
to our country,
That
require us to act in certain ways
For
ourselves and others.
As
a Jew, and a Choveiv Tzion,
The
survival of Israel and its prosperity
Matter
more to me than to many other Americans & others.
Acting
on any of these three identities alone in the current reality
Is
likely to take me to two, maybe three, different results.
Acting
on them all together, obligates me to compromise between them,
Harmonize
differences,
And
come to the consensus that best represents
Each
individually and all together.
Likewise,
I am a Jew who chooses to live in the open society,
And
not in homogeneous, self-selecting, closed communities.
I
accept that those who make the other choice have their reasons,
And
I pray that their decisions
Work
as well for them as mine do for me,
Even
if, when I am being honest, most of the time
I
must admit that I cannot see how they could,
Because
of my different experience,
Because
of my unwillingness to make their choice.
I
am challenged by living as a Jew in the larger society,
But
those challenges are a positive choice I affirm daily
A
force for growth and strength to be embraced
Not
to be feared and run from.
But
I am a JEW who lives in that open society,
And
therefore HOW I choose to live as part of it,
Will,
at times, differ from the ways of my neighbors,
When
I embrace my Jewish learning, experience, history
That
truth makes neither I nor my neighbor right nor wrong,
Neither
is better than the other.
Just
different.
And,
as Mark Twain once so eloquently put it:
““If
two people agree on everything, one of them is unnecessary.
Even though some of us disagree on the ______
issue,
each of us is necessary in reaching a
resolution.”
Here are some more things that do not change for
me
As
I embrace my new moniker,
Because
I came to my positions on them
By
already being a positive, engaged, affirmative Jew
Even before
embracing the language:
4.
God, Torah, and Israel are central
elements
Of
Judaism, and bind us to each other
5.
How I interpret them,
and value them relative to each other
is
a product of my unique experience,
helps
to define me as a distinctive Jew,
and
distinguishes me from other Jews,
even as they bind us together as one family.
6.
I embrace a Prophetic view of my role as a
Jew --
placing the spirit of the law above letter
when
the two are in conflict,
providing Jewish motivation for all that I do,
encouraging me to find meaning in all that I do.
7.
This encourages me to do tikkun olam
To
be “God’s shepherd” in tending to all Creation
And
to my fellow human beings
Not
for myself, but to repair God’s world
And
improve everyone’s lot in it.
8.
This also encourages me to live my Judaism
In
relationship with others,
Both
Jews and non-Jews.
Indeed,
my Affirmative Judaism, our Judaism,
Is
often most strongly defined, motivated,
Most
positively lived
THRU these
relationships.
Again – what emerges is AFFIRMATIVE –
It
helps me to see the world through positive eyes;
It
encourages me to take action;
It
allows me to do so in a way that connects me to the past,
Even
as I strive to live in the present & embrace the future.
And one last set of truths, somewhat unique to
me,
But
concepts I have already been placing at the forefront
Of
who I hope we become, and maybe already are
As
a mishpachah – an extended family of
support
As
a k’hillah k’doshah – a sacred
community.
9.
Because I see my Judaism, affirmatively,
As
a “way of life,”
Far
more than just religion, culture, or people
I
also see it, and the larger world,
holistically
10.
This leads me to seek not only healing,
For
that which is not whole,
For
what has become worn down or broken
In
myself, my family,
My
community, my world
But
also WELLNESS –
A
combination of the physical, mental,
Emotional,
and spiritual
That
allows me to interact on multiple levels.
Like
my Jewishness,
it is greater
than the sum of its parts,
which
allows me, at times,
to pre-empt the need
for healing
from external
sources,
By
affirming my own strength,
And
reinforcing it,
Even
as I seek to help others
to do the same
for themselves,
individually
and communally
11.
As I help to build the community,
It
helps me recognize 3 truths
about my own personal motives:
A.
My need to be loved, respected, accepted
For
who I am,
And
who I seek to be
B.
My need to make sense of the chaos
Of the world all around us
And within myself
C.
My need to leave a legacy behind
That
tells others that I was here
And
hopefully made the world
A
little better for it
12. And
to recognize these 3 truths
In
all those with whom I work
Empowering
me to recognize, support
And
empower them
Just
as I hope and need to be.
Friends,
as we start the New Year 5776
I
embrace who I am and who I have become
As
an AFFIRMATIVE Jew.
I
am empowered not only by new language, by a new name,
But
by the process of introspection and affirmation
Which
led me to dare to suggest it in public.
I
hope that we all can recognize, both in my words and in my process,
That
each of us, too, either already is, or seeks to be,
An
Affirmative Jew.
And
even if we do not (yet) recognize ourselves in this way,
I
hope we can agree that this IS a significant goal
towards
which to work – individually and collectively.
And,
at the very least, even if that is still not on our horizons,
I
pray that we will recognize
In
the process of introspection we each took to get here
so
central to our atonement-seeking at this season,
The
value of recognizing the positive,
And
not just the negative,
not just for its own sake of
being positive,
not
in some pollyannish “all is well” denial,
But
for the awesome power that comes when we allow ourselves
To
grow not only in learning from and correcting mistakes
But
in moving ourselves from strength to strength,
From
good, to even better, to [dare for] greatness.
To
moving ourselves nearer to the best that is in us,
And
closer to each other,
By
seeking and finding the spark of God
That
dwells in each of our souls.
So
that, by growing closer to each other, and our best,
We
also draw closer to God,
Not
just at this season of our justifying our lives,
But
every day!
I
made a conscious decision with my words tonight,
to speak for myself as an Affirmative Jew,
Both
because what I suggest may not yet feel right to many,
But
also so my words could model my message and my approach.
For
those who found this helpful, I am grateful,
For
those who found that decision made it harder to hear my message,
My
profound apologies. I pray to do
better on YK,
On
this, and so many other things!
As
I point out every time I do a wedding –
1
+ 1 can and does equal three,
when
two (or more) individuals seek to come together,
and
become a group, united with each other.
The
strength and success of the united group is dependent on
The
continued strength of each individual.
It
cannot extinguish that individual strength,
But
rather, grow it stronger by teaching it only
To
self-limit for the sake of the united whole.
May
our 5776 start in joy, peace, and hope,
Allowing
us to begin the new year positive and strong,
Affirming
our Jewishness – as individuals and as a group,
So
we can confront the challenges we face
In
working towards perfection for ourselves and our world
Like
the perfection of the square in 5776,
With
full vigor of body and soul, of spirit and mind,
Positive
and affirming in all that we think, say and do. KYR
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