blogs/rabbi-huberman

Rabbi's Sermon- Rosh Hashanah Day 2

Shannah tovah, everyone...

If there is one obsession that the clergy and lay leaders have as we continue to grow as a congregation, its understanding trends....

For if there is one thing that is certain...it's that times change and will continue to do so...

You are not your parents...and your children are not you....

We have developed a group which meets every Wednesday morning to discuss where Judaism is going ....and where we want to be in three years...

We call this our the 20/20 vision....

A few years ago.....a study was released by the Pew foundation...which painted a dim view of Judaism's future...

It noted that fifty percent of young Jews in the New York area are intermarrying....They are attending synagogue less....rarely affiliating....

Oh my, said everyone...we are doomed...

The same holds true for many adults...

Organized religion....as it is among our Christian friends is becoming less important...more important is family...and friends...

Yet, as one of my teachers, Rabbi David Ingbar noted some time ago....perhaps the Pew Center....and all of these religious sociologists --are asking the wrong questions...

He asks....What would happen if a synagogue opened on your block...and from the moment you stepped in...you felt welcome....the rabbi and cantor looked you in the eye.... said...tell me about you....because they were truly interested...

You met people who invited you to be with them.....and when you left...you felt closer to Jewish values...and that  you had connected with something....rich...rewarding and meaningful  

So, said Rabbi Ingbar...Perhaps we are asking the wrong questions...
I would like to now introduce you to someone ...Oliver, can I please trouble you to rise....

This is Oliver Hernandez who lives in San Jose, Costa Rica...Oliver, a few years ago, met a smart and exciting woman ....Jewish....and since that time, he has immersed himself in learning Hebrew....Jewish tradition....There is no rush for him to convert...but that is the direction he is heading...

Except for one thing... no one in Costa Rica will teach him...

When his situation and his love of Judaism came to my attention by one of our member families....I began studying with Oliver on Skype for an hour each week...And this has been going on for about five months...

When it came time for the High Holidays ....Oliver asked if he could come to services in San Jose...but he was told by rabbis in four congregations ....no...you are not Jewish...

....So he booked an airfare...and came to spend Rosh Hashanah with us...

Yesterday....many of you were here as Maya Ben Yaacov...an eighteen year old Israeli.... who will be with us fo the year... read the prayer for the state of Israel....

It was the first time she had ever been in a synagogue for Rosh Hashanah ......the first time she had heard the shofar on the High Holidays...the first time she had read the prayers...

Because in Israel for the most part...you are either Orthodox or not...

So...maybe we're just looking at this all wrong...

In today's world....can we really blame a newer, technologicaily savy generation for looking at Judaism differently....

Can we really blame anyone for not wanting to come to synagogue...for questioning our thelogy....kashrut...the exclusiveness of the Jewish people...

Here's what is trending among the millenial generation...those aged 18-35...

This millenial generation notes that they are “citizens of the world” and Judaism is only one part of their identity.

They care .....but are not driven by what happened in 1942, or 1948, 1967...in fact you'd have to be almost sixty years of age to even remember the six day war...

They want to feel they are contributing something to the betterment of the world, not just the Jewish world...

They are not moved by fix prayers sitting in a pew on a Saturday morning....

They are less concerned about how an animal is slaughtered...than the ethics of the company which produced it .... 

Also.....trends are telling us that the acquisition of a non Jewish member of a family....actually improves the dedication of that family towards Judaism... ...

Especially if the rabbi and cantor reach out ...

These are the realities of Jewish life in the year 2016....

There is so potential to serve people...if we just embrace people they are....

Because...as I mentioned yesterday....we can't change the past....or reality...but we can change ourselves and our perspective...

How do we react when a children or grandchild says I've met someone who is non Jewish....

Says the Talmud....you love them some more ...

And how does the Rabbi react....we open the doors wider....

Jewish to Jewish....Jewish to non Jew...We are experiencing something remarkable at CTI...as we adapt and embrace what is ....

It is why we have doubled in size during the last half decade...The Cantor and I now perform more marriages and babynamings that we do funeral and unveilings...

A half dozen young couples have joined our congregation during the last two months...

We now understand that our future is less rooted in daily fixed prayers...rather....we must widen our perspective...as a Jewish center...

Where we turn away the particularism of denominations ...We are pluralistic ...Conservative..Reform or Orthodox ...Ashekenaz...Sepharic...does it really matter...does God care...

Here we are Just Jewish...

There are so many things that I and our faculty of teachers want to share...traditions...holy texts....ethics....Talmud ....prayer....But more importantly..but it is equally if not more important... that we stand with you...

Your family....your challenges...your victories...your stories...
.......
There is a famous saying in the Talmud....which tells us that we must place a fence around the Torah....

It's a metaphor to remind us to protect our tradition and the Torah...

But does there come a point where we are in danger of placing the Torah out of reach....locked in an ark ....

We believe that the Torah is your Torah...
It's why we take it out of the ark....
We move it to next room where one hundreds and thirty congregants yesterday participated in a moving  healing service... 

We bring the Torah off of the bimah....where those who face mobility challenges can bless the Torah from the pews..

In the past few year....the Torah has travelled to hospital rooms....it's been carried to the bedside of the terminally ill...it has comforted the sick.... It's been to private homes for baby namings.....

It was brought to the Relay for Life cancer walk on Shavuot...where it blessed those suffering or recovering from disease...

Because this Torah is your Torah....and the new reality...and it is an exciting one ...is that we are forerunners of a new understanding of Judaism...

Where....as the name Conservative Judaism implies....we conserve our rich heritage....texts....values and traditions....but we also show the courage to meet those we serve .....where their stories take them...

Within this synagogue......we honor the Jewish path which brought us here...with regular minyonim...and study...and a respect for the past...

But there is also a time to know when to bend into the future...

This is a place where this past Saturday night, our newly formed youth group...Kiki Kids...attracted 22 young people over thirteen to our new years party...

Fifteen young people over thirteen continue to study after their bar and bat mitavahs...within our Hebrew school also serving as mentors to our younger students...

It's a place where once a month....the Cantor leads a Shabbat nature walk and prayer services....at Garvies Point....while we hold our traditional service here...

Where a regular kayak havdalah service is held on the sound... as we bid goodbye to the Shabbat...

Where we raised money so that two our brightest youth could go to Israel last December and develop lifelong friendships with young Jews from the Ukraine France and israel...

And those two youth came back energized...and are leaders within our post bar and bat mitavah youth movement...

We use drums in our children's services.

At Friday night services....we are joined by a half dozen musicians....Jews and non Jews...

It's a place where the words Interfaith....or same sex....are rarely heard...

We are just people....Each of us on our life journey...embracing the future with optimisim...as Jews...and as members of the wider community...

Trends tell us ....People are now join synagogues to meet people.. 

Clusters of empty nesters ...musicians ...daveners...artists...builders....readers ....learners...

Our social action program not only is dedicated to feeding the hungry and clothing the naked ....but also to address the roots of poverty... helping students from minority households complete their college application forms ...We even help pay for the registration...

We are retooling our social action program to support such organizations the 'Viscardi center a school where each student is confined but limited or restricted to a wheelchair...

Where our congregation is leading the way in forming the Jewish Recovery Alliance....a group of Jewish organizations dedicated to providing resources for those affected by the epidemic of drug and alcohol addiction....

This is the type of synagogue we are building....not looking at these 2016 trends as a burden......but rather an opportunity to move your Torah forward...

This is the congregation you belong to ....

My former mentor....Rabbi Joseph Ehrenkranz, of blessed memory... once said to me ...you know Irwin....I believe that Judaism is the most perfect religion...ruined only by the people who practice it ....

We have the ability to change that...

In the Talmud...as it recalls how God clothed Adam and Eve in the garden of eden .....and how God took care of Moses after his death...notes that caring for each other ....comforting the sick and the mourner ....looking after the less fortunate are the cornerstones of Judaism..

The Talmud tells us to never forget that the Torah begins with kindness and ends with kindness...

Asks Rabbi Enrenkranz....why didn't we learn that the first day of Hebrew school.... 

It is what we teach here...

We cannot change the past...but we can draw together to build and support the future...

....this sweet growing supportive congregation build on the values of kindness...compassion and friendship....people meeting their people......

This is your Torah..it is your congregation...we will continue to uphold the values of Judaism....its tradition its practices....its gloried history...

But we will also convenant with you to embrace the future...to create a sacred place where everyone can come and feel welcome ...and embrace Judaism....

Indeed....we need to asking the right questions....

Are we friendly enough...are we open enough....is there respect for each others' journey...

And most importantly perhaps....are we to be just the curators or the past....or the creators of our future...

Shannah Tovah...