I'm off for a week. The blog returns January 2nd with "Remember the Sabbath, part 2."
Until then, consider the extent of your personal Sabbath observance. How much do you "remember" Shabbat each week? And how much do you "keep" Shabbat? And what more will you do to deepen your connection to Shabbat? Light Shabbat candles. Unplug for 24 hours: no e-mail, no BlackBerry/Treo/etc., no cell phone. Invite friends and/or family to join you for a sit down meal at home. Walk. Sing. Learn together with your family. Can you commit to yourself and your family for something more than chasing the things you want and just being with the things you have for 24 hours?
I leave you with this poem by Rabbi Marcia Prager, posted on the URJ Shabbat website:
Tonight is a time to catch our breath.
Whatever we have been
doing,
making,
working,
creating...
Tonight is a time to catch our breath.
No matter how necessary our work,
How important to the world,
how urgent that we continue it;
No matter how joyful our work,
how fully and profoundly human;
No matter how flawed our work,
how urgent that we set it right;
No matter how hard we have worked to gather
our modest fame,
our honourable livelihood,
our reasonable power,
Tonight we pause to catch our breath.
Tonight we pause to share whatever we have gathered.
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Remember the Sabbath?
Rabbi Eric Yoffie, President of the URJ, has announced an initiative to bring Shabbat back to the center of Jewish life for Reform Jews. At the most recent biennial convention of the Reform movement, Rabbi Yoffie proposed two things. First, change our temple’s Shabbat morning worship into a vibrant and interesting experience for the entire congregation. Second, deepen our personal engagement with Shabbat. Both aspects apply to our congregation and its members. This posting addresses the first point. Next week, I will discuss the second.
Rabbi Yoffie bemoaned the current state of Shabbat morning worship in Reform synagogues. He said: "With the morning worship appropriated by the Bar and Bat Mitzvah families, our members who come to pray with the community often sit in the back of the sanctuary and feel like interlopers in their own congregation….
The results are tragic. We lose young families, whose children cannot stay up late on Friday. We lose seniors, who avoid nighttime driving and prefer to pray during the day. We lose those wanting to say Kaddish and those who are simply looking to join their community in prayer....
We are also sending a message about bar mitzvah that we do not want to send. Bar mitzvah is the occasion, symbolically at least, when a young person joins an adult community of Jews. But you cannot join what does not exist. A regular community of worshippers, who would be best suited to mentor the child, is not even present. At the average bar mitzvah what you almost always get is a one-time assemblage of well-wishers with nothing in common but an invitation."
Rabbi Yoffie’s remarks describe Monmouth Reform Temple in some ways but miss the mark in others. Sadly, our Shabbat situation is sometimes even worse than his assessment. Rabbi Yoffie spoke of the "members who come" on Saturday. We rarely, if ever, have even a single member of the congregation beyond the invited guests and official representatives. But it is still worse. Our members typically do not invite each other to their b’nei mitzvah, so "a one-time assemblage" – all non-members – is the norm for our Saturday mornings. But it gets even worse. Increasingly, even the invited guests do not come for the worship service and only show up for the party. Many b’nei mitzvah families stress the importance of the service to their guests, but others tell me that "everyone is coming tonight to my party" without the slightest sense of regret, irony, or embarrassment. Lastly, our congregation only holds Shabbat morning worship when a bar or bat mitzvah is scheduled. This is a common practice in Reform synagogues but Rabbi Yoffie reminds us: "a great religious Movement does not forego regular Shabbat morning communal prayer."
Rabbi Yoffie is right. It is time to reclaim our greatness, our Shabbat, and our community. I can picture a day when we have Shabbat morning worship at MRT every week of the year with as many temple members worshipping as bar or bat mitzvah guests. I can picture a Shabbat community at MRT – a full house of activity and gathering at the synagogue and in each other’s homes. There will be Torah study, meditation, social gathering, shared meals, tikkun olam, music and singing, joy, and lots of people connecting with each other. It will be Shabbat and it will be great. Are you in?
To add your comment, click the blue "comments" link below this line.
Rabbi Yoffie bemoaned the current state of Shabbat morning worship in Reform synagogues. He said: "With the morning worship appropriated by the Bar and Bat Mitzvah families, our members who come to pray with the community often sit in the back of the sanctuary and feel like interlopers in their own congregation….
The results are tragic. We lose young families, whose children cannot stay up late on Friday. We lose seniors, who avoid nighttime driving and prefer to pray during the day. We lose those wanting to say Kaddish and those who are simply looking to join their community in prayer....
We are also sending a message about bar mitzvah that we do not want to send. Bar mitzvah is the occasion, symbolically at least, when a young person joins an adult community of Jews. But you cannot join what does not exist. A regular community of worshippers, who would be best suited to mentor the child, is not even present. At the average bar mitzvah what you almost always get is a one-time assemblage of well-wishers with nothing in common but an invitation."
Rabbi Yoffie’s remarks describe Monmouth Reform Temple in some ways but miss the mark in others. Sadly, our Shabbat situation is sometimes even worse than his assessment. Rabbi Yoffie spoke of the "members who come" on Saturday. We rarely, if ever, have even a single member of the congregation beyond the invited guests and official representatives. But it is still worse. Our members typically do not invite each other to their b’nei mitzvah, so "a one-time assemblage" – all non-members – is the norm for our Saturday mornings. But it gets even worse. Increasingly, even the invited guests do not come for the worship service and only show up for the party. Many b’nei mitzvah families stress the importance of the service to their guests, but others tell me that "everyone is coming tonight to my party" without the slightest sense of regret, irony, or embarrassment. Lastly, our congregation only holds Shabbat morning worship when a bar or bat mitzvah is scheduled. This is a common practice in Reform synagogues but Rabbi Yoffie reminds us: "a great religious Movement does not forego regular Shabbat morning communal prayer."
Rabbi Yoffie is right. It is time to reclaim our greatness, our Shabbat, and our community. I can picture a day when we have Shabbat morning worship at MRT every week of the year with as many temple members worshipping as bar or bat mitzvah guests. I can picture a Shabbat community at MRT – a full house of activity and gathering at the synagogue and in each other’s homes. There will be Torah study, meditation, social gathering, shared meals, tikkun olam, music and singing, joy, and lots of people connecting with each other. It will be Shabbat and it will be great. Are you in?
To add your comment, click the blue "comments" link below this line.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
A Jewish "Merry Christmas"
‘Tis the season of the December Dilemma. Many Jews find themselves frustrated with the ubiquity of Christmas in America. It is a discomforting reminder of our minority status. It is hard to explain to children why they can not do the fun things they see among their peers. One aspect of this dilemma is how to respond to “Merry Christmas.” Our replies cover the spectrum: from silence to “Happy Hanukkah” to “I don’t celebrate Christmas!” While these answers reflect our commitment to Judaism, they are not appropriate, “Jewish” responses.
Judaism demands that we respond to all people with derech eretz (good manners) and a cheerful disposition. Our ancient sages taught: “Receive every person with a cheerful expression” and “Derech Eretz precedes the Torah.” Rabbi Joseph Telushkin explains the significance of this last point: “God could imagine humankind existing for thousands of years without the Torah, but He could not imagine us living without … civility.” The Talmud teaches us to follow the example of Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai: “No one ever greeted him first, even a Gentile in the marketplace.” Rabbi Yochanan survived the Roman siege of Jerusalem and destruction of the second temple. He certainly had good reason to treat Gentiles coldly but instead he offered greetings.
Each of us is instructed to respond pleasantly regardless of why we resent “Merry Christmas.” For those who resent the whole season: Judaism forbids you from directing anger about larger problems towards one individual. For those who are curmudgeons by nature, Judaism forbids you from making others feel that they are the source of your ill will. For those who feel that saying, “Merry Christmas” makes them a traitor to the Jewish people, the Mishnah instructs you to return the greetings of a Gentile even if it means interrupting your prayers so that you don’t create bad feelings. In other words, God prefers you stop your conversation with Him to talk with the person standing in front of you because God want us to get along with each other.
When greeted this season with, “Merry Christmas,” you can respond anyway you like: with a smile, a “thank you,” or “Merry Christmas to you.” Just respond with derech eretz. It is the Jewish way to spread holiday cheer.
Post your response by clicking the blue "comments" link just below this line.
Judaism demands that we respond to all people with derech eretz (good manners) and a cheerful disposition. Our ancient sages taught: “Receive every person with a cheerful expression” and “Derech Eretz precedes the Torah.” Rabbi Joseph Telushkin explains the significance of this last point: “God could imagine humankind existing for thousands of years without the Torah, but He could not imagine us living without … civility.” The Talmud teaches us to follow the example of Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai: “No one ever greeted him first, even a Gentile in the marketplace.” Rabbi Yochanan survived the Roman siege of Jerusalem and destruction of the second temple. He certainly had good reason to treat Gentiles coldly but instead he offered greetings.
Each of us is instructed to respond pleasantly regardless of why we resent “Merry Christmas.” For those who resent the whole season: Judaism forbids you from directing anger about larger problems towards one individual. For those who are curmudgeons by nature, Judaism forbids you from making others feel that they are the source of your ill will. For those who feel that saying, “Merry Christmas” makes them a traitor to the Jewish people, the Mishnah instructs you to return the greetings of a Gentile even if it means interrupting your prayers so that you don’t create bad feelings. In other words, God prefers you stop your conversation with Him to talk with the person standing in front of you because God want us to get along with each other.
When greeted this season with, “Merry Christmas,” you can respond anyway you like: with a smile, a “thank you,” or “Merry Christmas to you.” Just respond with derech eretz. It is the Jewish way to spread holiday cheer.
Post your response by clicking the blue "comments" link just below this line.
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