Download Rosh Hashanah Morning: “What`s Your Reason For being Jewish?”

Rosh Hashanah Morning – Temple Sinai 5771 – What’s Your Reason For Being Jewish?
Rochelle Cohen is to blame. I leave all blame squarely at her door. You might think that to be
unfair but I am convinced it’s her fault. It all goes back to the year 1978, a story I have told
here once before but one I tell again now for a different reason. I was a wide-eyed innocent at
kindergarten, playing in the sand pit. All I cared about was the glorious sand edifice in front of
me. Turrets, towers, a moat. At that moment, Rochelle Cohen, no relation, a vision of five year
old loveliness, sidled up to me and said the magic words: “We’re Jewish, you know”.
Before that moment ignorant bliss. After that moment, trepidation, fear and confusion. What
did she mean, “We’re Jewish, you know”? What was this Jewish she spoke of? Was it a disease
which I had caught? An emotion I was conveying? Maybe a reference to my sandcastle. Well I
was quite upset when I went home that afternoon, I don’t mind telling you. When my parents
saw my confusion, they stepped in and explained what being Jewish meant. I think it made me
feel better.
The sand pit story happened to me at age 4. Fast forward to age 8. I am sitting in a Hebrew
class at Edgware & District Reform Synagogue. A large book with Hebrew letters is in front of
me. Mr. Schwartzmann, severe teacher of German extraction is berating the class for their lack
of Hebrew diligence. I think to myself, “Actually, I’m getting the hang of this Hebrew thing”.
Age 13. I step up to the bimah to read my bar mitzvah portion, thinking that I would rather be
somewhere else but feeling proud of the work I’ve done. Age 19. I come back from working in
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the Almond orchard on Kibbutz Tzor’a in central Israel, exhausted at my day of work, realizing
that I am happier than I have ever been. Age 27. I face two Rabbis under a wedding canopy,
hear the music start and turn around to see Sarah walking down the aisle. Age 32. I hold a
Torah scroll in a crowded synagogue and prepare for my teachers to bestow on me the title of
Rabbi. Age 35. This time last year, I stand on a bimah at Temple Sinai and wonder, how did I
deserve the privilege of being here, at this moment?
What were the moments for you? When did you realize you were Jewish or what being Jewish
meant? Who told you? What did you feel at the time? Was it a positive or negative experience?
Now fast forward to the present day. You have chosen to be here today at Rosh Hashanah
services at Temple Sinai. Well, most of you have chosen to be here. Maybe there are some
teenagers who were coerced by their family, maybe even some adults. I’m not looking at anyone
in particular. My job today though is to help you find the reason why you are here and the
reason why you might continue to be Jewish after this sermon and service has ended.
“My father is Jewish, my mother is Jewish, I am Jewish”. Those were some of the last words of
the journalist, Daniel Pearl, before he was murdered by Islamic militants in Pakistan. Many of
you are probably familiar with the book compiled in his honor by his parents. Entitled, “I am
Jewish”, it gathered together statements on Jewish identity by a hugely diverse group.
Writers, poets, Rabbis, actors, politicians all contributed.
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The reasons these Jews gave for being Jewish were as diverse as the group that gave them.
Some profound, some comic, some surprising.
I’m going to be talking about 5 reasons to be Jewish and continue being Jewish tomorrow and
the next day, you can think of your own and I expect some of you to tell me them after the
service. One reason for each book of the Torah. Ok?
In the book which I mentioned, Maureen Lipman, a Jewish actress from Britain, one of my past
congregants said the following: “I am Jewish because I am rendered legless by the Marx
brothers, illogically proud of Steven Spielberg, understanding of Winona (Ryder) (tell people to
explain to their neighbors), defensive of Woody, amused by Billy Crystal, and slightly bemused
by the United Kingdom success of Jackie Mason”1.
What she is saying is both comic and profound. She likes Jewish jokes and Jewish comedians
and entertainers but she is also making a point about the impact of the Jewish people on
society. The impact, in reverse proportion to our numbers is amazing. The number of Nobel
Prize winners, the great poets, authors, actors and musicians. The sense that when a Spielberg
film is a success, all of us share in the accolades. Being part of an amazing people means that
you never feel alone wherever you go. You do not have to face the trials and tribulations of life
without support. And you can plug into a ready-made well of inspiration. Of people who have
made their mark in a difficult world in every possible field. Are you the next Spielberg? The
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P.30, I Am Jewish
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next Ruth Bader-Ginsberg? The next Albert Einstein? Maybe not but we have been given a
message by them that we can succeed as Jews in the world and our Jewishness can help us. As
Rabbi Stephen Einstein said: “Judaism doesn't require me to believe the unbelievable, but
encourages me to dream beyond the see-able”2. This is such a beautiful phrase, I just want to
repeat it.
I would claim that something in our Jewish background whether obvious or hidden, contributes
to our success as a people and as individuals within a people. So the first reason to be Jewish is
pride, pure and simple of what we and our fellow Jews have achieved and will achieve in the
future.
My second reason for being Jewish is that in Judaism we are encouraged to question our
religion and challenge our religious leaders and organizations. This is true in all streams of
Judaism. I think that seeing the Torah or Bible as one-dimensional, thinking there is only one
interpretation of our laws is wrong. When Jews read a text they read it on so many levels,
obvious and hidden. Assuming we do not need a reason for particular Jewish actions is wrong.
We should always look for the underlying meaning and motivation. Judaism makes the
assumption that we are intelligent adults, that we can think for ourselves. Other religions and
groups do that but Judaism is particularly good at it.
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Rosh Hashanah Sermon, Congregation Bnei Tzedek 5760
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Judaism encourages us to teach ourselves, have a direct relationship to Jewish tradition and G,
not just through teachers or Rabbis. It also encourages us to ask why? Why do we do this? Why
do we do that? Is it meaningful to us? Do actions that we always did in the past still hold true
for today? The search for truth is not one-dimensional. The search for truth is a collaborative,
argumentative process. The search for truth does not come from religious leaders simply
spouting their opinions and expecting everyone else to accept them wholesale.
Not even G can expect His rulings to be perfectly accepted by humans according to the Jewish
tradition, particularly in the area of justice. There are many examples of our people arguing
with G when G is perceived to be unjust. Abraham argues with G when G wants to sweep away
the innocent along with the wicked in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah3. Imagine it, Abraham
accusing the Judge of the whole world of being unjust! Moses argues with G when he wants to
destroy us, the Jewish people, after we built the Golden Calf in the wilderness4. Such chutzpah!
Moses steps into G’s presence and tells Him he’s overreacting. The most recent example of Gchallenging was in the Holocaust. Elie Wisel, the author5, tells of a trial of G, in Auschwitz.
Amongst the decaying barracks and abject misery, the Jewish inhabitants actually prosecuted G
for His crimes against the Jewish people and humanity. They found G guilty, at which point they
nevertheless went out to pray the morning service. So my second reason for being Jewish is we
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Genesis 18
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Exodus 32
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Night (1982)
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are encouraged to question our religion and challenge our religious leaders and organizations,
even our G.
My third reason? Judaism is a way of life that inherently fights against evil and injustice. In
the words of Michael Chlenov, a Russian anthropologist and Jewish leader, “Judaism is a tool of
resistance wherever you come across words, behavior, events that you feel are evil”6. Judaism
as a tool of resistance. Moses refuses to bow to Pharaoh. Mordechai refuses to bow to Haman.
Warsaw ghetto fighters resist the Nazis until their last breath. Israel yields nothing to those
who seek to destroy her. The prophets of the Hebrew Bible, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Micah,
Jonah, with every ounce of their strength, dedicated themselves to speaking out whenever they
saw evil and we continue their legacy in our day.
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks says the following: “It is no accident that in the modern world many Jews
became economists fighting poverty, or doctors combating disease, or lawyers contesting
injustice, or teachers battling ignorance, or psychotherapists striving to defeat despair. The
great Jewish thinkers, even those who abandoned Judaism, were almost invariably utopians or
revolutionaries, charting secular routes to hope.7” So my third reason for being Jewish – it’s a
tool of resistance against evil, apathy and injustice.
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P.23, I Am Jewish
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Future Tense, p.248
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My fourth reason for being Jewish? Because it’s the best way of living in Las Vegas. It’s the
best way of living in a challenging city and finding our way together as a community. Now I love
Las Vegas. The proximity to natural beauty. The fact there is less traffic than London which
means I spend more time with my family. The sunshine. The benefit of people from all around
the world wanting to visit this city. I even like the cheesy 70s concerts they give for free on
Fremont Street. The fact that I remember Glenn Lerner, the lawyer’s advertising slogan from
his radio adverts, does anyone want to sing it?! But it also has its difficulties. Gambling and its
associated activities can be harmless but not always. The problems of addiction afflict many of
us. We try to protect our children from them. So having a strong, Jewish, moral heritage and a
strong, supportive Jewish community helps us negotiate these problems. Seeing our children on
Sundays and Tuesdays at Religious School warms our hearts because we know this is a good,
nurturing environment for them.
Note that I do not say being Jewish in Las Vegas helps us totally avoid such problems, they
affect Jews like they affect other people. But having a deep heritage to draw on and a
community to lean on makes our individual and collective paths easier.
My final reason for being Jewish? Because we can. I mean, because we don’t have to be Jewish
if we don’t want to but we can freely choose that path like never before. Avram Burg, the
former speaker of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament said8: “Our generation is working under
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completely different circumstances…this is a time of choice. This generation is the first in
history that has the option of choosing to be Jewish and to remain a Jew”.
Think about that. We can choose to be Jewish. This was not always true. Our father Abraham
became Jewish because he was commanded, because he was confronted by G’s presence. Before
the Jewish Enlightenment in the last few hundred years, almost everyone who was Jewish would
never have even thought of not staying within the Jewish community. Right at the beginning of
our existence we lived in the Land of Israel and our whole life was centered on the Temple in
Jerusalem. When we were expelled into the far flung corners of the world we stayed with our
own kind, mostly because it was safer and because the rest of society did not let us join in with
most of their activities. It’s only in the last few hundred years that it even occurred to us that
we might leave the Jewish community. In the Reform Jewish world, where so much is based on
individual choice, we have to go out of our way to choose to be Jewish.
Now some of you might turn around to me and say, “I never chose to be Jewish. I am Jewish. I
was born a Jew. There was no choice”. I would suggest that even when we are born Jewish, we
still have to make a choice every day to remain so. There is also less guilt attached to rejecting
one’s Judaism. There are tens of thousands of people outside these walls but in the valley who
are happily living their lives. None of them are at work right now, saying, “Oh how I wish I was
at Temple Sinai today, there’s a real part of me missing!” There are no real consequences of
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leaving Judaism. So if we are not conscious about being Jewish, our Jewishness will just fade
away, to be taken for granted.
In the words of Jonathan Freedland, a British journalist and author: “Every day we make a
choice about how Jewish we want to be. In most places and at most times, that choice is
relaxed and entirely voluntary: Should we eat kosher, should we see that new movie about
Israel? Sometimes it is more pointed: Should we stand up to the person who just made an antiSemitic remark? Occasionally it is a profound choice: Should we change our name to one less
overtly Jewish? And sometimes, very rarely, it is a matter of life and death. As it was for
Daniel Pearl”9. Whatever the level of choice to be Jewish, we have that privilege of choosing
like never before!
In the words of Thane Rosenbaum, another Jewish writer: “I am a Jew. Saying so is a new,
mandatory Shema. A daily ritual, like a prayer, uttered without restraint, for no reason at all,
other than it must be said. The reaffirming of our faith, in ourselves”10. It’s so easy to leave the
Jewish community nowadays. All we need to do is to stop caring, to forget the reasons to be
Jewish. The fact that we can choose means there is a risk we might not choose or choose a
different way of life. You came to Temple today because of Rosh Hashanah, you made a choice.
If you want to come back you will have to continually make that choice to do so.
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P.202, I Am Jewish
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P.153, I Am Jewish
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So my fifth and last reason for being Jewish is because we can. Because we have the privilege
of choosing to be Jewish like no previous Jewish generation. GET THEM TO TAKE OUT THE
CHECKLIST.
Five reasons for five books. Reasons to be Jewish, to stay Jewish. You might have come here
today without a reason, just because it was what you were meant to do. I want to give you 5
reasons to stay and also return in the future.
Number 1. Be Jewish because of Jewish pride. Pride in our impact on the world over the
centuries, our success in many fields which inspire us now to greater heights.
Number 2. Be Jewish because you are encouraged to question and challenge your heritage. Not
for the sake of doing so but as part of a quest for truth and authenticity.
Number 3. Be Jewish because it’s a tool of resistance against evil, apathy and injustice.
Wherever a Jewish heart beats and Jewish soul shines we are impelled to speak out against the
forces of darkness.
Number …..what number??? Number 4. Be Jewish because it’s the best way of living in Las Vegas. In a
challenging city we can have a more fulfilling life by leaning on our tradition and relying on our community.
Number 5. Be Jewish because you can. Jews of previous generations did not have a choice but we have the
privilege of freely choosing Judaism. Choosing it on a daily basis so as not to take it for granted.
For all these reasons, may you be strengthened in your Jewishness, inspired in your heritage and
reinvigorated in your identity. Amen, shana tova.
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...from the perspective of a convert. In no particular order.
- You've heard the call of "Lech-Lecha."
- You understand Egypt...and redemption.
- You are definitely a monotheist, but absolutely do not submit well.
- Having no Jewish family can be lonely. But Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah didn't really have Jewish family either.
What a wonderful way for God to make you like them.
- You are joining a way of life based on love for The Divine, not fear of eternal damnation.
- No one seems to understand the concept of simultaneously loving God and seeing the joy, goodness, and wonder in
life amidst anguish and suffering quite like the Jews.
- How could you not love gefilte fish?!
- Stumbling through the Hebrew is still infinitely preferable to speaking in tongues...
- You aren't quite sure you deserve to be part of it, but there is nothing like the honor and privilege of being counted as
one of the chosen people.
- What better way of avoiding homework on Friday nights and Saturdays than Shabbat?!
I could go on forever probably. :)
From Camille Naakteboren
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