Kol Nidre - TO BE COMMITTED REFORM JEWS

First, on this solemn evening when we should feel especially close to our ideals, when truth ought to be our foremost concern, let me start by speaking about the level of insanity that has pervaded the lives of some of our Jewish landsmen in Israel. Here, specifically, I speak to what has become nearly laughable but wholly pathetic in the world of ultra Orthodox Judaism. Issues of conversion, divorce, marriage---all considered to be, according to the Ottoman-Turkish law which still functions as legal precedent for the Israeli approach to religious issues, the domain of the adherent’s religious faith…these personal issues… are all in turmoil. Flowing from the ultra Orthodox or Haredi Rabbinate’s internecine conflicts, there is no longer any consistency in rulings on these matters of personhood. For one sorry example, people who, in good conscience, converted to Judaism…even, or rather, especially with Orthodox rabbis in Israel…and had or are raising families as Jews are now finding themselves and their children no longer considered Jews. Can we begin to imagine the pain and hurt, not to mention the humiliation, of being rejected after years of having been welcomed as Jews, assured of one’s status?

Another example: For years now, secular Jews who have wanted nothing to do with the Orthodox establishment or belief systems could not have a non-Orthodox rabbi perform their wedding ceremonies and have had no civil recourse short of leaving the country altogether to obtain a marriage license that is recognized by the state.

But, it’s even worse than this. The tyranny with which the Haredim, the Ultras, are attempting to overpower Israeli society goes beyond matters of personal status. Now, in Jerusalem, we hear demands for segregated buses…separate buses for men and women. These demands are due to issues of sexual temptation, as if these men were totally beyond being able to control their yitzray harah, their evil inclinations. And, too, there are women serving in the army, now being told how unwanted they are by Orthodox Jewish chaplains. Some recently were forced to move to different Army camps many times until they could find one wherein there were no Dati, no Orthodox soldiers. The implications of this are ominous for national defense.

Again in Jerusalem, there has been a conflict over the right of the city to keep parking available for those who wish to drive on the Sabbath. Large, unruly, and sometimes violent crowds of ultra-Orthodox pelt police with stones, as if trying to inflict pain and injury on others isn’t a violation of the Sabbath…let alone the very act of picking up stones and garbage, and hurling it at others. The Mayor of Jerusalem recently had his car rocked by these self righteous thugs. The car sustained thousands of dollars in damage. But for the quick actions of the police, the Mayor himself might have been attacked and injured.

The nonsense only multiplies when one considers some of the antics of the Sephardic party, Shas. The scandals and political pay-offs involve more money imaginable to you or me, but, perhaps, not so to the likes of Bernie Maddoff.

And, then, consider this: Given the fact that there now have been thousands of cases of swine flu reported in Israel, some of these Ultra Orthodox rabbis and some cabbalists as well, recently took a plane ride over Eretz Yisrael to pray away the scourge.

This clearly isn’t 21st century Judaism. This is superstition harkening back to the Middle Ages. It delineates the word, “magic,” an attempt to manipulate the Deity. It is totally alien to any Judaism you and I have ever studied or practiced.

I could speak almost endlessly of the tomfoolery, shenanigans, and outright outrages that our Ultra Orthodox Brothers and Sisters have performed in just this past year. But the pain of knowing how many women are locked in a system which keeps them hopelessly tied in failed and often brutal marriages, the insularity of people who call themselves religious but who ignore spouse abuse, incest, child molestation and addiction in their midst… goes beyond the limits of toleration; but intimidation, threats of reprisal, and angry acts of recrimination often intimidate the authorities...until the level of criminal behavior spills out in the media.

In point of fact, however, some of the blame is actually our own. We Reform Jews often confuse religious observance with holiness. Isaiah told us long ago how wrong this is. The prophet railed against this hypocrisy. Our Tanach and Machzor record his words, spoken in the Name of God, rejecting false piety and feigned devotedness. Many of us think of ourselves as religiously weak, undeserving of God’s attention, standing only at the outer fringes of our religion. Measured against the trappings of Ultra-Orthodoxy, we develop inferiority complexes, thinking that Judaism may well die with us but it will surely live on in those who know how to shuckle when they pray, whose hands and lips reach to touch every mezuzah on every door post, who spend countless hours reciting Psalms, but whose business practices, like those in Postville and, more recently in New Jersey, are despicable in the level of their greedy criminality.

When we compare ourselves to…or worse, actively support with our dollars…these keepers of “Torah True” Judaism, we undo ourselves, and we threaten Judaism’s future. I contend and broadly proclaim here tonight that if we Reform Jews were to vow to practice the Judaism we say we adhere to, if we studied, observed, and celebrated the way of life that should inform our family life, our world view, and our inner thoughts, then I as your rabbi would have absolutely no fear whatsoever that this, our own expressions of Judaism would continue…. With and through us, well into the 21st century and beyond.

However and therefore, I want to speak on this night of nights of some of the downsides of our present level of commitment and practice. Eli Wiesel put it best when he wrote: “to be a part of community, to shape it and to strengthen it is the most urgent, the most vital obligation facing the Jewish individual.” I couldn’t agree more. So, in this light, allow me to make the following observations about how you, personally, can act to promote this goal of being part of this community.

The first is to make it a habit to attend as many functions here at B’nai Chaim as you and your family can. Because, apart from the benefits that accrue to you as a thinking adult, your children will come to understand something of worship and the way a Jewish service flows. This, in turn, benefits them, in every way imaginable, when preparing not only for Bar or Bat Mitzvah but also for the rest of their lives. Attendance opens you and yours to meeting and befriending others like yourselves. That, in and of itself, would be plenty worthwhile. Of course, it doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of the benefits of habitual prayer, and knowing and understanding how to do this as a Reform Jew.

Here’s something else to think about. Try studying some portion of the weekly sedra and see how it impacts the rest of what you are doing in your life. I say what I’m about to say with every ounce of passion intended. I have become increasingly agitated that parents of young Jewish kids aren’t telling or reading them Bible stories…as if the Bible were so unintelligible, as if our Tanak were a locked door! But the result is that so many of you, the alleged people of the book, don’t seem to be opening it…ever, at all. How bizarre it is for me to stand on this pulpit, every other week in and every other week out, and mention people like Samson or Goliath or Jonah or Isaiah and have blank stares looking back at me. The Deuteronomic Torah portion we shall read tomorrow disabuses us of Torah’s inaccessibility.

Might I propose instituting at least one night a week whereon you expose your kids, I don’t care how old they are, to Jewish literacy by reading the JPS Children’s Bible to or with them? I’ll bet you that it catches on with them…and will be far more beneficial in their lives than so many other alternatives.

While I am gently berating you for sins of omission, I want to nudge those of you whose habits include habitual lateness. I’ll bet the soccer coach and the public school principal don’t countenance this…and if you are serious about having your child comprehend anything about his or her Judaism; you’ll have them here, on time and well rested for Religious School. Please. Consider how much you will be helping your child’s dedicated teacher who can then, without disturbance or interruption, teach planned lessons, tantalizing your children with Jewish information and experiences. And, then, after school, if Providence smiles, and your children want to bring a friend home with them from religious School, by all means, encourage this…because one day soon, those tightly knitted friends will be attending each other’s Bar or Bat Mitzvah ceremonies which occasions will be of greater important than even a camping trip or some sort of athletic competition!

Good people, the quality of Jewish life and understanding rests on our shoulders. I haven’t the time now to explicate how important this is for us and the world, but I contend that it is critical. What I am promoting to you is a no nonsense approach to living “the good life,” bereft of hocus-pocus, challenging and benefiting all who hold fast to it, drawing down blessing and, yes, piety into our lives, bringing spiritual health to our families, and giving us avenues to serve others while making ourselves better, more self respecting, self loving Jews.