Jewish Unity Jewish Unity

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WINTER 2001 / TEVET 5761 VOLUME 3, NUMBER 2 THE JOURNAL OF JEWISH LIFE NETWORK /

Jewish Unity Essays by Michael H. Steinhardt,

Rabbi Yitz Greenberg, Rabbi Saul KK OO L Rabbi Yitz Greenberg, Rabbi Saul L M II M YY RR II SS EE RR VV Berman, Rabbi Sheila Peltz Weinberg, AA Berman, Rabbi Sheila Peltz Weinberg, A A

L L

C Rabbi David Wolpe, Kyla Epstein C

KK EE RR Schneider, Maggi Gaines, and Rabbi WW Schneider, Maggi Gaines, and Rabbi OO II SS WW HH TT E LL E Sara Paasche-Orlow II FF EE NN contact WINTER 2001 / TEVET 5761 VOL 3 NO 2 Towards a Definition JEWISH LIFE NETWORK / of Clal Yisrael Judaism Eli Valley Editor f it is true that all systems tend inexorably toward disharmony, then the Jewish people might be the perfect model of disorder. The theme of dis- David Winter unity, of a people warring against itself, bobs through the major waves Administration I of Jewish history. The Bible itself chronicles enough sibling squabbling to Janet Mann fuel several lifetimes of lawsuits. At certain points in history the atmosphere Administration became so divisive that the most salient characteristic of the Jewish people Yakov Wisniewski seemed to be the need to discredit other Jews. This in spite of the traditional, Design Director and oft-repeated, admonitions against slander and baseless hatred. Seen in this light, contemporary infighting in the Jewish world should not seem particularly alarming. Yet nowadays the spirit of disharmony seems JEWISH LIFE NETWORK especially rancorous, the language bitter and cruel. We are so adamant about Michael H. Steinhardt shouting our own truths that we have deafened our ears to each other. Chairman The assassination of Yitzhak Rabin sounded a clarion call to turn down the Rabbi Irving Greenberg volume on the acrimony. Five years later, the atmosphere is little changed. President The ideal of a pluralistic Jewish community, where opposing ideas are heard and respected, is being swept aside in the battle over legitimacy, authenticity, Jonathan J. Greenberg and personal or absolute truths. Executive Director To those who would argue that Judaism has become too splintered to main- CONTACT is produced and tain a core, we would like to offer an alternative view. This issue of Contact distributed by Jewish Life Network, will explore the values and concerns shared by all Jews, regardless of denomi- a Judy and Michael Steinhardt nation, affiliation, or location. The media overflows with tales of Jewish Foundation, 6 East 39th Street, 10th floor, New York, NY 10016. infighting; here we wish to remember exactly what it is that unites us. By concentrating on the forces that unify, we hope to reduce the tones of hatred Phone: (212) 279-2288 and take practical steps towards renewing Jewish identity through unity. Fax: (212) 279-1155 Email: [email protected] Some might warn that to articulate core Jewish values is to dilute the tradition or, conversely, to stifle pluralism. This is not our goal. Instead, the aim is Copyright © 2001 by Jewish Life Network. to lay the groundwork for an ongoing discussion of Jewish commonality, of

K O root Jewish truths. Can we identify traits and beliefs that unite Jews across M L I Y R I S E R V these seemingly unbridgeable divides? Are there areas we should focus on to A A

L C encourage greater cohesion? In these pages, we will consider the binding

J K E R W ethics, perspectives, habits and memories that sustain Jews everywhere, and O I S W H T E L I F E N suggest ways we can use them to revitalize the community. Jewish Life Network is dedicated to strengthening and transforming American This is my first issue as Editor of Contact. I have spent several years working Jewry to ensure a flourishing, sustainable in the Jewish communities of Central and Eastern Europe, where I grew to community in a fully integrated free society. appreciate creative and dynamic approaches to Jewish identity. In the coming We seek to revitalize Jewish identity months, I look forward to an ongoing discussion of the most stimulating through educational, religious and cultural ideas affecting Jewish life today. initiatives that are designed to reach out to all Jews, with an emphasis on those who are on the margins of Jewish life. Eli Valley Some photography in this issue is presented courtesy of ArtToday.

2 CONTACT merican Jewish leaders are perplexed. Universal Our people are living in the richest A country in the world, afforded an Pleasures unprecedented freedom to practice our religion, accepted as never before by our non-Jewish of compatriots—and yet, by and large, they are not JewishJoy interested in their religion, heritage and culture. What are we doing wrong? Studies so far have by MICHAEL H. STEINHARDT pointed to shortcomings in outreach as well as to the dominant pull of American culture. But there is a larger factor that is often overlooked in our rienced by individual Jews. This reality is rush to assign blame. It is time we examined the defined mostly by secular joy. structure of our community and the contents of In America, far more of our time and our tradition to determine how closely they reflect energy is now within our ability to control. Jewish life in America today. We have freed ourselves from the struggles of Historically, Jews have suffered at the hands recent generations, when our main challenge of oppressors. The history of the Diaspora is was economic. Our children are progressing replete with instances of carnage. That the most to a lifestyle we can only begin to hypothesize. catastrophic trauma was perpetrated in our very As America experiences its greatest prosperity, lifetime only reinforces our self-image as an people emphasize “quality of life.” Jews and oppressed people. Over the course of generations, others, freed from historic necessities, will then, Jewish identity was informed by persecu- increasingly concentrate on leisure, culture, tion. Lacking exposure to the open society, Jews and family. found strength in a life of oppression. In a socio- It is time for us to reorient Judaism to religious sense, the persecution “proved” that the spirit of our age. It certainly would not Jews were morally and culturally superior to their be the first time in Jewish history that Jews persecutors. The self-perception of martyrdom left living in a flourishing society have imitated an imprint on Jewish consciousness that is diffi- its customs. Italian Jewish culture in the cult to remove. Renaissance incorporated important ele- The climate of persecution did little to prepare ments of art and literature. The Jews in Jews for life in contemporary America. When con- the Golden Age of Spain sang drinking fronted, on the one hand, with a history bound up songs, and some of the great Hebrew poets in remembered tragedies, and on the other with a emphasized parties and celebrations. present rich in freedoms, it is clear that people During almost all periods of prosperity, will choose the latter. If synagogues and Hebrew Judaism has shown that it can guide people schools focus on catastrophe rather than celebra- to a joy that is deeper, more value laden, and tion, there should be no surprise that so few more humane. American Jews, particularly young Jews, are Are joyous elements to be found in the drawn to Jewish religious life. Jewish tradition? Absolutely. In fact, in Biblical The fungus of remembered oppression has times all the Jewish holidays mentioned in the infested our communal bodies as well. The infra- Torah were joyous: Passover, Sukkot, Shavuot, structure of the American Jewish community was Shabbat. Even Yom Kippur was a happy day. built with an eye towards relief efforts, defense Sukkot was a holiday set aside totally for against anti-Semitism, and protection against rejoicing. Shabbat has a powerful primary Israel’s destruction. Decades after such concerns emphasis on oneg, on the pleasure of food, The have receded into the background of American family, song and dance. The Bible stresses Jewry, the community is still fueled by pogrom- the importance of pleasure in this world. connection riddled perceptions of human destiny. Fear con- Our task in this generation is to bring these tinues to sustain some of the most prestigious core resources in Jewish tradition back to to spirit and Jewish American philanthropies today. Mean- the fore. We must focus on the positive while, the American Jewish experience is charac- aspects of traditions and life rituals, and community terized by prosperity, integration, and joy. On we must elevate the simcha of song, dance, many levels, there is dissonance between Jewish and community so that Judaism is once was palpable community life and one’s own personal experi- again a religion of rejoicing in life. I am ence. It is no wonder, then, that a relatively small confident that a substantial number of Jews and joyful. percentage of Jews are actively engaged in their would freely gravitate toward this kind of communities. Jewish experience. I wondered, Make no mistake: history has taught us that it I first met Shlomo Carlebach when he is easier to unite people through fear than was relatively unknown. Although I had little why was this through joy. But if Judaism is to sustain itself in Jewish education and very little emotional the open society, it must adjust to the reality expe- attachment to synagogue or prayer, I was the exception stirred and enthralled by the joy of Rabbi Carlebach’s singing, and the dancing and and not the Michael H. Steinhardt is Chairman of Jewish Life Net- warmth that accompanied it. The connection work. to spirit and community was palpable and joy- norm?

WINTER 2001 3 ful. I wondered, why was this the exception and emory defines the human improve society. Some might define Sinai not the norm? There are countless ways to incorpo- being. My recollection of past even more minimally: It is the moment rate celebration in Jewish life. Mevents shapes my response to when Jews became the people of the Shabbat, for example, is not merely a day to new situations. Shared memories with Book, and the origin of the Jewish dedi- abstain from work. It is actually a time designated my loved ones link me to them in the cation to the values of education and for increased pleasure. The focus of Friday night is bonds of love. Memory shapes a people self-betterment. for families to eat and sing together. Modern Ortho- as well: Frenchmen remember the 3. Sabbath The fundamental Jewish dox Jews incorporate zemirot, or songs, into their Bastille, Texans remember the Alamo. value of setting aside special time for Friday night meals. How often do non-Orthodox America has grown into a democracy and family life and self-development. Obser- families sit together, teenagers side by side with an open society because it has not forgot- vant Jews will focus on the elevated spirit adults, to sing songs for an hour? A common com- ten that this country started as a New of Shabbat, as well as on the halacha, or plaint is that the songs are incomprehensible World open to immigrants seeking to ful- Jewish law, of Shabbat, with its prohibi- because they are in Hebrew. But historically, these fill their unique dreams. tion of work. Secular Jews may emphasize songs were never compositions of deep learning. Even in this age of Jewish polariza- family values or the different rhythm and They were popular tunes designed to increase com- tion, there are core Jewish memories that pace of existence on this day. All may see munal pleasure. We should devote the time and can unite all Jews. Can these memories in Shabbat and the holidays a taste of the resources to creating contemporary versions of be identified and succinctly taught so better world we seek to realize. these songs, or increase educational standards suffi- that they belong to all Jews? Can we per- 4. Desert Failure (Journey) Medieval ciently to meet this minimum standard. Havdallah, suade Jews of every variety and stripe to tradition continuously recalls the Golden the closing ceremony of Shabbat, with its emphasis share and internalize at least these few Calf event, which serves as a surrogate for on sight, smell, sound, and taste, is another exam- memories so they will stay Jewish no all past Jewish betrayals of God and fail- ple of devotion to sensual pleasure. Then there is matter what else they identify with? ures in the mission. Today, this memory the rabbinic tradition that sex on Friday night is a In the Middle Ages, the Kabbalists stands in for our culture’s emphasis that mitzvah. Can there be more explicit evidence that conceived such an idea. They called on no one is perfect; even our heroes are Judaism is not hung up on decorum, that our reli- all Jews to set aside a few minutes every flawed human beings, not saints. With gion demands we experience pleasure? Perhaps rab- day to remember six fundamental Jewish this insight come associated core Jewish bis should be speaking about Jewish sexuality to experiences. These six were summarized values: 1) If no human system is perfect, publicize this mitzvah everywhere. as 1. Exodus, 2. Sinai, 3. Sabbath, 4. then the good system/faith/society/gov- Being Jewish involves passion and emotional Desert Failure (Journey), 5. Amalek, ernment is the one that allows for dis- release. You can let your hair down, you can sing and 6. Miriam (Her Sin). sent, free expression, and self criticism; and dance. Unfortunately, we have not yet suc- Almost a millennium later, the Jewish 2) Repentance and forgiveness are essen- ceeded in communicating this to most non-Ortho- people has been fractured by assimila- tial to life and are the mark of true rela- dox Jews. Thus the most frequented synagogue tion, by diverse responses to the opening tionships. Minimally, the desert memory event is Yom Kippur. Yom Kippur, a day of absti- up of modern society, and by the acri- is a central, shared Jewish metaphor of nence, asceticism, and grief! Instead of focusing mony between religious and secular life, viz., an affirmation that all humans only on melancholy, we should raise celebration to Jews. Many Jews are ignorant of Jewish should understand life as a continuing the center of Jewish life. Orthodox customs can history and values. Yet, I believe that the journey, not a fixed state. One should provide a useful model. The simcha of an Orthodox Kabbalists’ core concepts of Jewish mem- strive toward becoming a full human Jewish wedding is a transcendent experience of ory can effectively serve to unify and sus- being throughout one's lifetime. In his- communal rejoicing. On Simchat Torah in Borough tain our culture today. The test of these tory, one never stops trying to make the Park, the streets palpitate with the spirit of other- core Jewish memories is that they show planet a place of dignity and peace for all. worldly joy. Already, many non-Orthodox congrega- the capacity to speak to all human beings 5. Amalek In Jewish tradition, Amalek tions have come to infuse their Jewishness with joy. while enabling Jews to appreciate the is more than an aggressive nation. It is The B’nai Jeshurun synagogue in New York owes uniqueness and depth of Jewish life. the embodiment of pure evil. During the its incredible popularity to the joy of its Friday 1. Exodus The Jewish people came into Exodus from Egypt, Amalek launched a night services, with singing and dancing in the being with an act of liberation: The cruel assault on the children of Israel. aisles. We should be educating “Yom Kippur Jews” Hebrew slaves were set free from Egypt. Generations later, the hate-filled Haman, nationwide of such life-affirming attitudes towards Therefore, Jewish values teach that all a descendent of Amalek, sought to wipe the tradition. If they don’t agree with the heavy r people are entitled to freedom. By the out all the Jews without mercy. In our eligiosity of the events, they should create secular same token, Jews (and by implication, time, the Nazis were heirs to Amalek’s versions—an evening of swing dancing, a concert, all people) should never forget what it evil. Memory of Amalek goads the Jewish whatever it takes to concentrate on the fun. Indeed, means to be slaves or outsiders. Therefore, traditional commitment to help the weak why isn’t our most popular holiday Purim? In we should always act with compassion for and downtrodden. Specifically, every Israel, Purim is a time of national Bacchanalia for the oppressed, the weak, and the needy. potential victim (not just Jews) must have all Jews, whether observant or secular. 2. Sinai Sinai represents receiving the access to power for self defense. This Our community will flourish through the Torah, the moment when the Jewish peo- commitment turns us into seekers of an cohesive and life-affirming nature of Jewish cele- ple pledged to work in partnership with Ethic of Power, working toward a mature, brations. Joy is perhaps the single most powerful God for Tikkun Olam, or perfecting the inescapably flawed, but limited use of unifying element for Jews across the denomina- world. For secular Jews, Sinai represents power. This approach is opposed to the tions. Especially in the generations after the Holo- the Jewish mission to set a higher stan- ethic of pure innocence, which permeates caust, it is time to show that we are no longer dard individually, to be an avant garde Christian and Jewish medieval tradition. defined by catastrophe, that we will rise above collectively and to work with others to That view is outmoded because it cannot trauma. The potential fruits of this endeavor— deal with a world in which aggressors Jewish vitality, relevance, and unity—are too great have unlimited capacity to do evil. Rabbi Yitz Greenberg is President of Jewish 6. Miriam (Her Sin) Punished by God to ignore. Life Network.

4 CONTACT for belittling her brother Moses, her memory speaks of the prohibition against the sin of lashon JewishMemory by RABBI YITZ GREENBERG hara, or speaking evil of others. Most will find this memory the hardest to translate into a Jewish core with contemporary consensus. Some consider this standard unreal and impossible to live by. Some feminists will see this memory as tainted by sex- ism (the woman talks too much; why not blame her brother Aaron, whom she was gossiping with? Why was Miriam not a full, equal leader?). It is possible to re-articulate the concept as the value of the unity of Jewry. Thus Miriam’s experience is a warning and call for the importance of not speaking evil of other Jews and their leaders, for these attacks break us apart. Turned into positive instruction, the memory teaches us that all Jews should help other Jews, and by extension all people, who find themselves in trouble. Finally, I propose that a seventh memory be added. Seven is the classic Jewish number representing wholeness. The additional category also symbolizes that much has happened in the past century and that Judaism is an evolving civilization. There are two possibilities for the seventh memory. One is Remember the Holocaust. To be a Jew is to have burned in my memory the total political and military war against the Jews. It is to remember the cheapening of life, the apathy of bystanders, the guilt of those who spread anti- Semitism beforehand, the vulnerability of democracy and law, the courageous struggle of the victims for life and dignity, the loss of a million and a half children and the death of six million. This memory sustains, nay, drives, a pledge: never again will we allow such genocidal destruction of innocents, such abandonment, such powerlessness. The alternative seventh memory is the Rebirth of Israel. Israel represents the Exodus- liberation of our time, in which the hitherto per- secuted Jews rose from powerlessness to power. Israel is a paradigm for the right of all people to reconnect with their roots, to live in a country where they are citizens by intrinsic dignity. Some Jews will see in Israel the living proof of Jewish unity and mutual responsibility. They will also see in Israel evidence that Judaism is a constantly evolving culture. Religious Jews will see in Israel the fulfillment of two thousand years of prayers and divine promises. Others will see in Israel the model for the economic and political liberation of the third world everywhere, especially if Israel can find peace with its neighbors and enable full dignity and participation for its Arab citizens. Can we define these seven words—Exodus, Sinai, Sabbath, Journey, Amalek, Miriam (Unity), Holocaust (Israel) so that every Jew, regardless of affiliation, knows what they mean? Can we make them available in posters, artifacts, books, travel experience, religious ritual, secular encounter— so that almost all Jews can relate to them? If we will it, it is no dream. Such a program can establish the core of a common memory that proves again the Zohar’s vision that “the people Israel, the Torah and the Holy One are one.”

WINTER 2001 5 Rabbi SHEILA PELTZ WEINBERG Jewish Common Spiritual Wants A common history and destiny list of common spiritual wants. By all the earth’s resources. fundamentally define the Jewish listing wants, we align ourselves Inspired by the Exodus narra- people. We are a group that to the group purpose. We are able tive, we want a Judaism that will wishes to preserve our unique to scrutinize our actions in the teach, not just preach, liberation. record of struggle and search for light of their intentions. We do We need help to free ourselves UNITY meaning, justice and peace. We not need to enter into the shady from inner demons (pharaohs) a also understand ourselves as and murky realm of absolute like depression, dishonesty, apa- Symposium having a purpose. In order to truth which none of us possesses. thy, confusion, and self-hatred fulfill our purpose, we call upon I think we can correlate our and external demons like eco- both the responses given by our deepest wants with the primary nomic, political and social forms ancestors and the wisdom of stories of our heritage, namely the of abuse and exploitation of the present generations. stories of Creation, the Exodus weak by the strong. e asked three leading Jewish thinkers Mordecai Kaplan devoted and Sinai. Inspired by the Cre- Inspired by the narrative of We need a tremendous thought to the issue ation narrative, we want a Sinai, we want a Judaism that to identify that which unites Jews and of Jewish unity. Rather than Judaism that will awaken us to identifies and displaces the false Jewish practice attempting to define and cata- how precious and unique creation idols we construct and worship. that will ignite the qualities we should develop in order logue a list of Jewish beliefs or is. We need a Jewish practice that Idolatry is a form of addiction practices that would inspire Jew- will ignite wonder and reduce that endows an individual, sym- wonder and to achieve greater unity in the future. ish loyalty, Kaplan argued that it separation from nature and from bol, place, idea or substance with made more sense to speak about a other creatures. We need a Jewish absolute power. Idolatry mistakes reduce separa- practice that will nourish us the part for the whole. We want a tion from nature Rabbi Sheila Peltz Weinberg, the Rabbi of deeply, reducing greed and insecu- Judaism that can guide us in the W rity. We need a Judaism that will profound personal and social and from other the Jewish Community of Amherst, leads interdenominational retreats to enhance help us to use our leisure wisely endeavor toward wholeness creatures. Rabbi SAUL BERMAN Jewish spiritual life. and to make clear choices about (shlemut). Common Responsibility There is Rabbi DAVID WOLPE others also finds a deeply pro- any context. A more profound something that Memory found expression in the Jewish undertaking could be a Shabbat Common psyche, regardless of denomina- candle lighting program, in tells us that we A people is like an organism, it etched as much in difference as As Jews we not only teach our tion. This is not just because we which we attempt to educate must be bound grows and changes. Just as the ele- in commonality. As Jewish edu- children the history of the Jew- All the have been an oppressed minor- even the most non-affiliated ments of our bodies change as the cation slides down, we do not ish people, we offer them a map ity; it is a universal Jewish value. Jews that lighting candles in together. We years pass, the assumptions and even share a language. for reading the human experi- denominations However, we need to work on their homes on Friday night is feel it in our beliefs of a people evolve over And yet, and yet. There is ence: alienation and homecom- are trying to developing a common language an essential Jewish affirmation. time. There is no unvarying con- something that tells us that we ing; slavery and freedom; to express this sense of responsi- The link to Shabbat is an incom- bones, and it stant in the reservoirs of Jewish must be bound together. We feel transcendence and idolatry; find ways to bility. For example, while all of parable gateway into Jewish life. faith. The understanding of God in it in our bones, and it runs along despair overcome by hope and the denominations are con- Another area in which the reli- runs along our the time of Moses was different our hearts. Division is deep, and history seeded with redemption. incorporate cerned about the underprivi- gious communities can work from the understanding of Rabbi animosity real, but it is not all. For some in the Jewish com- leged, some call it “social together is in how Jews engage hearts. Akiba, which was different from The Jewish people is bound munity, these ideas will be more Jewishness into action,” whereas others call it the external world. This has the understanding of Maimonides, first by deep history. Not the his- figurative than for others. No “hesed campaigns.” The diver- taken on even greater signifi- which is different from the under- tory of the last hundred years, matter. Each generation, the people’s daily sity of language creates a barrier cance with the candidacy of Sen- standing of anyone—of whatever although the Shoah and the birth midrash tells us, must make do because people don’t think ator Lieberman. All the religious disposition—today. We of the State have quickly become with the leadership given in its lives, in their Despite appearances, Jews actu- they’re talking about the same denominations are trying to find do not skate on the ice of history, the central symbols of modern own time. It does no good to ally share a huge cultural her- thing when in reality they are. A ways to incorporate Jewishness we bathe in its waters. We are Jewish consciousness. Rather, we pine for idealized images of careers and in itage. The common base of common language would into people’s daily lives, in their soaked in the events and presump- are tied together by the deeper leaders of the past. We too must Jewish actions are holidays and enhance our sense of people- careers and in their encounters tions of our own time; even if we patterns that emerge from the make do with the particular their encounters life cycle events, from the seder hood. with the outside world. If the reject them, they define us. The millennia of Jewish experience: fractures and failures of our own to the Bar Mitzvah ceremony. In In terms of where we should communities were to work Jews, as an historical people, the exodus and the entry into age. But so long as we bear on with the outside each of these areas there is a be heading, a deceptively simple together to focus on our com- should know this well. the land, the cycles of persecu- our hearts the template of this great degree of diversity, but if action would do wonders for mon ethical and social values in If no single belief can bind us tion and perseverance, the tradi- remarkable people, we shall not world. instead of stressing the areas of Jewish unity: the use of a Jewish engaging the world, it could together, then what? Our histor- tion of learning and our yearning pass away. difference we were to teach the greeting. Not “hello” or “good- have a powerful unifying effect. ical experience is also varied. to repair the wreckage of God’s core components that we all bye,” but “shalom.” It’s an effec- We may all share a common once pristine world. Rabbi David Wolpe is a widely pub- share, the commonality itself tive, non-offensive means of Rabbi Saul Berman is Director of ancestor, but the Jew of Yemen These are more than arche- lished author and Rabbi of Sinai Tem- preserving a sense of identifica- Edah, which serves as a voice for the could serve to hold us together. and the Jew of Mexico City are types, they are primal memories. ple in Los Angeles. The sense of responsibility for tion among co-religionists in modern Orthodox community.

6 CONTACT WINTER 2001 7 Rabbi SHEILA PELTZ WEINBERG Jewish Common Spiritual Wants A common history and destiny list of common spiritual wants. By all the earth’s resources. fundamentally define the Jewish listing wants, we align ourselves Inspired by the Exodus narra- people. We are a group that to the group purpose. We are able tive, we want a Judaism that will wishes to preserve our unique to scrutinize our actions in the teach, not just preach, liberation. record of struggle and search for light of their intentions. We do We need help to free ourselves UNITY meaning, justice and peace. We not need to enter into the shady from inner demons (pharaohs) a also understand ourselves as and murky realm of absolute like depression, dishonesty, apa- Symposium having a purpose. In order to truth which none of us possesses. thy, confusion, and self-hatred fulfill our purpose, we call upon I think we can correlate our and external demons like eco- both the responses given by our deepest wants with the primary nomic, political and social forms ancestors and the wisdom of stories of our heritage, namely the of abuse and exploitation of the present generations. stories of Creation, the Exodus weak by the strong. e asked three leading Jewish thinkers Mordecai Kaplan devoted and Sinai. Inspired by the Cre- Inspired by the narrative of We need a tremendous thought to the issue ation narrative, we want a Sinai, we want a Judaism that to identify that which unites Jews and of Jewish unity. Rather than Judaism that will awaken us to identifies and displaces the false Jewish practice attempting to define and cata- how precious and unique creation idols we construct and worship. that will ignite the qualities we should develop in order logue a list of Jewish beliefs or is. We need a Jewish practice that Idolatry is a form of addiction practices that would inspire Jew- will ignite wonder and reduce that endows an individual, sym- wonder and to achieve greater unity in the future. ish loyalty, Kaplan argued that it separation from nature and from bol, place, idea or substance with made more sense to speak about a other creatures. We need a Jewish absolute power. Idolatry mistakes reduce separa- practice that will nourish us the part for the whole. We want a tion from nature Rabbi Sheila Peltz Weinberg, the Rabbi of deeply, reducing greed and insecu- Judaism that can guide us in the W rity. We need a Judaism that will profound personal and social and from other the Jewish Community of Amherst, leads interdenominational retreats to enhance help us to use our leisure wisely endeavor toward wholeness creatures. Rabbi SAUL BERMAN Jewish spiritual life. and to make clear choices about (shlemut). Common Responsibility There is Rabbi DAVID WOLPE others also finds a deeply pro- any context. A more profound something that Memory found expression in the Jewish undertaking could be a Shabbat Common psyche, regardless of denomina- candle lighting program, in tells us that we A people is like an organism, it etched as much in difference as As Jews we not only teach our tion. This is not just because we which we attempt to educate must be bound grows and changes. Just as the ele- in commonality. As Jewish edu- children the history of the Jew- All the have been an oppressed minor- even the most non-affiliated ments of our bodies change as the cation slides down, we do not ish people, we offer them a map ity; it is a universal Jewish value. Jews that lighting candles in together. We years pass, the assumptions and even share a language. for reading the human experi- denominations However, we need to work on their homes on Friday night is feel it in our beliefs of a people evolve over And yet, and yet. There is ence: alienation and homecom- are trying to developing a common language an essential Jewish affirmation. time. There is no unvarying con- something that tells us that we ing; slavery and freedom; to express this sense of responsi- The link to Shabbat is an incom- bones, and it stant in the reservoirs of Jewish must be bound together. We feel transcendence and idolatry; find ways to bility. For example, while all of parable gateway into Jewish life. faith. The understanding of God in it in our bones, and it runs along despair overcome by hope and the denominations are con- Another area in which the reli- runs along our the time of Moses was different our hearts. Division is deep, and history seeded with redemption. incorporate cerned about the underprivi- gious communities can work from the understanding of Rabbi animosity real, but it is not all. For some in the Jewish com- leged, some call it “social together is in how Jews engage hearts. Akiba, which was different from The Jewish people is bound munity, these ideas will be more Jewishness into action,” whereas others call it the external world. This has the understanding of Maimonides, first by deep history. Not the his- figurative than for others. No “hesed campaigns.” The diver- taken on even greater signifi- which is different from the under- tory of the last hundred years, matter. Each generation, the people’s daily sity of language creates a barrier cance with the candidacy of Sen- standing of anyone—of whatever although the Shoah and the birth midrash tells us, must make do because people don’t think ator Lieberman. All the religious disposition—today. We of the State have quickly become with the leadership given in its lives, in their Despite appearances, Jews actu- they’re talking about the same denominations are trying to find do not skate on the ice of history, the central symbols of modern own time. It does no good to ally share a huge cultural her- thing when in reality they are. A ways to incorporate Jewishness we bathe in its waters. We are Jewish consciousness. Rather, we pine for idealized images of careers and in itage. The common base of common language would into people’s daily lives, in their soaked in the events and presump- are tied together by the deeper leaders of the past. We too must Jewish actions are holidays and enhance our sense of people- careers and in their encounters tions of our own time; even if we patterns that emerge from the make do with the particular their encounters life cycle events, from the seder hood. with the outside world. If the reject them, they define us. The millennia of Jewish experience: fractures and failures of our own to the Bar Mitzvah ceremony. In In terms of where we should communities were to work Jews, as an historical people, the exodus and the entry into age. But so long as we bear on with the outside each of these areas there is a be heading, a deceptively simple together to focus on our com- should know this well. the land, the cycles of persecu- our hearts the template of this great degree of diversity, but if action would do wonders for mon ethical and social values in If no single belief can bind us tion and perseverance, the tradi- remarkable people, we shall not world. instead of stressing the areas of Jewish unity: the use of a Jewish engaging the world, it could together, then what? Our histor- tion of learning and our yearning pass away. difference we were to teach the greeting. Not “hello” or “good- have a powerful unifying effect. ical experience is also varied. to repair the wreckage of God’s core components that we all bye,” but “shalom.” It’s an effec- We may all share a common once pristine world. Rabbi David Wolpe is a widely pub- share, the commonality itself tive, non-offensive means of Rabbi Saul Berman is Director of ancestor, but the Jew of Yemen These are more than arche- lished author and Rabbi of Sinai Tem- preserving a sense of identifica- Edah, which serves as a voice for the could serve to hold us together. and the Jew of Mexico City are types, they are primal memories. ple in Los Angeles. The sense of responsibility for tion among co-religionists in modern Orthodox community.

6 CONTACT WINTER 2001 7 We have been able to create a common core of respect and Jewish honor regarding our individual by KYLA EPSTEIN SCHNEIDER understanding of Jewish ideas, Learners: values and practices. This honoring of the other ... Uniters of reflects the image of God Worlds found within each of us.

teach a weekly women’s study group. us, the multiplicity of viewpoints around Torah as a religious act. What is religious I believe that many others have shared Each Thursday afternoon for the our table has become a unifying force by about such relationships? They demand the experience of profound relationship- I past three years, we have met in a pushing us into an encounter with oth- active responsibility and response. building that Jewish learning provides. small suburban synagogue to learn ers. We have been able to create a com- Therein lies the possibility of holiness. Our challenge is twofold: 1) How do we together. We range from thirty-something mon core of respect and honor regarding If so, what, if any, is the religious reach those who are currently untouched to seventy-ish. We come from a multi- our individual understanding of Jewish responsibility of the learner? This is a by Jewish learning; and 2) How do we plicity of backgrounds, represent a wide ideas, values and practices. This honoring marvelously complicated question which help learners believe that they are authen- range of ideological and denominational of the other is, indeed, a primary Jewish evokes many responses. But a main tic ambassadors of relationship and stances and engage in various levels of value and reflects the image of God found response is that those who are actively uniters of worlds? personal observance. We are novice and within each of us. involved in Torah study are responsible to äÈøBzÇa ïéÄ÷ÀñBòÀå ïéÄáÀLBéÆL äÈøÈNÂò experienced Jewish learners. What unites Our study has impacted the way we be ambassadors of relationship commit- .íÆäéÅðéÅá äÈéeøÀL äÈðéÄëÀL us is the shared table of Torah study and think about ourselves and each other. It ted to continued dialogue and exchange. the common language of learning we has not only informed the way we make A learner can become a uniter of worlds. When ten come to sit and immerse have generated. decisions about our lives and our families’ Consider the following, for example, as themselves with words of Torah, Why these individuals originally lives; it has also potentially changed the ambassadors of relationships: Shekinah is in their midst. came together to learn is varied and com- way we interact with other Jews within A person who reads a Torah fax on —Pirke Avot (Ethics of The Fathers), 3:7 our smaller and greater communities. Friday morning, and then communicates plex: from personal spiritual journeys to Our sages view Torah study as a commu- Such learning has the power to create it to another individual, increases and the warm camaraderie of a women’s nal endeavor. This text tells us that ten is a universe of discourse through which we expands Jewish relation. group, from the need to find meaningful an operative number of souls. Such a might communicate differently. It asks us An internet surfer who peruses Jewish Jewish responses to the complicated sce- minyan provides a critical mass—no to attempt to transcend our everyday sites, learns on a listserve, or sends links narios of modern life to the desire to find doubt at least fourteen opinions. Where (and sometimes perfunctory) relation- to friends, enlarges the circle of dialogue. God in Torah. Though our topics change do ten souls sit? The image that comes to ships with one another in order to come A communal organization, synagogue and the faces around the table occasion- mind is a large table with a seat for each. to a common table. The texts themselves or agency that begins a meeting with a ally change as well, my overwhelming There is space for “os’kin,” engagement, demand that we utilize the wealth of our short d’var Torah, or Torah interpretation, sense is that we now meet because we and my sense is that the immersion is collective thinking and leave our paro- and then transcribes the learning into the have met one another on a deeper level. interactive. Multiple lines of communica- chialism at the door. This learning often minutes, ups the ante for Jewish interac- When we learn together, we cultivate an tion crisscross each other as the dialogue creates an environment or space to which tion. ongoing, mutual relationship with our bounces off the text and back again we’ve invited the Divine, and it helps us Jewish teachers, rabbis, cantors and text and with one another. Even more so, amongst the ten. Imagine the possible to metaphorically stand when the text educators who begin their studies with a the act of learning reflects our historic configurations of communication at that walks in. No matter what our particular blessing regarding study and learning, emphasis on communal life and intellec- table! How could God not be in atten- backgrounds might be, learning can and who teach and challenge their stu- tual inquiry. Torah study is the bond that dance? inspire us to whisper, “kadosh, kadosh, dents to continually bring concrete pieces pulls the most dissimilar Jews together in We have the obligation to use our kadosh” in response to the beauty and of learning to their families and friends, its grasp. existing tools and to develop new tools as awe of a text as we strive to hear God’s wrap their classes and congregations in Through our learning, we are becom- vehicles for nurturing and cultivating voice. an embrace of relationship. ing more comfortable being uncomfort- relationships between ourselves, our texts Put simply, limud torah, the study of Jewish community publications and able, no longer in such desperate need of and the Divine. Only in that way will we Torah, creates relation. Relation, in turn, newsletters that include a passage of the a single answer. Ambiguity and multiple impress upon our diverse Jewish popula- cultivates common language. That lan- week, month, or quarter extend the lan- truths haunt us, but they don’t make us tion that limud Torah has the potential to guage gives birth to dialogue. Dialogue guage of Jewish relationship to their con- duck tail and run. We take each other move, impact, engage and unite our unites worlds. stituents. more seriously. We listen more carefully. many worlds. We search for the image of God within We are commanded “laasok b’divrei Parents and grandparents who bring the other before we respond critically. Torah,” to be engaged or busy in the Torah to the dinner table (and the car- Although we often vehemently disagree, study of Torah. Why? For me, it is pre- pool and the homework desk) extend the Kyla Epstein Schneider is engaged in various so far no one has stopped coming to class cisely this creation of “relationships” relationship like ripples in a pond. Jewish educational initiatives on the local and because she felt that there was no place between God, our texts, and ourselves as My study group is but a snapshot of national level. She and her family reside in Cleve- for her at the table. Rather than dividing learners that characterizes the learning of vital Jewish learning around the country. land, Ohio.

8 CONTACT WINTER 2001 9 We have been able to create a common core of respect and Jewish honor regarding our individual by KYLA EPSTEIN SCHNEIDER understanding of Jewish ideas, Learners: values and practices. This honoring of the other ... Uniters of reflects the image of God Worlds found within each of us.

8 CONTACT WINTER 2001 9 them to respect and value one another. PSALM: Partnership for Service and UNITED WE SERVE Learning Movement is a new partnership initiative founded by Jewish Life Network A Call To Universal Jewish Service to increase and improve service and volun- by MAGGI GAINES and RABBI SARA PAASCHE-ORLOW teerism by Jews in America. Based in Balti- more, Maryland, PSALM will serve as an e have reached a turning point close friend die from the disease. A fully advocacy center for the essential Jewish in American Jewish history. unaffiliated Jew might find himself playing value of service. In addition, PSALM will Now that large segments of our piano weekly at the local Jewish old age use Jewish learning to enrich service activ- W ities. By creating models for effective serv- community are living successful, inte- home where his father suddenly finds him- grated lives, we have an opportunity to self living. We are all connected, and we ice, producing curricular and align ourselves behind service to enrich are all engaged, or should be engaged, in programmatic materials, and supporting Jewish life and to effect prophetic change crucial parts of the task. This is an essen- quality existing programs, PSALM will ele- in the world. In Pirke Avot (Ethics of the tial message of Judaism. vate the ethic of service and help trans- Fathers), Rabbi Tarfon admonishes us, Recognizing our interdependence will form the culture of American Jewry. “You are not obliged to finish the task, nei- go a long way towards reinforcing the PSALM will emphasize service that is ther are you free to desist from it.” The ethic of Jewish unity. None of us can serve not based on any one movement’s ideology usual interpretation is that our task is big- in every way, but each of us can do our and does not assume a particular Jewish ger than any of us in terms of the quantity part and appreciate the ways others are background or knowledge. By creating a of work that must be done. Rabbi Tarfon’s contributing to the larger picture. In Hesed service advocacy center that equally values dictum, however, also refers to the com- in the Bible, Nelson Glueck elaborates on the many ways that hesed is expressed, we plexity of the task. We come to understand the concept of hesed, or kindness. He will bring this broad perspective to genera- the critical interdependence of individuals, states, “Hesed is the real action of brit tions X and Y. each bringing their own skills and varied (covenant).” When we behave in ethical PSALM is premised on the idea that service is a value that extends to all cor- ners of Jewish America. We must shore up Service projects that appeal to Jews from the value of service and pass it on with a range of backgrounds will bring individuals strength to future generations as a key- stone of Jewish identity. The covenant is together who might otherwise have little perceived in a multitude of ways, but there opportunity to interact with one another. can be agreement on the basis by which it must be fulfilled. It requires people to step perspectives to accomplish our people’s ways toward other people, we engage in beyond their own lives to take on respon- role in the covenant. the covenant with God. Glueck also states sibility for others. Writing a check for tzedaka is not that in the prophetic emphasis on hesed, This month we are releasing a new enough. We are called upon to act. Jews in the community expands to become study on community service and Jewish America are involved in a vast array of vol- humankind. identity conducted by Steven M. Cohen of unteer and service commitments. While How can we begin to unite as a people Hebrew University and the JCCA Research varied, our involvements are linked in our acts of hesed, in our volunteerism Center. The results suggest that volunteer- together and overlap like the strands of and in the service that we do? More tradi- ing is widespread among Jews in their 20’s dough in a challah. For example, many sec- tional Jews must embrace a definition of and 30’s (75%). The results also indicate ular Jews are deeply committed to ending gemilut hasadim, or acts of kindness, that that those who volunteer in a Jewish con- world hunger, Tibetan persecution, or includes the sanctity and social signifi- text have higher levels of affiliation and ozone depletion. These people have Jew- cance of deeds that serve all humanity. are more likely to give more tzedaka. This ishly-affiliated friends who are involved in Secular Jews must come to appreciate the is not to say that volunteering resulted in the same causes but who are also address- essential importance of the deeds that sus- these other behavioral traits, but it does ing issues of Jewish poverty, rescuing Jews tain the physical and spiritual well-being suggest that community service is one pil- in peril around the world, and supporting of the Jewish people. lar of a healthy, vital Jewish identity. By the peace process in Israel. Some of these The social and cultural distinctions creating more compelling Jewish options Jews have other Jewish friends who volun- between secular, religious, and observant for service, we provide avenues for Jews to teer solely within a Jewish context: to end Jews are expressions of our rich diversity, express and strengthen their Jewish iden- domestic violence in the Jewish community, but these divisions can frustrate our col- tity. In doing so, we will establish a unify- to serve on the Chevra Kaddisha, or Burial lective capacity to accomplish tikun ing venue through which all Jews can Society, of their community, or to raise olam—repairing the world. Service proj- come together and work for the common money for their Yeshiva or Day School. ects that appeal to Jews from a range of good. The patterns of behavior are often even backgrounds will bring individuals less neatly defined. An Orthodox Jewish together who might otherwise have little Maggi Gaines and Rabbi Sara Paasche- lawyer volunteering primarily within the opportunity to interact with one another. Orlow are Executive Director and National Jewish community might find herself Through shared experiences, they will gain Program Director, respectively, of PSALM: doing pro bono work for the American a heightened sense of mutual understand- Partnership for Service and Learning Move- Cancer Society after having a parent or ing and knowledge, ultimately leading ment.

10 CONTACT WINTER 2001 11 them to respect and value one another. PSALM: Partnership for Service and UNITED WE SERVE Learning Movement is a new partnership initiative founded by Jewish Life Network A Call To Universal Jewish Service to increase and improve service and volun- by MAGGI GAINES and RABBI SARA PAASCHE-ORLOW teerism by Jews in America. Based in Balti- more, Maryland, PSALM will serve as an e have reached a turning point close friend die from the disease. A fully advocacy center for the essential Jewish in American Jewish history. unaffiliated Jew might find himself playing value of service. In addition, PSALM will Now that large segments of our piano weekly at the local Jewish old age use Jewish learning to enrich service activ- W ities. By creating models for effective serv- community are living successful, inte- home where his father suddenly finds him- grated lives, we have an opportunity to self living. We are all connected, and we ice, producing curricular and align ourselves behind service to enrich are all engaged, or should be engaged, in programmatic materials, and supporting Jewish life and to effect prophetic change crucial parts of the task. This is an essen- quality existing programs, PSALM will ele- in the world. In Pirke Avot (Ethics of the tial message of Judaism. vate the ethic of service and help trans- Fathers), Rabbi Tarfon admonishes us, Recognizing our interdependence will form the culture of American Jewry. “You are not obliged to finish the task, nei- go a long way towards reinforcing the PSALM will emphasize service that is ther are you free to desist from it.” The ethic of Jewish unity. None of us can serve not based on any one movement’s ideology usual interpretation is that our task is big- in every way, but each of us can do our and does not assume a particular Jewish ger than any of us in terms of the quantity part and appreciate the ways others are background or knowledge. By creating a of work that must be done. Rabbi Tarfon’s contributing to the larger picture. In Hesed service advocacy center that equally values dictum, however, also refers to the com- in the Bible, Nelson Glueck elaborates on the many ways that hesed is expressed, we plexity of the task. We come to understand the concept of hesed, or kindness. He will bring this broad perspective to genera- the critical interdependence of individuals, states, “Hesed is the real action of brit tions X and Y. each bringing their own skills and varied (covenant).” When we behave in ethical PSALM is premised on the idea that service is a value that extends to all cor- ners of Jewish America. We must shore up Service projects that appeal to Jews from the value of service and pass it on with a range of backgrounds will bring individuals strength to future generations as a key- stone of Jewish identity. The covenant is together who might otherwise have little perceived in a multitude of ways, but there opportunity to interact with one another. can be agreement on the basis by which it must be fulfilled. It requires people to step perspectives to accomplish our people’s ways toward other people, we engage in beyond their own lives to take on respon- role in the covenant. the covenant with God. Glueck also states sibility for others. Writing a check for tzedaka is not that in the prophetic emphasis on hesed, This month we are releasing a new enough. We are called upon to act. Jews in the community expands to become study on community service and Jewish America are involved in a vast array of vol- humankind. identity conducted by Steven M. Cohen of unteer and service commitments. While How can we begin to unite as a people Hebrew University and the JCCA Research varied, our involvements are linked in our acts of hesed, in our volunteerism Center. The results suggest that volunteer- together and overlap like the strands of and in the service that we do? More tradi- ing is widespread among Jews in their 20’s dough in a challah. For example, many sec- tional Jews must embrace a definition of and 30’s (75%). The results also indicate ular Jews are deeply committed to ending gemilut hasadim, or acts of kindness, that that those who volunteer in a Jewish con- world hunger, Tibetan persecution, or includes the sanctity and social signifi- text have higher levels of affiliation and ozone depletion. These people have Jew- cance of deeds that serve all humanity. are more likely to give more tzedaka. This ishly-affiliated friends who are involved in Secular Jews must come to appreciate the is not to say that volunteering resulted in the same causes but who are also address- essential importance of the deeds that sus- these other behavioral traits, but it does ing issues of Jewish poverty, rescuing Jews tain the physical and spiritual well-being suggest that community service is one pil- in peril around the world, and supporting of the Jewish people. lar of a healthy, vital Jewish identity. By the peace process in Israel. Some of these The social and cultural distinctions creating more compelling Jewish options Jews have other Jewish friends who volun- between secular, religious, and observant for service, we provide avenues for Jews to teer solely within a Jewish context: to end Jews are expressions of our rich diversity, express and strengthen their Jewish iden- domestic violence in the Jewish community, but these divisions can frustrate our col- tity. In doing so, we will establish a unify- to serve on the Chevra Kaddisha, or Burial lective capacity to accomplish tikun ing venue through which all Jews can Society, of their community, or to raise olam—repairing the world. Service proj- come together and work for the common money for their Yeshiva or Day School. ects that appeal to Jews from a range of good. The patterns of behavior are often even backgrounds will bring individuals less neatly defined. An Orthodox Jewish together who might otherwise have little Maggi Gaines and Rabbi Sara Paasche- lawyer volunteering primarily within the opportunity to interact with one another. Orlow are Executive Director and National Jewish community might find herself Through shared experiences, they will gain Program Director, respectively, of PSALM: doing pro bono work for the American a heightened sense of mutual understand- Partnership for Service and Learning Move- Cancer Society after having a parent or ing and knowledge, ultimately leading ment.

10 CONTACT WINTER 2001 11 K O L I M Y R I Non-Profit Org. S E R V A U.S. Postage A E Jewish Life Network H

C Paid 6 East 39th Street

J Rockville, MD K E 10th floor R W O Permit No. 800 I S W H T New York, NY 10016 L E I F E N

ven in this age of Jewish

polarization, there are core

Jewish memories that can unite

all Jews. Can these memories

be identified and succinctly

taught so that they belong to

all Jews? Can we persuade Jews

of every variety and stripe to

share and internalize at least

these few memories so they will

stay Jewish no matter what else

they identify with?

—RABBI YITZ GREENBERG