Rabbi Landsberg's Blog

Jerusalem and the Jews...

There is little to add to the pain, sorrow and horror in the face of the deaths at the Mercaz Harav in Jerusalem. This Shabbat at Temple Emanu-El we added the list of the victims to our kaddish list:

Yohai Livshitz, 18, from Jerusalem; Yonatan Yitzhak Eldar, 16, from Shilo; Yonadav Haim Hirschfeld, 19, from Kohav Hashahar; and Neria Cohen, 15, also from the capital, Segev Peniel Avihail, 15, from Neve Daniel, Avraham David Moses, 16, from Efrat, Roee Roth, 18, from Elkana and Doron Meherete, 26, from Ashdod.

Zichronam Livracha

Now more than ever it behooves us to enter a debate that has started in the Diaspora over whether Jews in the Diaspora have a "voice" in the fate of Jerusalem ("One Jerusalem", as the slogan goes, or two?).  As someone acutely conscious of the fact that my children are safely in bed as I type, I say quite clearly: no - for those of us who have chosen to live chutz la'aretz, we forfeit the right to determine the borders of the State of Israel, whatever our fears, hopes and politics.

Please read this article Slate and--for sense of where the leadership of the North American Reform movement is--read this article from December 2007.

"Love is lowering the threshold of disgust..."

I came back a week and a half ago from a very short sojourn at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem.   While I want to strongly encourage members from Emanu-El to consider their lay leadership study program in the summer, everyone is able to get a taste of what they do without buying a plane ticket.  The institute has launched a fabulous new website where you can sample the outstanding teaching that occurs in this renowned institution (both in article form and as digital lectures).  It is worth all of the time you spend with them.

Also, SHI is about to publish a new journal which we here at Emanu-El will be helping them to evaluate.  Details to be announced.  Please do let me know if you are interested in being part of this review process.

Lastly, the blog post title is part of an aside made by Moshe Halbertal during a lecture about genocide and the Book of Exodus.  Ask me.

Shabbat shalom!

Reform and Tradition, Part One

Is Reform becoming too traditional?  That seems to be the question of the times, yet it is one so emotionally charged, conversation becomes "interesting."   So, to clarify thinking on the matter [especially as Emanu-El is engaging in its siddur decision-making process], a few helpful links:

The Union for Reform Judaism's Eilu v'eilu series presents dialogues addressing issues of the day.  [Eilu v'eilu--literally, "these and these"--is a Talmudic quote identifying the differing halakhic decisions of the school of Hillel and the school of Shammai as the words of the living God...despite their contradictions with one another].  Here are the links to the first dialogue on the subject of traditionalism.  Enjoy!  Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four. 

BTW, one of the interlocutors is the grandson of Dr. Stanley Dreyfus, my most esteemed teacher at HUC-JIR.  I spent most Friday mornings together with two friends studying in Dr. Dreyfus' home (all of us lived in Park Slope); the mornings consisted of text, argument and scotch.  In my tenure at HUC, I saw Dr. Dreyfus shudder with distaste more than a few times: each time a student either mispronounced a word from text or if they, wrapped in tallit and tefillin, shuckled a little too fervently for Dr. Dreyfus' Classical Reform taste.  May he live to 120.

Technological Mitzvot: [Don't] Read This on Shabbat!

With the leader of the Reform movement calling for individuals and congregations alike to reconsider the manner in which they observe Shabbat, this article in Haaretz caught my eye.  The incredible technological inventiveness that allows traditionally observant Jews to keep Shabbat while still engaging in some of the luxuries of modern life [such as a freshly brewed cup of cappuccino] is awesome.

Yet for many liberal Jews, this seems oxymoronic--not the modernity per se, but the focus on strict observance of Shabbat restrictions without apparent restrictions (or perhaps a sense of being restricted).  I have never found it troubling personally:  if HaShem made His will clear, then all that matters is doing what HaShem specified.  All of the rest is--at best--narishkeit or--at worst--a sin akin to that of Nadav and Avihu.  Of course, this is dependent upon belief that HaShem made "His" will clear and that the traditional halakhic interpretative system is the only way to understand what God wants from the Jews.

As Reform Jews collectively engage anew in Shabbat observance, it is thus timely to  focus on one's own theological and halakhic stance.   Only by acknowledging our divergent ideologies/philosophies/theologies can we understand the radical divergence in our practices.  Nonetheless, just as cappuccino-making haredi Jews celebrate Shabbat as best they can, so too should we all:  as best as we can.   A sweet Shabbat to you. 

Shabbat Happens...(but should the bar mitzvah?)

About a decade ago in Atlanta, I saw--on the back of a Honda--a bumper sticker which challenged any tailgater with the simple declaration:  Shabbat Happens.  Not a choice, not negotiated by when the family can gather for candlelighting and dinner or whether one is on vacation, simply:  Shabbat Happens. 

Rabbi Eric Yoffie's sermon at the URJ biennial was (as noted by Robin Leszner in her much appreciated comment) primarily addressed Shabbat observance amongst Reform Jews.  He spoke baldly about two aspects that are deeply troubling:  1. for too many Reform Jews, Shabbat ends at the end of Friday night dinner, and 2. b'nei mitzvah have become private ceremonies occuring in what is supposed to be a public place (the sanctuary) at a time of communal prayer (Shabbat mornings). 

What to say?  1. yes and 2. not as badly here as in many shuls south of the border, I think.  More than just bemoaning an unfortunate reality, however, Rabbi Yoffie presented programs and resources and synagogue processes to assist congregations and families in deepening their Shabbat experience (and reassessing the bar/bat mitzvah service).  We will begin exploring some of these here at Emanu-El, but you can start for yourself:  Shabbat.  It happens.

[Bi]Annual Review: How're We Doing On the Job?

Rabbi Eric Yoffie, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, spoke some difficult truths in his Shabbat sermon this morning.  For those of us not present at the biennial, it is decidedly worth reading and reflecting upon. 

He speaks about several key issues that challenge us today and culminates with words about Israel.  He speaks starkly:

But this Shabbat I am concerned with something else: the studies that show North American Jews to be less and less attached to the State of Israel. This increasing alienation is not our problem alone, but it is more prevalent in our ranks than among our more traditional brothers and sisters—and it speaks to our failure to teach some very important lessons to the members of our synagogues...

If we fail to create a significant presence in Israel, this failure casts doubt on our authenticity as a religious movement. In other words, if we do not become a force in Israel in the next generation, we will have consigned ourselves to the margins of Jewish history.

The possibility he raises is not a scare tactic; it is quite real. It is hard sometimes to think beyond the community or locale that we live in, yet we must remember that the very meaning of the word Jew will be decided in Eretz Yisrael, for good or for ill. 

Rabbi Yoffie will deliver his next State of Reform Judaism address two years from now, here in Toronto.  I look forward to Emanu-Elniks having the distinct pleasure of encountering him personally.  Shavua tov.

Indigestion (and not a latka in the house)

Feh.  Chanukah is an odd mix of seasonal celebration envy and the most intense examination of the issues of our times. It pits radical Jewish faith against the wisdom of the Rabbis who were less than enamored with its disconcerting history.  [If I am speaking opaquely, apologies: here is my post from last year.]

This year, Chanukah is in the news thanks to the ever challenging Christopher Hitchens. Take an antacid and read his thoughts here.  Daniel Radosh attempts a rebuttal here in The Huffington Post. [His point is that Chanukah is whatever we make of it. Yes, you are correct in thinking that this is a view I do not share.]

The most satisfying piece on Chanukah I have encountered this year is from a writer called Danya Ruttenberg, who I will certainly be following more closely.  Read it here.  She concludes:

We have to be honest about the history that's happened, to take responsibility for what has been done by Jewish hands and to use what's past to spark discussion and action about how to behave in our world...

Chag same'ach.

Like Ordering Filet Mignon After Ridding the Planet of Cattle...?

The question at hand is about the viability of Jewish culture without Jewish belief. 

First, check out this post in Jewcy (here) relating a debate between Rabbi Shmuley Boteach (host of tv show "Shalom in the Home" and--according to Newsweek magazine--the most famous rabbi in America) and Michael Steinhardt, the founder of Birthright Israel and an avowed atheist.  The writer of the post, Abe Greenwald, asserts that Jewish culture is a byproduct of Judaism without independent life. Or, in his well chosen turn of phrase,  "It would be like ordering filet mignon after ridding the planet of cattle...."

Then listen to Amos Oz who maintains that Jewish culture can encompass and explain the shul (here, click on the video link).  I do agree with Oz that there is a rich Jewish culture independent of the authority granted to it by belief.  However, culture's home is in the "republic of letters."  For Jews, the letters are Hebrew (and to an extent Yiddish, Ladino and all the other rich langauges of the diaspora).  Further, living in the "republic" requires fluency and an immersion that is not available, outside of Israel, except for the few.   

For the rest of us, I maintain now as I have for quite a while:  in diaspora, no shul...no Jews (believers, agnostics, atheists or otherwise).

A Deal You Can't Refuse: Against Jewish Specialness

Simchat Torah is approaching, and with it, two realizations:

1. I will probably not have another opportunity to speak face to face with the entire congregation until next Rosh Hashanah, so it is time to return to the blog! Forgive the sudden onslaught of posts; there are several pieces I've come across the past few weeks that I want to share. And,

2. It is probably a good time to look at the issue of Jewish chosenness. Most of us are familiar with the midrash which says that God offered Torah to many other peoples before bringing it to the Jews. When at last it was our turn, God (having run low on patience) lifted Mount Sinai over the assembled Jews and said: Accept Torah or I'll drop Mount Sinai right on your heads! There are different strands of thought within Jewish tradition about Jewish specialness, including some which posit an intrinsic distinction between Jews and other nations.

There is also the more secular manifestation of this question when Jews count PhDs as evidence of the inherent genius of the Jews. This is tricky line to take--not least for the complacency it encourages but also--because it does not stand inspection. Here is a post from a couple weeks ago by Daniel Septimus that surveys the arguments.

4 out of 5 Theologians Recommend

If a wave of theologians in the 1950s, post-Shoah world proclaimed the death of God, then it is only fitting that theology too would soon receive its own eulogy.  This week in the Forward there was a provocative piece by Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove entitled, "Where Have All the Theologians Gone?"  He argues that, "We are so focused on Israel, antisemitism and intermarriage that we have come to ignore the linchpin for all discussions on Jewish continuity — namely, a compelling case for Jewish belief."

Personally, I was struck by the list of theologians whose passing [or whose prime has passed] Cosgrove mourns:  Eugene Borowitz, Neil Gillman, Yitz Greenberg, David Hartman, Harold Kushner.  In the 16 years since I entered rabbinic school, I have had the pleasure of studying with all but one [Harold Kushner].  Each has had great influence on my own thinking--though I certainly have not seen eye to eye with them all.   I am returning this summer to begin again a 3 year cycle of study at The Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem [The Rabbinic Leadership Initiative]; though I will be studying more with David Hartman's son Donniel, David's influence is still greatly felt. 

Is Jewish theology dead?  I hope not.  Yet this may not be the time of its blossoming.  Cosgrove is correct; we are as a community distracted by immediate needs and threats, often unable or unwilling to pause and reflect on the larger picture.  Will the Jewish people be able to survive the challenges and assimilatory power of diaspora without a return to theology?  Probably not as we know it.  The purpose of Jews is not just to exist or survive, but to be an instrument of the divine will as refracted through Torah as best we can understand/interpret it.  The more secular version of this can be seen in the moves towards tikkun olam - recasting Jews as an essential agent in the struggle for social change in our world. Whichever way you cut it there is always a need to understand the role of Jews in the diaspora as more than just an ethnicity. We make demands of ourselves and other Jews that will only be valid if they can be traced back to a coherent world view. 

The challenges of our age, therefore, are very different to those faced by the post war generation. For the Jew today the question is not one of secularism versus faith.  Rather, it is one of finding a coherent and compelling Jewish identity within this world in which global concerns are paramount (hunger, HIV ) and other faith traditions are sometimes felt to speak more directly to the heart/soul (thus, the rise of the so-called "Bu-Jew," the Buddhist Jew).   I hope Cosgrove's pessimism proves to be misplaced.

BTW, read the comments on his article; many points are well taken.