There are many things which I
enjoy about my work as a Rabbi, but chief amongst them is definitely the
opportunity which I have to be with people for the important moments in their
lives. Offering a baby a blessing as she receives her Hebrew name, speaking to
a Bar Mitzvah and his family in front of the opened Ark, and standing
under the chuppah with a wedding couple are all what I consider to be perks of
my job.
I of course enjoy being a part of
these events on a personal level, but the real reason for my enjoyment is in
seeing the faces of the people involved. For baby blessings, bnei mitzvah
and weddings the joy and delight of the occasion is so often etched on the
faces of the family who are sharing the moment. We are fortunate that Judaism
provides us with a set of rituals with which to mark the important events in
our lives and the synagogue provides us with a community in which to celebrate
the joyful ones and to provide comfort for the difficult ones.
In the Jewish community over the
past couple of months many people have been talking about the Pew Study of
Jewish Americans. I will leave it to others to decide whether the findings of
the study are positive or negative, hopeful or hopeless (for what it is worth I
think there is a real reason to be optimistic, especially as Reform Jews). What
is striking is that there are six areas of Jewish practice which over 50% of
American Jews still participate in today. In terms of festivals they are
attendance at a Seder, some celebration of Chanukah חנוכה, and some observance of the High Holy
Days. And the other three are bnei mitzvah, some form of marriage
practice, and some form of funeral practice.
This is not to say that everyone
is marking these Jewish lifecycle moments in the same way. Today in the
American Jewish community people are increasingly personalizing these moments
in order to find meaning and significance within them. It is worth remembering
that every Jewish ritual was at one point an innovation and something which
broke with the pre-existing traditions.
For us as a synagogue the
important thing is to be present to share in these moments with you to help
move them from being another check box in life’s journey to make them into
powerful and transformation Jewish moments in our lives. No baby blessing, bar
or bat mitzvah, wedding, or funeral is the same, because each one has to
speak to, and be meaningful for, the people involved. There are always
similarities and elements which are considered to be a necessary part of the
tradition, but there is also flexibility and potential for finding new meanings
and new rituals which speak to us today.
If we are to take anything away
from the Pew study it is that as an American Jewish community we are proud to
be Jewish, but we want to find meaning in our Jewish lives which is relevant
for us as 21st century Jews, not as hand-me-downs from the 19th
century.
As a synagogue in considering
what our mission is, we were clear that one of our primary tasks is to be there
with you for those life cycle moments; to celebrate the joyful ones and to help
you find comfort in the difficult ones. Being part of a community means being
there for each other, and as clergy we look forward to finding meaning together
in those moments as we join together on life’s journey.
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