To protect and preserve - September 19, 2008
“To protect and preserve” Sermon – September 19, 2008
QUESTION: Are dinosaurs kosher?
QUESTION: Would a person produced through genetic engineering rather than natural reproduction possess a soul? Does a clone have a soul?
QUESTION: Is this permissible according to our tradition at a strictly kosher wedding to serve the fish course in the shape of a shrimp?
QUESTION: May a swimming pool be used as a miqveh?
The title of my sermon tonight is: “To protect and preserve!” No, I’m not talking about the work of the police department or another CSI TV show. I’m speaking about my new cards – see – on the back I had printed what Reconstructionist Jews in part do - “To protect and preserve tradition and foster creativity and discovery as we face each new age.”
I have always enjoyed Jewish law. In fact, my thesis was written on Marital Responsibilities (another time). What I still love doing is to look at questions asked by Jews of their rabbis as to what should they do, what practice to follow, what observance to stick to in certain situations – and discover that their answer included citations from the Torah or the Talmud and Jewish law. Because especially as Reconstructionist Jews, we need to understand the impact Jewish law has on us to be true to ourselves and to the Reconstructionist view which we have adopted.
The way the rabbis who responded to these questions (ergo, “Responsa”) to shape an answer to a specific question (EXPLAIN TalmudàCodesàResponsa Lit.) – through Torah and Talmud and codes and Midrash – is fascinating. Why? Because we are fortunate enough to have that kind of thinking which took a single question or particular point and considered it to its logical conclusion.
We are saying that what someone said 500 or more years ago, and what was written 1500 or 2500 years ago – mattered. Because the thought processes of our sages took into account what the rabbis said in ages past.
“Because your mother said so!” Is always a good reason for a child to obey. It was always enough for me, especially once I realized the alternative was far worse.
But what is our relationship to tradition, Jewish practice or ritual or observance when IT says something or promotes a particular point of view or position? We no longer agree with, “Because it’s written – gescribben!” How does it play in our lives? How do we use ritual to enhance our Jewish celebrations – at home or here with the synagogue community?
Mordecai Kaplan, Reconstructionist Judaism’s founder, said that, “the past has a vote, but not a veto.” Kind of catchy! A vote, not a veto. (I can see the license plate version.) But what does it mean? How we look at tradition and how tradition informs our lives becomes another central tenet of Reconstructionist Judaism.
A couple of years ago, our oldest son, Josh, on one of his trips to Israel, brought home a very special Kiddush set. On top there is one large cup which pours into a tray with 8 tiny spigots. Each of them respectively pours into a small hand-sized Kiddush cup. We’ve added that to our Shabbat dinner ritual when we have a large table. Regarding Shabbat, the Torah says to “keep or observe, and remember” – shamor v’zachor. “Keep” could mean a spectrum of things. From not using electricity or transportation other than ones feet, to activities one does or does not do on Shabbat, to prayer, meditation or how one spends time for 25 hours. It also means that in drinking wine (or grape juice) that we can drink from a simple glass or an elaborate waterfall Kiddush set.
My grandfather needle-pointed our Shabbat tablecloth. I still use the Kiddush cup from my BM at the Shabbat table. And Mindy and I have collected many other special enhancements for our Shabbat table over the years – for hand washing, challah plates & covers, etc.
Enhancements such as how to pour the wine or what kinds of dishes to use are all “extras”. They are not what Kaplan refers to. Kaplan speaks to the contrast between abandoning the law completely (the tension between) and accepting it completely. The “letter” of the law. Where Orthodox Jews attempt to follow the letter and the spirit of the law, we liberal Jews strive for respect of the tradition without the concurrent understanding of being commanded by God specifically to do exactly what it says/instructs.
What do we pick and choose to follow? And how do we opt for one practice over another? Is it comfort? Ease? Habit? Do we observe what is readily at hand? Or follow what our family or friends do?
Or do we examine the tradition in order to know or learn what’s there for us and then find relevance in our lives or currency today? If there is a “should”, then before we (without thinking) decide what to do individually, do we give the tradition a vote?
Some do – and we go through all sorts of gyrations to find the link or connection – the reason for observing a custom. Others ignore it. But if we ignore these connections are we possibly missing an opportunity to enrich our lives by them?
What is the authority of the past? Does the past have authority over us TODAY? While other generations viewed the gift of Torah from God, and therefore establishing an attendant obligation to follow its teachings & traditions, today we are different. Today, it matters less what happened or didn’t happen on Sinai, than what we DO about it.
Reconstructionist Jews don’t look at the Torah as a “transcript” as suggested by Alpert & Staub. “Revelation,” rather, “is the record of a particular human quest and discovery…of successive generations of Jewish people who have sought and found God in their own terms.” (p. 40)
“Human quest and discovery” they write, drives some of us to find God – and therefore determine what God wants us to do, or how to live with each other. As such,
“The value of the past is considerable. The Jewish tradition is a record of the insights of prophets and sages through the generations. Neither human nature nor the nature of the divine has changed over the millennia; only the concepts and idioms through which Jews understand the world have evolved. Thus, we strive to translate the insights we have inherited from the Jewish past into our own terms. We therefore ‘revalue’ (a Kaplan term meaning give what is old new or current value) inherited beliefs and practices so that we can enrich our lives through them.” (pp. 40-41)
So, as Kaplan insisted, “…we preserve and observe Jewish customs and values as long as they continue to serve as vehicles towards… the enhancement of the meaning and purposefulness of our existence.” (p. 41)
If it doesn’t, then we are obligated to find a way to reconstruct it – “to adopt innovative practices or find new meanings in old ones. That “the past has a vote” gives us the criterion to examine inherited practices or customs. It means that we …struggle to hear the voices of our ancestors.
WE ASK 3 questions:
1) What did this custom mean to them?
2) How did they see the presence of God in it?
3) How can we retain or regain its importance in our own lives?”
“That the past does not have a veto means that we must work to hear our own voices as distinct from theirs. Living in a secular world, what might this custom or that idea mean to us today?” (p. 41)
And that’s probably why I suggested to some of my classmates when I was in rabbinical school at HUC that “we are all Reconstructionists.” For as a Reform Jew, having interpreted the law as being a code dictated for a certain time in history, I could have just left it. Create something new for today. And do the same for tomorrow. However, Reform Judaism, as I believe Conservative Judaism does also, takes a leap to say that we can choose from the wide array of practices we find meaningful in traditional Judaism and incorporate them into our lives.
Reconstructionist understanding suggests that this process of listening to both the traditional view AND to our contemporary experience actually becomes wedded in Reconstructionist practice.
For example, kashrut or Shabbat. In evaluating whether or not to adopt this into our personal or communal lives, we might need to both study and practice keeping kosher. “Try it, you’ll like it!” just isn’t good enough! In the case of Shabbat – what would that mean? Study and practice? Pick one! Or another? Ideas???
OK. To learn about the Shabbat – study its laws, customs and learn about its details and mitzvot. On the practice side, we would determine what we might do at home: with electricity, activities (what would we consider permitted Shabbat activities vs. non-permitted. AND what we should do as a community – which activities should be encouraged (services, yoga, Torah study), and more! What about a Shabbat Kayak trip or a hike or a nature walk? What about a lunch out with friends? A Shabbat shopping trip (certainly not on my list). Gardening – until it started to “feel” like “work.” Cooking for the week – in a relaxed, gentle kind of way?
Shamor v’Zachor – “Keep” AND “Remember” – recognize that TODAY IS DIFFERENT! And therefore we DO differently, ACT differently, BE different! Meditate. Read a good (Jewish?) book or magazine? Internet only for Jewish news, learning, enjoyment. ITunes for Jewish music. You get the idea.
I propose that we choose 3 or 4 areas this year to begin our own search for engaging our hearts and souls for the choices we will make – and do it!
The story goes: upon completing a highly dangerous tightrope walk over Niagara Falls in appalling wind and rain, 'The Great Zumbrati' was met by an enthusiastic supporter, who urged him to make a return trip, this time pushing a wheelbarrow, which the spectator had thoughtfully brought along.
The Great Zumbrati was reluctant, given the terrible conditions, but the supporter pressed him, "You can do it - I know you can," he urged.
"You really believe I can do it?" asked Zumbrati.
"Yes - definitely - you can do it." the supporter gushed.
"Okay," said Zumbrati, "Get in the wheelbarrow..."
Not a tightrope walk, but we should get going. SHABBAT SHALOM!