WHAT I LEARNED ON MY TRIP…

I hope you will participate in one of the “Congregational Conversations” which are taking place throughout the month of May (see enclosed flyer).  This is an opportunity for members of our congregation to share their dreams of what our synagogue can become.  In the same way that the Torah says that Moses knew God “face to face,” so, too, are members of Temple Sinai coming together to share with one another, in person, their visions of our congregation’s future.  It is a very exciting project!  So far, the April discussions have been very successful (over 30 people attended the first session on April 8), and my hope and expectation is that the May meetings will be just as stimulating.

I caught a glimpse of some of the possibilities of how varied – and exciting – American Jewish religious life can be when I traveled with our 10th grade Confirmation students to New York City during the last weekend in March.  American Jews have experienced remarkable transformations since our grandparents and great-grandparents first arrived in this country, and Jewish religious life has flourished with an impressive array. 

Our 10th graders toured around the Lower East Side of New York, where the smell of pickles is still in the air.  In the Tenement Museum’s recreation of a dark and musty apartment where my immigrant grandmother could have lived and worked as a seamstress to support her family, we remembered how poor and destitute many of our people had been less than a century ago.  Much of the Lower East Side is a nostalgic history lesson, but an important one, which reminds us of our humble beginnings in this country. 

Nonetheless, our group also visited a vibrant, thriving Orthodox synagogue on the Lower East Side, the Bialystocker Shul.  The congregation had originally formed in 1873 by immigrants from Bialystock.  Now, with a new, young rabbi, this synagogue was offering Jewish learning programs, a place to davven, and the warmth of community.  Here, Judaism was alive with energy and hospitality.  We were invited to examine the brightly colored hand-painted frescoes on the Bialystocker’s walls of Jerusalem as it looked in the early part of the 20th century.  That the congregation hosting us was Orthodox, and we were Reform Jews, was not an issue.  Jews welcome guests as a primary value.
 
Uptown, our 10th graders visited Temple Emanu-El on Fifth Avenue at 65th Street, once the flagship of Reform Judaism when it was built in the late 1920s.  The German Jews who had long since escaped from the impoverished tenements (and their residents), created a stunning cathedral to celebrate their success as modern Jews in America.  Our 10th graders sat beneath its magnificent gilded ceiling, amazed at the towering golden-tiled bimah and the magnificent stained glass window wheel and panels.  Our tour guide, on staff at the congregation, shared his enthusiasm for the building’s unrivaled architecture.  He sadly noted that our intimate Confirmation class of 14 students (from a congregation of 255+ families) was well beyond the size of his congregation’s teen program, despite a membership of 3,000 families.  Living a vibrant, meaningful Jewish life, we remembered as we considered this fact, was truly about a commitment to performing “primary Jewish acts,” about living a life of active Jewish learning, spirituality and caring for others.

During the part of the trip when our 10th graders were in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, we were welcomed by a Lubavitch outreach group, taken to a kosher lunch, invited to wear tefillin inside a “Mitzvah Tank” recreational vehicle, witness the baking of matzah in an old fashioned factory with a wood burning oven, and discuss the spiritual legacy of the late Lubavitcher Rebbe.  As their afternoon prayers concluded, small children were heard shouting the phrase, “May our Rabbi, our teacher, the King Messiah, live on!”  No doubt, this was a radically different way of approaching God and Torah, in terms of their philosophy, interpretation and lifestyle, but no less vibrant and no less authentic than ours.

But, for me, the highlight was (as always) welcoming Shabbat on Friday evening.  Having taken a much needed nap, I walked with our 10th graders walked to a nearby synagogue on the Upper West Side.  The air was warm for late March.  Outside Congregation B’nai Jeshurun, dozens of people stood on the sidewalk, waiting to enter.  The beautiful sounds of piano, cello and drum  began the Kabbalat Shabbat service and people sang, slowly at first, then gaining.  As they came to L’cha Dodi, joyfully about half the congregation, maybe 200 people, stood up to dance the hora around the perimeter of the synagogue.  We all got up.  Even our 10th graders joined me in dancing, and when they returned to their seats, they were exhausted, smiling and laughing.  This was it – Judaism alive with love and joy! 

Ashreinu, mah tov chelkeinu!  How lucky we are!  How good it is to be alive as a Jew today!
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Two additional notes: 

1. I am especially pleased that members of our community who have been with Temple Sinai for 25 years or more will be honored on Friday, May 4.  I hope the entire congregation will join us to honor these long-time members, volunteer to offer any home-bound members rides to the Temple, and join in a lovely celebration.

2. I am pleased that our Youth Committee has re-formed, under the leadership of Pauline Gerson.  If you would like to help shape our youth groups’ and camp’s support committee, please contact Pauline, Education Director Heidi Smith Hyde, Youth Advisor Susan McSweeney or me.