Personal Choice – Where Are Our Values?

May 31, 2011 · Filed Under Baum's Blog · 1 Comment 

A thought-provoking op-ed piece appeared in the JTA a couple of weeks back.  Rabbi Leon Morris argued that “Reform Judaism must move beyond ‘personal choice.’”

Reform Judaism has long had personal choice as a central pillar – and I think it still works well for the movement.  It echoes Reconstructionist Judaism’s case that “the past has a vote, not a veto.”  In other words, personal choice means that we can learn from traditions, from the past, from the present – but ultimately the choice is our own.

Rabbi Morris seems concerned that having “personal choice” as the main principle is problematic because it “eclipses other more central Jewish values that are needed now more than ever.”  He may be right that personal choice shouldn’t be the primary focus (I’m not sure it is for most Reform Jews, btw), and that it needs to be understood in a larger context.

That’s why I am proud to be a rabbi of a bricks-and-mortar congregation and an online congregation that have affirmative values.  We know what is important to us and we’ve articulated that.  I think our values here at OurJewishCommunity.org do say a lot more than just “personal choice.”

•    We value learning opportunities that support participants’ connection with their Jewish heritage
•    We value open-mindedness and respect for differing views
•    We value discerning intellectual inquiry that thoughtfully questions and explores Jewish texts and other sources of wisdom
•    We value acknowledgment of each person’s religious and spiritual journey supported through our unique liturgy
•    We value principles of responsibility and origin of authority that rests with each individual
•    We value evolving to meet the needs of our growing online congregation and a changing Jewish community
•    We value nurturing connection and building community with each other as Jews and with all humanity
•    We value community engagement and social justice that is responsive to the ever-changing world

So while personal choice fits well within our values, we give voice to a whole lot more than just personal choice.

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Just Call Me Rabbi

May 20, 2011 · Filed Under Baum's Blog · Comment 

This weekend students will be ordained from Hebrew Union College (HUC) in Cincinnati.  At such times, I tend to reminisce about my ordination from there a few years back.

Another ordination story caught my attention this year.  Kaya Stern-Kaufman, who is being ordained by the Academy for Jewish Religion, has chosen not to be called rabbi, but rather rabba.  Rabba is the Hebrew feminized word for rabbi.

I don’t really understand Ms. Stern-Kaufman’s decision.  As a rabbi, I want to be called “rabbi” – nothing different from my male colleagues.  Just like male doctors and female doctors are both called “Doctor,” and just as female lawyers and male lawyers both have the title “Esquire,” I don’t think there need to be separate titles for male and female rabbis.

One of the explanations that Ms. Stern-Kaufman gives for her decision is that “Women have the capacity to bring a more holistic and healing aspect of Jewish teaching.”  I am not comfortable with such general stereotypes.  Sure, there are probably women who have skills in holistic and healing Jewish parts of teaching, but I am also sure there are some male colleagues out there who have better skills in these areas than female colleagues.  Plus, there will always be differences between people- we all have different strengths and weakness.  But why choose to say that women are inherently in a different category?  And in this case, I’m inclined to think that different would imply less to a lot of people.

This decision comes on the heels of Sara Hurwitz last year receiving the title of Rabbah – becoming, in the eyes of some, the first female Orthodox rabbi.  The decision , which was contested by many, was made on the logic that Sara had studied all of the things that male rabbis study.  However, I doubt that Sara has the exact same rights and responsibilities as male Orthodox rabbis.  So, she is treated differently – and thus has a different title.  This makes more sense to me in Sara’s case., i.e. in Orthodox Judaism.

But, I embrace a Judaism where women aren’t treated differently.  I embrace a Judaism that says we all count the same.  I embrace a Judaism where I am just called rabbi, as are all my male and female colleagues.

Ironically, I noticed a few months after my ordination that my ordination certificate from the Hebrew Union College uses different titles for male and female rabbis.  This is certainly not something I was expecting from a liberal institution.  My male colleagues’ certificates have the Hebrew words “rav u’morah” – “rabbi and teacher,” whereas my female colleagues and I have the Hebrew words “moratainu harav” – our teacher, the rabbi.  Slight differences, but still different.

I dug a bit in the American Jewish Archives and found that when Sally Preisand (the first woman ordained at HUC) was being ordained in 1972, three different proposals for language were suggested by faculty – and they chose the title that is still used today.  I have strongly encouraged the administration at HUC to change the title on ordination certificates of women – so that they are the same as men’s.  We are all rav u’morah – rabbis and teachers.  There’s really no need for different titles based on gender.

So please, don’t call me Rabba.

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Jewish Atheists? Of course!

May 16, 2011 · Filed Under Baum's Blog · 3 Comments 

Susan Fishkoff just wrote a really nice article, “Jewish atheists look for their place in Jewish life,” – which brings attention to the fact that there are many Jews who don’t believe in God.

Of course this is something we’ve known about and embraced at Congregation Beth Adam (for the last 30 years) and at OurJewishCommunity.org (for the past 3 years).  In fact, Beth Adam is written about in Fishkoff’s article as the only congregation that has ever been rejected from the Reform movement (now the Union for Reform Judaism, then the Union for American Hebrew Congregations) for theological reasons. 

At OurJewishCommunity.org, we recognize that each person is on his/her own religoius journey.  We use the liturgy written by Congregation Beth Adam – which does not explicitly mention God.  It allows for belief in God – or not.  The only God-concept that doesn’t work in our liturgy is one that assumes an interventionist deity – i.e. one who intervenes on our behalf if we pray hard enough.

At OurJewishCommunity.org, we are deeply committed to saying what we mean and to meaning what we say.  What we say on the pulpit is consistent with what we say in our classrooms and consistent with what we say in the hallway.  We recognize that words are powerful.  We appreciate that our ancestors had the opportunity to say what was on their minds, and we have the opportunity to do the same today.  We have built a community and a liturgy that are deeply inclusive – allowing individuals to bring their own God concepts or their lack of belief in God.

I’ve been using the word God a lot here.  And I want to point out that when we talk about “God,” there are many many definitions of God.  So, when someone asks me whether I believe in God, I usually respond with a question (as rabbis often do): “which God are you asking me about?”  Rabbi Rachel Cowan says in the article that generally rabbis speak “about God and nobody really knows what that means.  It’s not sophisticated, it’s not developed.”  I agree completely.  It’s as if most rabbis think people will know exactly what they’re talking about when they say “God,” but I think it’s often not clear or consistent.  We need clarification of the word “God” before we can have a conversation about it.  And, if rabbis can become bold enough to have those sophisticated but more difficult conversations about what they mean, then I think that would be far more interesting than reciting liturgy by rote.

Rabbi Eric Yoffie, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, seems to say in the article that people are able to and should be able to live in contradiction: it’s okay to say liturgy that they don’t believe in.  My question to him is, why?  What is the value in that as opposed to finding a liturgy that is meaningful and consistent with one’s beliefs?  It goes back to that whole desire of mine to say what I mean and mean what I say. 

I’ve known for a long time that there are many people who don’t believe in the God of Jewish liturgy but who are deeply connected to Judaism in other ways.  The organized Jewish community has, for the most part, not made these people feel at home.  We at OurJewishCommunity.org have provided a home for them and are proud to continue doing that.

I applaud the anonymous donor who has funded the study to find out how many non-believing Jews are out there and how to serve them.  This is a wonderful step in the right direction for Judaism.

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Violence in Israel – and Hopes for Peace

May 15, 2011 · Filed Under Baum's Blog · 1 Comment 

I was saddened this morning to read in the news that there were acts of violence in Israel today.  Apparently, hundreds of Arabs from Syria stormed across the Israeli border, marking the first major violent eruption at the border in decades.  In Tel Aviv, an Israeli Arab drove his truck into pedestrians.

All of this a week after Israel marked Yom HaZikaron (Israeli Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terrorism Remembrance Day) and Yom Ha’Atzmaut (Israeli Indpendence Day). 

I had lunch this past week with a new friend who is Jewish, though far more traditional than I am and far more politically to the right than I am.  A writer himself, he asked me how much I blog about Israel.  I told him very little – since I don’t feel like I have a ton to say about it.  Yes, I support Israel.  Yes, I lived in Israel.  Yes, I know Israel can make mistakes and take actions I disagree with – and yes, I think it’s okay to voice my disappointment. 

Yet, I don’t see my rabbinate as one in which I provide detailed commentary on the current events in Israel.  Perhaps it’s because I recognize how little I know and understand about the topic.  I get my news from various news sources on the Internet – as I suppose many of you do.  But, I don’t have a degree in political science or Middle Eastern history, so I know there are many people out there who have far more knowledge in these areas than I do.

So, as a rabbi, this is what I have to say.  I support Israel, and I hope Israel and her neighbors can find peace.  The country plays an important role in our Jewish heritage and is one model of Jewish peoplehood – but I don’t think there are simple solutions that I can propose to solve Israel’s ongoing challenges.  I’ll leave that in the hands of experts.

For me to propose my own solutions or ideas about the Arab-Israeli conflict would be using words merely for the sake of using words.  I’ll stick to spewing my ideas on topics I know a bit more about.

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