| June 2008
by Rabbi Andy Vogel
At Shabbat services on a Friday night coming up this summer, two people will step forward to the Bimah in our Sanctuary, stand before the Ark, and they will recite the Shema. They will embrace the Torah, accept Judaism as their religion and the Jewish people as their people, and complete their conversion to Judaism. This will be a beautiful and holy moment for them and for our community, as we embrace them.
As a rabbi, one of my greatest joys is working with many people who are setting out on the journey of choosing to become Jewish. At present, I am currently working with no fewer than eleven adult conversion students (and new people approach me all the time). Each of them is embarking on a personal journey of exploring Judaism in their own unique ways. Each of these adults studying to convert to Judaism is discovering his or her own relationship with God, exploring his or her relationship to the Jewish people and Jewish history, and taking on Jewish practices and ethical teachings in his or her own ways. Conversion to Judaism is a wonderful, transformative experience.
According to Jewish tradition, on the festival of Shavu’ot, the whole Jewish people stood at Mount Sinai, where we were offered the Torah, and accepted upon ourselves the blessing of Torah and relationship with God. During this month, on Shavu’ot (this year, it begins on Sunday evening, June 8), we all choose Judaism once again. I want to highlight those who are involved in this personal exploration, and gently encourage all who might appreciate this journey to consider choosing to be Jewish.
The process of converting to Judaism is very private, and happens quietly and behind-the-scenes, but it is so powerful and meaningful. Why do people choose to convert to Judaism? There are as many reasons as there are individuals choosing to be Jewish. Many of the students I am working with are involved in a relationship with someone Jewish and want to share Judaism with their partner. Others are on a spiritual search, having had a meaningful encounter of some sort to Jewish ideas and practices – some of these people have been living in a Jewish family for years, making Passover Seders and lighting Shabbat candles, when they discover that they want to actually become Jewish. Whatever the reason for entering into the process, the journey unfolds in new and unexpected ways for each person.
Is conversion the right choice for everyone? No. I know that choosing to become Jewish is a very personal decision. There are many reasons why conversion is not the right path for many people who are not Jewish, but may be married to, or partners of, Jews in our congregation. As I’ve written in the past, the non-Jewish members of Temple Sinai are an important part of our community, and I hope they always feel comfortable at Temple Sinai, which strives to be diverse and inclusive. But for those who do choose to become Jewish, for whom the decision does feel right, it is a meaningful experience.
Conversion is a unique and personal experience. I meet regularly with each conversion student privately for no less than a one-year period. Conversion includes study and reflection about Jewish theology, identity and relationships, Jewish history, prayer, community, personal practice, Jewish spirituality, Israel, holidays, and God. I urge all students to participate in one of the Union for Reform Judaism’s “Introduction to Judaism” courses (we’ll host another course at Temple Sinai next winter), another rich path of Jewish learning. After the study and preparation are complete, we go to the beautiful Mayyim Hayyim mikveh (ritual bath) in West Newton, and the convert immerses in a pool of water, symbolizing the womb, a ritual spiritual “re-birth.” This is another holy and beautiful moment. Once a person has immersed and emerged from the waters, he or she is considered fully Jewish. Hearing the three splashes of water and the convert reciting the blessings from the other side of the door at the mikveh, I am always moved knowing that a new person is entering the Jewish community. And then... we celebrate! Family members rejoice, and we pronounce the new Hebrew name the convert has chosen. Their Jewish journey, of course, continues.
Our entire community is strengthened by having so many people recently choose to become Jewish. We embrace all of them. I want to extend the invitation to anyone who is ready to take the first steps on this meaningful journey. It will be my honor and blessing to stand with you each step of the way, as you join our community and people, through this rich, unfolding and holy experience of discovery. - Rabbi Andy Vogel
Sinai Update – June 22-28, 2008
Sinai Update – June 15-21, 2008
Our own complex relationship today with the Land of Israel is perhaps foreshadowed by the episode of the twelve spies in this week’s Torah portion. Asked to provide information about whether the land is “good or bad,” has rich resources (soil, trees, fruit) or not, and inhabitants with whom the Israelites can defeat, ten of the twelve spies offer a mixed review. They say that the land is good, but too many obstacles lie in the Israelites’ way. For the majority of the spies, Israel provokes fear, trepidation, and strong misgivings. Like many American Jews today, they prefer to remain distant and stay outside the land, even though it is their homeland.
Only two spies, Caleb and Joshua, approach the land of Israel with an enthusiastic response, insisting that with God’s help, their encounter with the land will be successful. From my perspective, Caleb and Joshua provide a model for us as American Jews to engage with the modern State of Israel today. Rather than remain distant or feel overwhelmed by the complexities of modern Israel, I think we must engage with Israel and work for a progressive, spiritual and strong State of Israel. I am always amazed that when American Jews are able to go to Israel and experience the people, culture, resources and history of the Jewish state, we find that it, too, can be our own homeland, and, even with its shortcomings, it becomes a source of inspiration and hope for the Jewish people.
Sinai Update – June 8-14, 2008
Forty years is a long time to wander through the wilderness – how did the Jews manage to endure it? The Hasidic rabbis give us an idea as they interpret the opening verses of the portion. God gives this instruction to Aaron, Moses’ brother: “’When you light up the Menorah [each day in the portable desert Sanctuary], let the seven lamps give light at the front of the lampstand.’ And Aaron did so.” (Numbers 8:2-3) The Torah commentator Rashi taught that Aaron’s great accomplishment – worthy of mention in the Torah – was that for 39-plus years, he performed this task every day, without changing [in Hebrew, lo shinah] a single detail.
But the Hasidic rabbis, including Rabbi Mordecai Yosef Leiner of Izbicz (1800-1854), were less concerned with Aaron’s scrupulous faithfulness to detail than his ability to “ignite” within himself a spiritual sense of newness each time he would light the Menorah. Rabbi Mordechai Yosef taught that Rashi’s words, lo shinah, meant that Aaron felt no sense of repetition [shinah = to repeat] when he performed the holy act of lighting the lights. Aaron’s spiritual strength was in experiencing each moment with a mindful presence, even when performing repetitive tasks. He approached each act with the same awareness of holiness he felt in doing them for the very first time. Sinai Update – June 1-7, 2008 Parashat Naso (Numbers 5:1 – 7:89) Reflections on the Jewish Calendar – Rabbi Andy Vogel
The festival of Shavu’ot is often forgotten in the Jewish calendar, because it always arrives in late May or early June after religious school has been dismissed for the summer. But Shavu’ot has a special place in my heart. It is the holiday whose date (6 th of Sivan) is traditionally associated with the Giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai . Shavu’ot was originally as a harvest holiday, a moment in the agricultural cycle of thanking God for the wheat or barley harvest, coming exactly seven weeks after Passover had inaugurated the spring planting season. The Torah commanded the ancient Israelites to count off seven weeks of seven days, for a total of 49 days, after which the 50 th day was to be a festival, Shavu’ot, which literally means “weeks.”
Today, our primary celebrations of Shavu’ot revolve around the study of Torah, following the traditional view that the entire people of Israel accepted the Torah on this holiday (which we observe this year beginning on Sunday evening, June 8). The Confirmation ritual for our 10 th graders is a type of acceptance of Torah for our teenagers; the personal statements they will share with us this Friday, just two nights before Shavu’ot, reflect their own interpretation of what it means to actively accept Torah. It is customary to read the Ten Commandments from the Torah (as we will at our Sunday evening service) Temple Sinai has also adapted the 16 th century practice of all-night (or, at least, late-night) study and discussion of Torah with our “Tikkun Leil Shavu’ot,” an opportunity to engage with our tradition’s teachings “in preparation” for revelation at dawn. I invite you to join us for any or all of these celebrations and observances, as we re-enact our deep commitment to Judaism and richness of our Jewish lives. - Rabbi Andy Vogel Back |
