For about six times this year I have met with some fellow Rabbinical Students, as well as a rabbi and teacher from HUC, to reflect upon our Year in Israel, explore our relationship to Judaism, and only begin to discuss challenges that we will all have as Jewish Professionals.
Tomorrow marks my last Reflection Group, and I have been asked to answer the following, and would like to share my answers:
During the year you've been in Israel, what is the greatest insight –realization/clarity-- that you have gained in the following areas:
your connection to the Jewish People:
Jewish Peoplehood is driven by the struggle to balance both individuality and community, and it takes shape in a variety of different aspects of Jewish tradition - including prayer and stories in the Bible that stress a one-on-one relationship with God and that of the community.
your connection to Israel:
I had no connection to Israel prior to this year, and I have now realized that perhaps the best relationship with Israel is conflicted - to embrace the beauty of Israel as a fulfillment of a goal of a historical people, while being challenged to aspect the realities of difficult life within a torn society.
professionally:
We have had little practical, professional development this year, yet I have always said that I have learned much more outside the classroom than within. I've learned valuable skills simply by socializing with my classmates. I've learned to articulate what I would like to say without being threatened by other opinions.
intellectually:
I know more than I did when I arrived, performed my best, and that is all I can ask of myself. I may not know everything that I have been introduced to, but I've realized that I'm not suppose to grasp upon everything immediately. These topics - Hebrew, Bible, Liturgy, etc. will constantly play a part in my life always and forwever.
spiritually:
A year ago I had mentioned that I would eat Clam Chowder without the clams. I laugh at myself when I think about how ridiculous that statement was. The reality is this: my spiritual growth is a constant part of who I am. My opinions about the world, my relationship to it, and Judaism as a whole keeps changing and evolving. I've been exposed to many different ways of looking at the world and Judaism, and have been able to take what I connect with most and adapt it to my own personal liking.
personally:
I've grown more this year than I did in four years of college. I've been through a long-distance relationship, overcome the greatest amount of stress that I ever have, made some adult decisions, and continue to learn to overcome my ego - my thinking self.
I'm almost 20% Rabbi. It's amazing - and I'm still loving it!
PJ
1 comment:
HUC ehh. Interesting.
Growing up in the reform movement, I can tell you how great it was in many ways. But, it was undeniably hypocritical in its practices & beliefs. Like so many others I had questions which had no answers in Reform Judaism & thankfully had enough friends in other walks of Jewish life to make the connection to a Judaism still drawn to its roots. Judaism has so much to offer in terms of life lessons, community, and real direction through Torah and G-d. Unfortunately, HUC has lead millions of American Jews away from Torah and eventually away from any type of Judaism (just step foot on any college campus today to see so yourself). It has shown that watering down Judaism in order to fit into society sends the masses into assimilation. Now the money is walking away too.
The Reform Movement has been publicly and vehemently denying that it is not responsible for the huge rate of assimilation, intermarriage, and apathy in American Jewry. I have heard so many times that without Reform Judaism, Americans left with only traditional Judaism would simply walk away. But just look at any other Anglican community (the UK, Australia, and South Africa) which until recently have lacked a reform option and have much less assimilation than American. As was said in the book of "One People, Two Worlds", Reform Judaism will know when it has gone astray when it's people walk with their feet. Now they have walked with their feet and their pocketbooks as well. Today, the most secular Israeli knows more about their Judaism than most reform Jews (again compare most Jews on an American Campus with the Israeli counterparts).
But I am an optimist, and I think there are great potentials and solutions that could be made at this crossroads. Either the movement can continue moving away from traditional observance and chalacha of any sorts. Or those like yourself can lead the front from the inside out re-reforming the movement on an intelligent path back towards Torah Judaism. I am not a theologian. But whether one looks at an intellectually honest theological, practical, historical, or just logical analysis of Judaism they will see that traditional Torah Judaism (in whatever form: modern, litvish, Chasidic, etc.) has been the only form of Judaism to survive and grow to thick and thin. The choice is in your hands.
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