Rosh Hashanah Day 2 Sermon '11

Rosh Hashanah Second Day Sermon
September 30, 2011
Rabbi Steven Glazer

How many of you recognize the name, Milton Steinberg? He was a prominent Conservative rabbi, whose brilliant career was cut short when he died in 1950 at age 46. Steinberg was an outstanding preacher, who served as rabbi of the Park Avenue Synagogue and authored several books including “Basic Judaism” and “The Making of the Modern Jew.” During his lifetime, he also published a novel; and, at his death, left a second, unfinished one, which was completed and published just last year under the title “The Prophet’s Wife.”

But, it is Milton Steinberg’s earlier novel, and several comments on it by Rabbi Harold Kushner, that serve as the springboard for my sermon this morning. That work, entitled “As a Driven Leaf,” is a true classic. It tells the story of one of the most brilliant, and unquestionably the most despised, of the rabbinic sages, Elisha ben Abuya. Elisha was a truly tragic figure, so despised that the rabbis do not even mention his name, but merely refer to him as “acher – that other one.” Exactly what was it that made Elisha ben Abuya such a tormented and tragic individual? And, even more importantly, why is he relevant to us today?

Elisha, who lived in the second century, was a man who tried to live in two worlds, the Jewish and the Greek, and lost them both. In “As a Driven Leaf,” we follow his life, from his boyhood of traditional Jewish studies through his loveless marriage and the beginnings of his search to his abandoning Judaism. Elisha’s story is one of human struggle, set against the panorama of two separate worlds, one religious, one secular. At the end of the book, Elisha, like many others throughout history, utters a deathbed statement which encapsulates his life: “I hope you will be whole-hearted, not torn in two.” Throughout much of his life, Elisha was torn - between Jewish tradition and Greek philosophy. His tragedy was that, to avoid the pain of a divided soul, he totally abandoned one, religious faith, in favor of the other, secular thought.

And, two thousand years later, this is the inescapable fate of liberal Jews in general, and Conservative Jews in particular. We do live in two worlds, the Jewish and the secular, often faced with choosing between them. There are contemporary Elishas, who reject Judaism as incompatible with modernity. But, this approach is not ours! We do not totally reject either Judaism or modernity.

All of you know that Conservative Judaism has been going through some tough times. Of the many problems that currently face our Movement is an often overlooked one, namely, the fact that there are actually two Conservative Movements, each competing for the right to use the name. Let’s call the first “the Conservative Judaism of the academy.” Historically centered on the Jewish Theological Seminary, its major premise is that Jewish law, Halacha, continues to be binding in our lives and contains interpretive mechanisms that are flexible enough to address contemporary issues. JTS has ordained the majority of rabbis serving Conservative congregations, and most of its graduates embrace this understanding of our Movement.
But, there is also a second Conservative Movement, one which we’ll call “the Conservative Movement of the pews,” created by the tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of immigrants, most of whom had never heard of JTS or any of its luminaries, but who sensed that America offered them something that eastern Europe never did. Their Judaism included full participation in American life coupled with a loyalty to Judaism, in full knowledge that this would involve dozens, even hundreds, of compromises every day. And they thought it was worth it, rather than give up either as Elisha ben Abuya had done. Today’s liberal Jews, in general, and Conservative Jews, in particular, are the current iteration of this approach. Rather than totally abandon either Judaism or contemporary ideas and practices, we attempt to incorporate attractive elements of each into our lives. So – we celebrate Pesach and Purim, and, with equal enthusiasm, watch the Super Bowl. We attend Shabbat services and Redskin games!

This duality leads to inevitable conflicts.

Our critics on the right charge that we let ourselves be contaminated by non-Jewish values. Our critics on the left charge that we miss out on some of the most meaningful aspects of contemporary life because we cling to meaningless ancient and medieval practices.

Very often, my colleagues, given their understandable loyalty to “the Conservative Movement of the academy,” when preaching about such conflicts, come across as telling their congregants, “You are doing Judaism wrong, and I’m here to change you so you do it right.”

Personally, I have never been comfortable with that approach. Even though I was fully immersed in “the Conservative Judaism of the academy” in terms of my training, it was never totally comfortable to me. And, after more than forty years in the pulpit, I think it is accurate to say that “the Conservative Judaism of the academy” has been a failure. Chastising and cajoling have not resulted in a large cadre of committed Conservative Jews! I believe that the future of our Movement rests on “the Conservative Judaism of the pews.” Rather than view ourselves primarily as “marei d’atra – local halachic authorities,” my colleagues and I must, first and foremost, meet laypeople where you are, and adopt models of partnering with and of empowering you, rather than “preaching at you”! I consciously adopted what I call the “empowerment and partnering model” when I arrived at Beth Emeth over 16 years ago; and, I believe it has served us well!

I want to conclude by returning to Elisha ben Abuya’s deathbed statement: “I hope you will be whole-hearted, not torn in two.” I suggest we consider our “divided souls,” i. e., our living in two worlds not a curse, as Elisha did, but rather a blessing, one which we would not want to be without.

Let us, then, as Conservative Jews, resolve to live, imperfectly, as the heirs of two great traditions, Jewish and secular. And, let us be both hopeful and grateful that our lives and our souls are big enough to embrace both!!