August 19, 2012

Jews Without Problems -- Rosh Hashanah morning 9/27/65

In response to an article in Time Magazine on Jews in America, Sidney Ballon delivered a clear, cogent, and yet another timeless exhortation to his congregation on Rosh Hashanah morning 1965 (5726 on the Hebrew calendar). The title is obviously tongue in cheek. He could not earnestly suggest that anyone would be without problems. But relative to Jews of other times and places, mid-Twentieth Century American Jews seemed to have no problems—and that was the problem!

Today the American Jew enjoys freedom—freedom to adhere to his faith or abandon it, to emphasize his differences or become invisible, but the question is whether he can endure his present freedom as well as he has survived his past oppression.

In some ways this sermon provides a bit of a departure from his familiar hand wringing over the deplorable state of modern Jewish apathy and ignorance. While he does not sugarcoat his concerns in this regard, he does outline four very specific remedies and concludes that even in the worst case he sees Judaism surviving the mixed blessing of religious freedom in America.

What to do, then, about being a Jew in America? Study as a Jew. Act as a Jew. Be emotionally involved with the Jewish people the world over, and join actively in the expression of Judaism through the life of the synagogue.

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Recently Time magazine published an article in its pages entitled, The New American Jew. It was, perhaps, a much better article on Jewish life than might have been expected in this particular periodical. It was in some respects incomplete, but apparently Time went to reliable sources for the information that it did present. It was understanding and discerning, and its insight was especially evident in its statement that Jewishness is “far more than religion; it is an inextricable mixture of faith, nationhood and culture." This is a thought that non-Jews very often cannot grasp, and even some Jews refuse to accept it. There is often the tendency to think of the Jew in terms of religion only and to overlook the aspects of peoplehood and culture. 

The main purpose of this article in Time was to describe the effect of Americanization on the Jew. It points out that Jews in the past have miraculously survived many eras of hostility directed at them from a number of sources, but today it suggests, that they are going through a new and different kind of testing time. The problem today, says Time, is that there is no problem. The Jew lives in peace and enjoys the benefits of a congenial environment as never before, but strangely enough this also threatens the survival of Judaism. Today the American Jew enjoys freedom—freedom to adhere to his faith or abandon it, to emphasize his differences or become invisible, but the question is whether he can endure his present freedom as well as he has survived his past oppression. In previous ages, regardless of how pleasant or not the conditions of life might be, the Jews were a separate community with their own distinctive faith and traditions. The mass absorption of Jews into the mainstream of the life of any country with a consequent loss of separate identity was unthinkable. But in today's American society the Jew becomes more and more like his neighbor, he is integrated and acculturated, and what was previously unthinkable becomes a distinct possibility. Therefore, implies Time, our sense of Jewish identity is weakened and the increasingly urgent questions that we Jews ask ourselves are What is a Jew? and What do I do about it? 

I am not sure that it is really of importance to us to have a precise answer to the first of these questions—What is a Jew?—but I do believe it is of importance to have an answer to the second question­—What to do about it?—if we do consider ourselves Jews—whatever definition we may want to use. There have been a number of attempts at creating an all-embracing definition of the Jew, but it has proven to be an exceedingly difficult task. For our purpose it would seem to me to be better to concentrate our attention on the other question—What do I do about being a Jew? It may well be that in spelling out what one does about being Jewish, we will have gone a long way also toward saying What is a Jew? 

The things that ought to distinguish the Jew are not really new. They are a carryover from the Jewish traditions of the past. They are actions which stem from certain concepts which have always been a part of the Jewish heritage through the years. It may be that we shall find some variation in their expression because of changing conditions, but in essence these concepts remain the same. If Judaism is to survive freedom, then Jews must choose to incorporate these concepts in one way or another into their pattern of thinking and living. These concepts are four in number and they may be divided into pairs, within which the two individual parts complement each other. 

The first of these pairs are Torah and mitzvah—Jewish learning and Jewish action. Torah was always the primary Jewish characteristic. Without knowledge of the tradition one could not be expected to function according to its spirit. And the most serious challenge we face in American Jewish life today is the reestablishment of some acceptable standard of Jewish knowledge. The interesting fact about modern Jewish life is that the traditional respect for learning has not disappeared, but it has been redirected. Two thirds of Jewish young people of college age are attending college, a far higher percentage than any other group. Jews have not given up their regard for the intellect, but in our eagerness to take our place culturally in the world at large, Jewish knowledge has been neglected, particularly at the college and adult level.

We do send our younger children for Jewish training, but even less than half of these children attend a Jewish school of any kind in any one year and very few of our children receive any instruction above the elementary level. Just think if our general education stopped at the elementary level what kind of a nation we would be. We would barely be a literate people. And so our Jewish community today may fairly be said to be, Jewishly speaking, a barely literate community. 

I think it is sad that there is no great Jewish university where at least some of our college young people could go to acquire the general knowledge that is necessary in our day, and at the same time be trained in Judaism, and be inspired to lead a full Jewish life. There is Yeshiva University which is, however, a small school with limited resources that is strictly Orthodox. And there is Brandeis University a great school which, however, prides itself on being Jewishly sponsored but nonsectarian. Can you picture the supporters of Fordham or Notre Dame taking pride in being nonsectarian! At the last convention of Conservative rabbis one of the speakers made mention of Brandeis University as having provided us with twin blessingsJewish self-hatred and the beatnik center of New England. He may have been a bit harsh, but I for one would be happier if all this Jewish money were poured into some good school with the academic excellence of Brandeis but which did not retreat into neutrality, which was positively dedicated to the goal of deepening Jewish knowledge and strengthening a love for Judaism. Such a school would go far to enrich the Jewish community and increase our spiritual strength. The transmission of a heritage depends upon education. 

The values and ideals and hopes of a people cannot be preserved in ignorance. If we want to do something about being Jewish, we must cultivate a Jewish mind. Young and old must be mindful of the ideal of Torah.

Now the other half of the pair—mitzvah. Learning alone is insufficient. The rabbis said, "Study is important, but the deed is more important."[i] Jewish life must be filled with proper deeds. It must be lived in response to godly commandments. Mitzvah is both the commandment and the deed. Jewish commandments traditionally are many in number, but our rabbis long ago summed them all up in the prophetic verses—

It hath been told thee, O man, what is good, and what the Lord doth require of thee: only to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God.[ii]

What is hateful to thee, said Hillel, do not do unto thy fellowman. The rest is mere commentary. Go study.[iii]

If Judaism has any meaning or purpose it is as a commitment to the personal and social ethic taught by our prophets and sages. There are also ritual commandments of Judaism, and we do not mean to minimize them, but even the ritual commandments in Judaism were not mysterious sacraments which defy rational explanation but the intelligible symbols of high moral and ethical ideals. Judaism stands for wholesome relationships between man and his fellowman. It stands for marital fidelity and family responsibility. It stands for decent concern for the stranger, the laborer and the poor, for honesty and integrity, for peace among men.

We live today in a society which unfortunately has a split personality. We ascribe to one standard of ethics in theory, but we justify another standard in practice. We proclaim religious ethics as a reference guide, but in the marketplace or in the political field with scarcely a twinge of conscience many of us not only practice but defend a totally contrary way of life. We talk glibly about the brotherhood of man, but it is a brotherhood preferred all too often in someone else's neighborhood, not our own. We admire and speak of moral discipline, but too many of us do so providing it does not interfere with personal pleasure or advancement.

We plead that it is most difficult to adhere to the kind of moral principles that we know are really decent and right when all around us is the competition that seeks to beat us and the example of the crowd that is guided only by what is expedient. But this is precisely the Jewish challenge. “Do not follow after a multitude to do evil,” says the Bible.[iv] “In a place where there are no man, strive thou to be a man,” are the words of Hillel.[v] What to do about being a Jew? Live with a constant concern for mitzvah. Accept the moral discipline of a Jewish conscience.

The second pair of complementary concepts which must remain in Jewish life are those of Klal Yisroel[vi] and Mikdash Yisroel,[vii] the idea of relationship with the total community of the Jewish people and the holy place in which people express themselves, the synagogue. A Jew even though he lives in America of the present time must be emotionally linked with the communities of Jews that exist now throughout the world or have existed in the past or will exist in the future, and he must be mindful that they are bound together by a common spiritual tradition and a mutual responsibility that cuts across space and time.[viii] There are common roots and a common destiny and an historic continuity that tie us together. Meaningful Jewish life in America calls also for a concern with Jewish life elsewhere, whether it be in Israel with its very special importance as a center of Hebrew culture old and new, or whether it be Russian Jewry, with its past glories and its present dangers, or whether it be other smaller groups throughout the world which look particularly to the United States for both material and spiritual comfort.

Last summer there were ten thousand Jews in Washington at the vigil on behalf of Soviet Jewry,[ix] but I'd venture to say there were more than that in Washington about two years ago on the march for civil rights on behalf of Negroes.[x] Jews are, generally speaking, liberals. Demonstrations continue—our tradition and experience move us to recognize a responsibility for our fellowman whoever they may be. But do we not owe our own people at least the same concern?—our people who share with us this tradition out of which our liberalism springs. We have seen in our day six million Jews destroyed. We have seen communities that were eight thousand years in the making wiped out. We see two million Jews in the Soviet orbit in danger of spiritual death. Does this leave us untouched? Has not history imposed upon American Jewry some kind of responsibility for the Jewish future? Have we a moral right to be unconcerned with our fellow Jews elsewhere? The Jews who were in Washington who heard the closing words movingly proclaimed by Theodore Bikel,[xi]Shomer Yisroel, shmor sh’erit Yisroel—Oh Guardian of Israel, guard the remnant of Israel.” The Jews in Washington who heard the sound of the shofar in Lafayette Square across from the White House, who witnessed the kindling of the eternal light, while the ten thousand present cried out in unison, “We shall live in dignity!”—those Jews who experienced this will know how to answer. Those who were there could not fail to be touched and will not forget. I wish only that more of you had permitted yourselves that experience.

And finally the community of Israel must find its expression through the sanctuary of Israel, the synagogue. It was through the synagogue that our heritage has been transmitted in the past in its various capacities as a place of prayer, study, and assembly. And it is only through the synagogue that our heritage can be preserved for the future. There are Jews who are indifferent to the synagogue and others who try to escape it all together, but today in our American environment there is no meaningful identification as a Jew without it. To be aloof from the synagogue is in effect a vote against Jewish survival.

We said at the outset that being Jewish was more than religion and so some may use this thought to refute the necessity of synagogue affiliation for the expression of Jewishness. But though Judaism is more than religion it cannot exclude religion and remain authentically Jewish. Whatever aspects of nationhood Judaism implies and whatever elements of culture are involved, they are, nevertheless, interwoven with religion and cannot justifiably be separated. Even though we may be concerned today about some aspects of synagogue life which deserve criticism it is, nevertheless, true that whatever hope there may be for the survival of Judaism in this country lies in strengthening the synagogue and in improving the quality of Jewish experience to be enjoyed within it. Without the special character which the synagogue imparts to Jewish life all other Jewish interests, be they cultural, ethical, ethnic or political, will be assimilated and will disappear under the impact of American life in general. Being Jewish will become only a faint memory which some Americans will have just as other Americans have of other ethnic origins. The thought of the poet Bialik[xii] is still valid. It is the synagogue which is the spring from which we draw our strength of soul.

What to do, then, about being a Jew in America? Study as a Jew. Act as a Jew. Be emotionally involved with the Jewish people the world over and join actively in the expression of Judaism through the life of the synagogue.

Having said this I may still be asked, "But nevertheless, what are the chances of Jewish survival in America?" To describe what ought to be done is one thing. To bring people to do it is another. Suppose the drift continues and these necessary actions are not pursued. To this I can only answer that I have faith the American Jewish community will not disappear. I would like it to survive in great numbers and great strength, but if not, then I believe the idea that has always played a role in Jewish history will operate, the idea of the remnant. In Isaiah, in biblical times, it is written, she'ar-yashuv[xiii]—a remnant shall return”—and so it has always been. We Jews have often sustained losses in the course of our history in our effort to overcome both the physical and spiritual attack of the environment, but always the remnant at least has returned. The remnant has carried forward the tradition of our people, and carried on the continuity of its history. I have faith that in the present also the remnant shall keep the glory of Judaism alive and the question that each of you must answer for yourself is, "Will you be part of that glorious remnant!"



[i] There is much debate among the rabbis as to the relative importance of study and deeds, and many writings favor study. Ultimately, one may conclude that since the purpose of study is practical application, it would appear that performance of deeds is more important.
[ii] Micah 6:8
[iii] Hillel (ca. 60 B.C.-A.D. ca. 10) was a Jewish scholar and founder of a dynasty of patriarchs who were the spiritual heads of Jewry until the 5th century. A popular anecdote from the Babylonian Talmud: Tractate Shabbat 31a tells of the heathen who asked Hillel to teach him the entire Torah in the time he could stand on one foot. Unperturbed, Hillel answered, "What is hateful to thee, do not do unto your neighbor. This is the whole Torah and the rest is commentary; go and study it further!" This version of the golden rule is believed by many to be a less utopian and more practical precept than the affirmative one to love one's neighbor as oneself (Leviticus 19:18).
[iv] Exodus 23:2
[v] Pirke Avot (Ethics of the Fathers) 2:6, “Hillel used to say: A brutish man dreads not sin; an ignorant man cannot be pious, nor can the diffident man learn, or the impatient man teach. He who engages excessively in business cannot become wise. In a place where there are no men strive you to be a man.”
[vi] Klal Yisroel (Yisrael in modern Hebrew transliteration, lit. "All of Israel") is an expression developed since the 1880s among Orthodox Jews of the Hibbat Zion movement to describe and promote a sense of shared community and destiny among all Jews, in Palestine, in the diaspora, and later in Israel and the USA.
[vii] Exodus 25:8-9 “And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. According to all that I show thee, the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the furniture thereof, even so shall ye make it.” The Mishcan (Tabernacle) was the portable sanctuary that accompanied the Children of Israel in the wilderness. Once they entered and conquered the land of Israel, this Tabernacle was replaced by a permanent structure. This structure was the Mikdash—the Sacred Temple—constructed by King Solomon.
[viii] Reminiscent of Ballon’s sermon An Ethical Will -- 3/26/48 in which he addressed key traits to be a “good Jew.” http://harav-shimon.blogspot.com/2012/04/ethical-will.html
[ix] Jacob Birnbaum (born 1926), the founder of Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry, is regarded to be the father of the Movement to Free Soviet Jewry.   He organized a Jericho Ride to Washington, DC, on May 20, 1965, where he met with a senior Soviet diplomat, and thereafter the students circled the Embassy of the Soviet Union to the sound of shofars, then moved on to the Department of State for a vigorous discussion, and finally arrived in Lafayette Park in front of the White House for a rally addressed by Members of Congress and the reading of an Appeal to Conscience. Note: in December 1987, the American Jewish Committee organized the Freedom Sunday Rally on behalf of Soviet Jewry. 250,000 people attended the D.C. rally, which demanded that the Soviet government allow Jewish emigration from the USSR.
[x] Viz., Blowin’ In the Wind — Rosh Hashanah morning 9/19/63, Ballon’s sermon on the burgeoning civil rights movement,  http://harav-shimon.blogspot.com/2012/08/blowin-in-wind-rosh-hashanah-morning.html
[xi] Theodore Bikel (born 1924) is a Jewish character actor, folk singer and musician.
[xii] Chaim Nahman Bialik (1873 –1934) was a Jewish poet who wrote primarily in Hebrew but also in Yiddish. Bialik was one of the pioneers of modern Hebrew poetry and came to be recognized as Israel's national poet. He wrote:
If you wish to know the fortress
to which your fathers bore their treasure,
their scrolls of Torah, their Holy of Holies….
if you would find the refuge
which kept your people’s mighty spirit safe…
turn to the ancient house of prayer….
Your heart will tell you:
your feet touch the threshold of our house of life,
your eyes behold the storehouse of our soul.

[xiii] Isaiah 7:3 "And God said to Isaiah, Go out now to meet Ahaz, you and She'ar-yashuv your son ("the remainder will return").

1 comment:

  1. Fascinating insight into a very unique point in the Jewish people's history, American Judaism.

    What would he write about the situation of today?

    ReplyDelete