In
Exodus 14:15 we find our people long ago facing some rather dire
circumstances. Having just escaped from Egyptian slavery, they
stand at the shore of the Sea.
Before them rage deadly waters, behind them are Pharaoh and his chariots, ready
to cut them down. The Israelites panic, facing what threatens to be certain
destruction. They hold no reasonable prospect of rescue; they seem beyond hope.
The
Israelites cry out to Moses, “What have you done to
us! Didn’t we tell you that it would have been better to
stay in Egypt, even as slaves, than to die in this wilderness!” (Paraphrase
of 14:12). Moses (verse 13) tries to reassure the people, but
the Israelites are in no mood to trust any human leader. At this
point, God speaks:
“Then the LORD spoke to Moses, “Why do you cry out
to Me? Daber el b’nai Yisrael vayisa’u! Tell the Israelites
to go forward!”
Back
in rabbinic school, our homiletics professor, Rabbi Dr. Leonard
Kravitz,
(no, not the guitar-playing rocker
of the 1980’s and 90's),
regularly railed at us students that, in the end, every sermon—and
indeed, everything a rabbi legitimately does in leading a Jewish
community—ought to be a variation on that theme: “Tell the
Jewish people to move forward!” For a synagogue to offer
its members stimulating adult education, an effective Hebrew School
and other programming is wonderful, but the bottom line for the
future of any congregation and indeed, the whole Jewish people
is that we must be constantly be moving forward!
Jewish
communities all over North America face a host of significant
problems these
days, primarily borne of
our troubling demographics.
In brief, many more American Jews die each year than are born.
This past winter, as a matter of fact, what has been predicted
for decades has come true: The United States is no longer home
to the world’s largest Jewish poplulation. There are now
about 5.64 million Jews in Israel, and at most (depending on
who is counting), 5.5 million in the U.S.
The
absolute number of Jews in the United States is on the decline.
We do
indeed pick up increasing numbers of
Jews by Choice, far
more than the number of Jews who actively convert to other faiths.
Yet the North American birth rate among Jews is so very low, that—other
than in the small Orthodox community—we are on the endangered
list. As this phenomenon is now almost four decades old (it
began in the 1970’s), we—not just in Rutland, but around
the continent—are reaping the results. More energy and more
money are required of fewer people than in the past in order to
keep the flame alive. Such thoughts can lead either to action or
despair.
Our Torah recounts how the Israelites faced hostile waves on
one side and armed charioteers on the other, and how, when dwelling
on their plight, they got precisely nowhere until they marched
forward. They overcame their fears by putting them aside, focusing
on the mission.
Jewish
congregations have a similar choice. We can either obsess on
our problems,
or we can get off the therapeutic
couch and live
our lives to the fullest. As a major character repeats in that
wonderful modern classic of a movie, The Shawshank Redemption, “There’s
a choice: either get busy living, or get busy dying.”
The former is what characterizes life at the Rutland Jewish Center
these days. Fully cognizant of the many challenges we face, we
have chosen to get busy living! Judaism is alive and increasingly
well, and often fun at the RJC.
The
RJC is a place of engaged Jewish study for both children and
adults.
It’s a place where there’s always (almost—not
on Tisha B’Av or Yom Kippur, but virtually every other day!)
something good to eat and friendly people with whom to share
it. It’s an unpretentious place, full of down-to-earth people
helping one another to make the most of life.
I hope you will join us as, together, we celebrate the blessings
that Judaism offers. Whether you were born Jewish, chose it as
an adult or are thinking of doing so, I invite you to join us as
we enrich our lives in the mitzvoth and continue marching forward.
L'shalom,
Rabbi Doug Weber
