I love to listen to classic rock and roll and country western music. I find a great deal of truth in the lyrics to many of the songs that I find missing in other musical genres.
The latest release from Darius Rucker, formerly of Hootie and the Blowfish, is called “This.”
“All the fights and the tears and the heartache I thought I'd never get through; and the moment I almost gave up all led me here to you. I didn't understand it way back when, but sitting here right now, it all makes perfect sense. For every stoplight I didn't make, every chance I did or I didn't take, all the nights I went too far, all the girls that broke my heart, all the doors that I had to close, all the things I knew but I didn't know. Thank God for all I missed, ‘cause it led me here to this.”
The High Holy Days draw me back in my memory. I think about turning points, small and large choices I made, hopes dashed, jobs lost, heartbreaks, dreams altered that led me here to this blessed and incredible life I live.
This year I have been contemplating the path that led our congregation to this moment of Rosh Hashanah, 5772, the 70th year of our existence. I have examined wrong decisions that turned out to be right; the desperate situations that led us to strength; the detours that led us to affirm more strongly our mission.
There is an old Yiddish joke (is there any other kind?):
A Jewish woman, dressed in style, boarded a train in St. Louis for Chicago. A man sporting a dark, curly beard sat down in the seat next to her wearing a black hat, long black coat, black slacks and black shoes. The woman looked at the man disgustedly. “Jews like you give the rest of us a bad name.” The man calmly replied, “I beg your pardon, Madam, but I am Amish, not Jewish.” The woman looked back and smiled. “How nice that you've kept your traditions.”
That joke was funnier in the original. Yes, at Temple Beth Sholom we have kept many of our traditions and yes, we have changed much. And yes, we have reshaped and renewed our facility, our programs, our staff, our leadership. And yes, we have learned from mistakes and we make better choices today because of our sadder-but-wiser moments.
In our Shabbat morning Torah study, Victor Weithorn asked why the term “temple” is used, since it originally referred to The Temple in Jerusalem (sacrifices of animals, priests, special uniforms, one location only, strict laws governing each ritual, etc.). I looked up the origin of the word and found that dictionaries differ as to its origin. When I grew up, “temple” referred to Reform congregations, “synagogue” was mostly used by the Conservative movement and “shul” always indicated an Orthodox house of worship. Today, we use the terms interchangeably. Here on Miami Beach, we have Temple Moses (Orthodox) and Conservative Temple Emanu-El. Present usage of these labels reflects the fact that most Jews today are not tied to specific religious movements as they were in the past. We are Beth Sholom and not Bet Shalom because we were named before the founding of the State of Israel and our founders were Ashkenazim from Eastern Europe, who pronounced the Hebrew with the Yiddish inflections of their regions of origin.
So we are still Beth Sholom and still a Temple. But we barely resemble the congregation Rabbi Kronish and the few families of our early days established. Today we are young, vibrant and secure. We are forward thinking while still carrying the values established 70 years ago: open seating for all; supportive of youth; Progressive and Zionist; Liberal Reform with a healthy embracing of tradition; open to all who would find a Jewish home, regardless of financial wherewithal, ethnic, cultural, national or racial background, single, married or partnered.
All our past history led us to this. And now we begin the next era. Together we will design the Temple Beth Sholom of the future. This High Holy Days we launch Sh’ma Yisrael: Our Listening Project.
Over the next two years, our clergy will meet with each member of our congregation who is willing to personally share ideas, needs, and desires. Out of this dialogue on a Congregation-wide scale, out of our intimate and honest discussions to be held at homes, restaurants, offices, or parks, we will shape an ever stronger, more responsive and dynamic congregation.
I do not know what the future will look like. “I am not a prophet nor the son of a prophet," but by Rosh HaShanah 5774, two years from this New Year, we will be able to sing with commitment about the results of Sh’ma Yisrael: Our Listening Project:
“Thank God for all I missed, ‘cause it led me here to this.”
Shana Tova U’Metuka – For a blessed, sweet New Year filled with conversations and growth.
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