“The Old Will Be Renewed and the Renewed Will Be Made Holy”

"HaYashan Yitchadesh v'Chadash Yitkadesh"

"The Old Will Be Renewed and the Renewed Will Be Made Holy"

From the Heart

Rabbi Gary S. Creditor

 

I attended the recent annual convention of the International Rabbinical Assembly. We are over 1,500 men and women Rabbis serving world Jewry in pulpits, universities, organizations and educational institutions around the world. We come from seminaries in New York, Los Angeles, Argentina, Budapest and Jerusalem. We are diverse in every way: language; gender; theology; age; backgrounds. We are all united in our love of God, Torah and the Jewish people. For us the Rabbinate is a dedication, not an occupation. It is who we are, beyond what we do. At convention we conversed honestly, openly, painfully, deeply. Every Rabbi present and those who weren't are facing the challenges presented to us in a world that spins faster and faster each day and by a society we didn't create with values that are at variance with Judaism.

 

We spent four days day together. We engaged in inner examination, self scrutiny and honest evaluation. It was important to hear from Minister of Kenneset Tzipi Livni, who almost became Prime Minister of Israel, that she sees the Conservative Movement, known in the rest of the world as Masorti Movement, as the only vehicle for the religious salvation of the State of Israel. That was echoed the next day by Minister of Kenneset Gideon Saar. Even as we contemplate the changing American scene it is vitally important to know that in Israel, Europe, Africa and Central and South America, the Masorti Movement is growing significantly in the number of congregations and adherents.

 

We agreed: there is everything right – we believe in our vision and proposition of Judaism. Conservative/Masorti Judaism has the right message for the Jewish people and the world. We need to propagate our message clearly and loudly. We need to continually adopt the new technology to spread far and wide our teachings of Torah, social responsibility, and God. We need to continually experiment without fear of failing in creating appealing formats. There is no guidebook. There is no manual. We are writing it as we go. We have faith and commitment in and to Conservative/Masorti Judaism. We Rabbis are committed to its future for the sake of God, Torah, the Jewish people and the world. There are significant challenges. We are facing them directly.

 

The heading for this column accurately describes my feelings during and after convention. It is written by Rav Kook, one of the leaders of the Jewish settlement in Palestine in the beginning of the 20^th century. Our proposition is not the jettisoning of our tradition. In every class I teach, with every visit to a Religious School class, with questions by young and old,  I see how steeped in wisdom and meaning is our tradition and our vision of it. When I receive classes from J. Sargent Reynolds  and VCU, from St. Michaels, St. Gertrude and others and I tell them that our wisdom stretches from 3,500 years ago to right now, they are dazed in amazement.  The challenge is to discover the formats, the models, the vehicles to make it known, make it felt; to take new ideas and imbue them with sacred meaning so they are not just fads and passing fancies but rather transmit authentic messages from Judaism. It will be trial and error. Some will work and some won't. Some will last and some will have a short shelf life. For God, Torah and the Jewish people, we are committed to try.

 

 

Rabbi Gary S. Creditor

Temple Beth-El

3330 Grove Avenue

Richmond, VA 23221

Phone 804-355-3564

Fax 804-257-7152

www.bethelrichmond.org