Chapter 3 Part Three: Political and Social Action

Responding To Demographic Changes: Part Three - Political and Social Action

I recently heard a political pundit explain a “moral compass” as having the values so that when one is confused by all the noise and commotion in the world, and is feeling dizzy and lost, it will always help a person find the right direction. If this is not the work that synagogues need to be doing, then I don't know what else is. Our congregations have social programs, dances, shows, dinners, breakfasts, card parties, poker nights, casino trips, dessert receptions, meetings, and a host of other gatherings that keep us busy but have little or no long term effect on the world around us. Conservative congregations have typically not been actively involved with issues relating to Social Action or Political Action. Often these are seen as the work for Federation or some other Jewish organization. I think that one of the reasons that the Reform movement has not declined as quickly as the Conservative movement is because it has a long history of Social Action programming.

Many congregations point to Mitzvah Day programs, where many people gather together on one day and work on a wide variety of social action projects. They also point to annual food drives, or other collections done in response to a call for action. These are fine, as far as they go. But what a modern synagogue needs is an active and ongoing connection to social action or political action. People don't want to just learn about Judaism, nor just to pray that things should be different. We want to get our hands “dirty” doing the work that will make a difference.

Doing it Right

I know congregations that regularly go out on “builds” for Habitat for Humanity. I know congregations that have a soup kitchen to feed the hungry or a food pantry that distributes food to the poor. I know of congregations that have a homeless shelter in their basement, a vegetable market in the parking lot for locally grown food and one congregation that actually sends people to work on an organic farm to help the farmer in exchange for a share of the crops when they ripen. There are congregations that organize job fairs for those out of work, mentor at risk children in the community, sent workers multiple times to New Orleans after hurricane Katrina and to Haiti after the earthquake to help rebuild, and who send teachers out to work with the children of migrant workers.

There are congregations who send members to their state capitals and to Washington DC to lobby representatives about issues that are important to the Jewish community or to the wider community of religious people. There are congregations with active chapters of AIPAC and J Street that advocate for Israel. Some work with other faiths to address, from a religious point of view, issues relating to health care, immigration, civil rights, and issues of religious freedom. While there are certainly issues on which different faiths disagree, there are more issues where there is great agreement and working together can make a very big difference. In Hollywood, Florida, when all the other surrounding cities were struggling to find a place for a homeless shelter, the Interfaith Council, working together, had a shelter built, furnished and occupied by a full compliment of residents in need. It was the religious organizations that gave the political cover to get the job done.

Many years ago, I had the privilege of hearing from a young man, about thirty years old, who was active in a Jewish philanthropic agency. He recounted that when he graduated college, he took a job at a big corporation, with a corner office, and went to work on his first day. He sat in the office, looked at the walls and the window and thought, “is this where I will sit for the next thirty years of my life? Is this all that I have to look forward to?” He didn't particularly like the answers to these questions, and decided he needed something more. Needless to say, he got involved in charity work to give his life meaning and depth. I think that just about everyone at every age has this feeling, though certainly there are plenty of people who are content with living lives of self interest and self indulgence. At a very young age, my children quickly understood the good feelings that come when one has made a difference in the life of someone else. To see the faces of gratitude when we take the time to care is its own reward. To know that life in this country or some other country is better because we got involved is a wonderful feeling. This needs to be one of the main foci of synagogue life.

There are some congregations who in fact do require every member to be involved in some social action project. They offer a wide range of projects in need of helping hands and hearts and expect everyone to pitch in. In many cases, it was involvement in the social action programs that led a family to join the synagogue and to participate in other programs with their new friends.

Getting Started

Like prayer, a Hesed [kindness] program, does not have to be“one size fits all”. Smaller committees could focus on the day to day planning and the congregation can get involved as needed. For example, a Habitat committee could plan for helping with a build and make the arrangements with the local organization. The rest of the members only need to show up on the appointed day. An Israel Affairs committee could report information about Israel to the congregation on a web page or by email and then call upon the congregation to respond with appropriate letters, emails and visits to political representatives to lobby in support of Israel. It could also coordinate lectures and educational programs on Israel for the synagogue and for the larger community. An ongoing food drive will bring in food from all the members of the synagogue but the committee would be responsible for bringing it to the food pantry or delivering it to needy families in the larger community. The entire community is thus involved in many different projects, but each member can focus attention on the program that gives him or her the most satisfaction.

When a person is engaged in this kind of community service, it can be an important entry point into the religious world. If synagogues become the place where people go to find meaning and fulfillment, then they will stay at the synagogue for learning and for services as well. There is evidence that involvement in social action projects will also bring greater donations to the synagogue as participants feel that the entire congregation is working on worthwhile and meaningful programs.

One of the ways that synagogue life has changed is that fifty years ago, a person joined a synagogue and then tried to find something with which to get involved. Today, before a person will join a synagogue, he or she will have to see that there are worthwhile things happening there before they make the commitment to join. Social and political action can be the portals to a lifetime of synagogue membership. It provides the entree for Singles in the congregation to get involved; a place to meet like minded singles who could potentially be future partners. It is important to remember that meeting future partners is not the only idea that drives the lives of singles. Many programs for singles fall apart after a short time as singles meet and no longer need a “meet and mix” program. Social action and political action are activities that singles can participate in regardless of their relationship status. Single parents can participate as a way to be personally involved in meaningful community service or they could use these programs for important and precious family activity. Socially, singles and couples often do not mix, but in social and political action committees, the good work may override the differences that usually keep them apart.

There may be many outside social and political action groups that rival the synagogue already involved in the community and we should partner with them where we can. We must remember, however, that the combination of community service, faith and Mitzvot found in synagogues can create strong connections between participants, congregations and God. It is this deeper meaning that makes social/political action an important part of what the modern synagogue is all about.

Responding To Demographic Changes: Summary

Synagogues based on these three core components, Learning, Prayer and Social/Political Action or as we say in Hebrew, Torah, Avoda and Gemilut Hasadim, are in a prime position to attract Jews of different ages, genders, marital status and backgrounds. All of these activities together under one roof, groups for serious learning, meaningful praying and social /political action involvement, provide many entryways into synagogue life and toward a future of synagogue leadership. This is the bedrock of what a modern synagogue must be to grow and thrive in today’s environment. The irony is that this is exactly what synagogues have been for centuries that have made them one of the most enduring organizations in Judaism. Implied here, I guess, is a criticism of the last fifty years of congregational life. In some ways, the idea of the synagogue got lost as the leadership planned social programs, education for children and services that were designed for spectators, not those wishing to pray. I don't think that American synagogues started out on the wrong path, but over time, the organization strayed from its roots and the damage has been significant. We need to get back on track and we will see that Jews will again recognize the importance of synagogues in their lives. Rabbi Lawrence Hoffman, in his book, “Rethinking Synagogues: A New Vocabulary for Congregational Life”(Jewish Lights Press) talks about synagogues as “market communities”. A market community is defined as “communities that exist because they promise concrete benefits, not because they are so central to people’s lives that their members cannot imagine belonging anywhere else.” Rabbi Hoffman talks about creating “Sacred Communities: Communities whose worth is measured in sacred acts and relationships, that connect us to one another and to God.” Clearly a synagogue based on Torah, Avoda and Gemilut Hasadim would be creating its community based on sacred acts, rather than “spectator” activities.

Can it really be that easy? If we wish to recreate the Synagogue, is all that we need to do - create adult learning, better services and social/political action programs? That's it? The short answer is: “Yes, that's all it takes.” But while the answer is short, taking action on the changes will challenge everything that already exists. I don't know why we should be surprised that the answer we seek can be found in our ancient tradition. Our Sages and teachers over and over surprise us in how they could see beyond their own time and create a timeless religion called Judaism. The difference is always in how we respond to this tri-headed call. We need to see new ways to apply it for the modern world.

Take learning. Every American congregation today has a program of Adult Studies. This has been going on for decades, and the program has grown smaller every year. We give away the classes for free and the rooms are still empty. We make a mistake when we gear our adult studies programs for beginners only and never offer advanced courses that reflect the higher education attained by many modern Jews. The reality is that young Jews today have advanced college degrees and massive amounts of basic information are available to them on the internet. Many current adult studies classes never get beyond the “introduction” level. Yet there is a great need, as I have noted above, for serious adult learning. This means hiring teachers, creating curriculum and setting aside a proper place to learn. It means diverting some of the resources set aside for the education of children and using those resources for Adult Education. I do not fool myself into thinking that such a change will be easy nor popular. I only maintain that it is necessary.

Take Avoda, worship. If anyone would like to cut right to the heart of a Rabbi's or Cantor's ego, try talking to them about changing the essence of the service. Try telling a man (so far these are still mostly men) who is 90 years old, that the way he has prayed his whole life now has to change. Cantor Linda Shivers once told me that a good cantor can't rest on what he or she knows, that a cantor needs to be constantly improving his or her voice and repertoire. It applies to rabbis as well. Rabbis who only glean the news looking for topics to speak about but never spend any time learning what Jews are looking for in their worship, may be successful in the short run, but will falter as times change. I am not going to sit here and declare that rabbis and cantors have gotten “fat and lazy.” Actually clergy work extraordinarily hard each and every day. I know that, in spite of my constant renewal of my rabbinate, I still missed this problem until I had a sabbatical where I met younger colleagues and had the time to really listen to their take on what was happening in the world.

Still, it will never be easy to start an alternative service if the Rabbi expects everyone to be present for his or her sermon. It will never be easy if the Cantor expects everyone to be in the main sanctuary for the Musaf service. As long as we have officers and board members who think that everyone should like the same service or else they are “tearing apart the community” alternative minyanim will be created not in our current buildings, but in the basements of churches and in the living rooms of young Jews. We need to embrace this movement of alternative minyanim, make room for them in our mostly empty buildings. Those who like the original service, will stay in the main sanctuary. Those who want change will gladly go to the alternatives. There will be times when people will move from one to the other as they try them out, but since they are all in the same building, it is easy to find the form of worship that makes the most difference in the member's life. What is wrong with that?

Rabbi Sharon Braus, of Los Angeles, when she asked about a social action program at a synagogue, was informed that “Social Action is what they do at the synagogue down the street. Here we do prayer.” It is my personal opinion that the reason Conservative Judaism has fallen so far so fast over the last fifty years is because we have had little or no social action. I believe that the reason Reform Judaism has not taken as big a hit as Conservative Judaism is because it has had a very extensive Social Action program. I don't know of any survey that shows this but it is still what I deeply believe.

When I talk about Torah, Avoda and Gemilut Hasadim, I am looking for new ways to apply these in our congregations and in our synagogue buildings. The mission is as ancient as our faith. The application needs to be as new as the latest smart phone. These are the basic building blocks of Synagogue renewal. It is in these areas that we must address our time and energy to turn our congregations around.

These basic components of Torah, Avoda and Gemilut Hasadim are the baseline activities that will bring in members and make them active participants in the community, But our world has changed over the last fifty year and there are other approaches to the way synagogues are run that must change if we are to be successful for both our long and short term goals. When it comes to changing synagogues, sometimes we lapse into poor habits and lazy thinking and we undermine our best ideas and programs. Synagogues did not get into the trouble we are in overnight. It has been years, decades, of neglect that has gotten us where we are today. It will take time to climb out of this hole. We need to think in terms of three to five years to really see the changes I propose to make a difference in the synagogue world. It could be a decade until we wake up one day and see that we have created something strong and meaningful in people's lives. I also need to remind those who espouse change that the changes I propose does NOT mean that we are going back to the way things used to be in the “good old days” - the heydays of our congregations from fifty years ago. What worked then will NOT work now. We really don't want to set the clock back fifty years, that would be a fiasco. We need to create a new standard of success and then focus all our energy to create it. In summation Torah, Avoda and Gemilut Hasadim may be the keys to success but we still will need to do more than just promote this program.. They certainly need to be the focus of our energies but we must remember that the playing field has changed and we need to address the new reality of life. Once we have addressed the main issues, there are still a number of “second tier” challenges. These are not the contents of our change, but the “bottle”, the “containers”, in which we need to hold them. We need to do new things in new ways if we wish to truly grow our synagogues.