Rosh HaShanah Day 1 - September 23, 2025

During the 30 years I have had the privilege of serving as this community’s rabbi, I have endeavored to use my position to enlighten our congregation and the larger Michiana community into the ways of the deep erudition of our people.  In classes and divrei Torah, in Five Minutes of Torah from Sinai, in morning minyan I have emphasized our tradition’s sacred Jewish texts and sought to analyze them from a modern or contemporary perspective.  What do these subtle and sophisticated texts, written hundreds or thousands of years ago have to teach us today living in a world that thinks and functions so differently than our ancestors.

Therefore, I thought for my final Rosh HaShanah in this pulpit I would analyze a text that has never been interpreted before, a text from an obscure rabbi… me. 

I went back to the very first Rosh HaShanah sermon I gave here at Sinai in which I outlined my vision for this community to see if there was any wisdom in at all for our community thirty years later.

I began the sermon by noting that Lizzie and I chose to come here to South Bend, to Sinai synagogue over a couple of other synagogues because of the enthusiasm and vitality that we witnessed in this community.

I noted specifically that There is tremendous positive energy swirling about these walls. This community cares very much for each other and wants to grow and move forward. And the very first question I asked those sitting in this sanctuary 30 years ago was, לען  Whither?  In what direction shall we move forward?

I am gratified that after 30 years at Sinai synagogue, that positive energy is still found within these walls.  As our congregation has considered the transitions that the regional Jewish community is undergoing, a new rabbi here, a new federation director, possibly a new rabbi at Temple, certainly a new location for their synagogue, changes for the Benton Harbor community, our congregation has pulled together to respond to these transitions.  Initially you worked with Temple to see if a merger was possible, you have met in focus groups to better understand the direction of the congregation.  Our daily minyanim are stronger than ever before.  Lay people have taken over leadership of worship services.  Our FEAST program and Hebrew school continue to be creative and a place where our kids enjoy coming.  And our community is now a much more diverse blend of Jews.  When I arrived, the majority of the congregation had grown up in South Bend, in nominal Orthodox congregations, and knew each other well.  New folks in town were warned be careful what you say about someone because they may be related to the person you are talking to.  Today we are more diverse not only in Jewish background, but ethnically, professionally, in gender orientation.  This adds to the richness of this congregation. 

However, it does create a larger gap in people’s connectivity.  It is easier for our population to silo into secondary groups – people with toddlers, couples or singles without children, empty nesters, long time veteran members, etc.  Thus, I think our primary challenge is for this very diverse community to get to know each other better.  We weren’t that large a congregation 30 years ago and we are smaller today, so each of us should strive to put a face to every name in the directory.  If you are sitting near someone you do not recognize, take a moment right now and introduce yourself. 

In that initial sermon I offered my vision for the community although it was just the beginnings of a vision because, as I said, the vision can only be complete with the input and assent of members of this community. And it is a beginning because like all designs this one must be flexible in order to grow and respond to the changing needs of the community.

And as I mentioned this community has changed in significant ways and I have changed as well.  I have tried to adapt to the changing needs of the congregation while maintaining my own integrity.  And I truly believe that is why I have not suffered burnout.  I enjoy my work as rabbi today as I did when I first came but as I have said many times, You guys need a break. 

The vision I shared in September 1997 was composed of three Cs: Community, Conservatism, and Compassion. How did that vision hold up?

The example of what I meant by community I found in our Exodus story.  I said,

Thousands of years ago the Jews in Egypt were searching to create a unified community that would allow them to face the transition from slavery to freedom and meet the challenge of going up to the Land of Israel. In chapter 10 of Exodus Moses provides us with a textual source for our first guidepost. Seven of the plagues have passed and Pharaoh and his courtiers are starting to get the message. Pharaoh is ready to make some concessions and he says " OK, I'll let some of you go and worship your God but tell me-- mi umi haholkhim? Which ones of you are going?

Moses answers bluntly and proudly: " B'na'areinu uvizkeneinu nelekh" With our young and our elderly we shall go, together to serve our God. And we say the same thing here today at Sinai synagogue."

Now why was that important to state in 1997?  Because Sinai was truly at an inflection point at that time.  It had benefited from an influx of about 15 younger families, some new to town, some returning with their families to town, who wanted changes in the congregation.  They wanted the synagogue to support a full-throated egalitarianism.  They wanted a meaningful program for the youth.  The 16-20 children in the congregation either went to the Orthodox day school or to Temple for Hebrew school.  Some of the Sinai veterans were not so keen on the changes – the building had gone through a renovation led by the 30 and 40 somethings.  The chapel was in the wrong place.  Where did all the classrooms go? And longtime employees like the beloved custodian Bland Jackson and congregational secretary Louise Muszer were encouraged to retire. Bland was 80 years old so he wasn’t exactly pushed out and Louise Muszer refused to use a computer, relying on an IBM selectric, but the changes were hard for some of the older members.  Not everyone in the congregation thought they needed a new rabbi.   Recognizing that this was a potential divide in the congregation, it was crucial to confirm that all of the members of Sinai, whether they had been bar mitzvah during the Depression or would become bar / bat mitzvah in the 21st century, had to know that there was an important role for them.   "B'na'areinu uvizkeneinu nelekh" We will go forward with all of us.

The same is true today.  But the challenge to grow our community is greater. I have already mentioned the greater diversity of our congregation and the importance of getting to know everyone in the community to keep our congregation together.  To grow our congregation though is tough. 30 years ago one might still assume that if a new Jewish family moved to South Bend, they would eventually join a synagogue.  The question would be “which one?”.  In today’s Jewish world, the question is more likely to be “Why join a synagogue at all?”  So, synagogues can’t only be welcoming, they have to create the need.

A recent business magazine explained that “Modern marketing methods emphasize creating a need by uncovering latent customer desires, building emotional connections through personalized experiences, authentic storytelling, and a customer-centric approach.”  Outside of Orthodox world, Jewish people do not need a synagogue to identify Jewishly.  Synagogues have to create the need through ‘latent customer desires’ AKA where can I buy candles for Hanuka?, personalized experiences AKA why don’t you join us for Hanukah or Shabbat and a customer-centric approach AKA What do you want out of your Jewish life?.  

Still, what is powerful about our Sinai community is how welcoming, open, and inclusive we are.  When a new family showed up with tattoos all over our response was “Welcome, glad you are here.”  That was not the response of other congregations.  Too many queer Jews have been pushed away from their communities of origin, we embrace them.  If someone shows interest in Judaism, we don’t say “There are organizations you can find that will teach you about Judaism. And for a fee.” We say join us, be part of the congregation while you learn about Judaism, because Judaism is not just laws and rituals, it’s about people.

Communal bonds are still a core element of this community and my hope over the next year is that it will only grow stronger. 

In 1997 once we made clear who was joining this mutual journey, the next question I asked was how are we going to get there?

At the time, Sinai had only been in the Conservative movement for 8 years.  And I praised the congregation for making “a historic and bold decision a decade ago to align itself with the Conservative movement, a movement committed to maintaining our sacred Jewish traditions but one that also recognizes that social and cultural and historical factors aided in the development of the that tradition and will continue to act and shape that tradition.”  But I did register that people in the congregation were still asking “What is Conservative Judaism”?  One of the great enigmas of modern Jewish life.

I spent many lessons during my early years teaching the objectives and principles of Conservative Judaism.  The Conservative movement’s approach to Judaism is one that not only I continue to subscribe to but I believe has helped keep this community vibrant. 

We don’t just say that prayer is important, we do it.  Daily minyan not only allows our community to gather every day for a transcendent purpose, but also directly connects people.  Observing Jewish holidays when they fall in the Jewish calendar, not on the weekends because it is more convenient, reminds us that Judaism’s purpose is to make demands of us, not the other way around.  Plus there is a wisdom in the rhythm of the Jewish calendar.  Sometimes a holiday does fall on Shabbat, but Tuesdays or Thursdays can also be infused with the special sanctity of holidays.  Yes, it would be easier to understand our prayers if we said them in English, but we Jews have our own language, which enclose value concepts that cannot be expressed in simple translation. 

And yet, after serving in small midwestern congregations for 35 years, I am not so sure if labels and denominations matter so much.  Our congregation is diverse in levels of observance as well as in other areas of identity.  If Sinai’s calling card is to be an inclusive, egalitarian, liberal congregation which uses three different prayerbooks, all associated with the Conservative movement, do we need the appellation ‘Conservative’?  Our congregation is not connected to other Conservative movement institutions – our kids go to camp at the Reform movement’s GUCI and Young Judea.  We have never had a USY chapter.  And to be honest, the institutional arms of our movement have never shown much interest in us.  The next rabbi to serve this congregation will be educated at a liberal rabbinical school whether JTS or Ziegler, the two Conservative rabbinical schools or another liberal program and they will bring their vision to our synagogue.  Would Sinai be better served being a “Just Jewish synagogue”?  I really don’t know.  But I do think in an environment in which synagogues need to convince Jews to join them, forcing them to make a choice of denomination may be more discouraging than asking them to join a liberal synagogue that is for people who just see themselves as Jews.  I think that is one reason Habad does so well.  They are clearly Orthodox but never advertise themselves that way, they are simply open to all Jews. 

In arguing for a more aggressive Conservative Judaism at that time, I quoted the great Rabbi Harold Kushner, Z’L who declared that during the middle ages a key rabbinical value was "Gadol hametzuveh v'oseh misheaino metzuveh v'oseh". Greater is the one who is commanded and observes then the one who is not commanded and observes". For in the medieval period the core question an individual had to ask was "to whom is my loyalty?" All individuals lived in societies and communities that were highly structured, in which social conventions and communal authorities imposed upon the will of the individual. But we do not live in such a world. We live in a society that cherishes freedom of will and admires the individualist who refuses to conform to society's pressures. In our day the greatest act a Jew can do is to willingly participate in Jewish community because no one can make him or her do it. According to Kushner, "Conservative Judaism is Jewish tradition in the key of freedom".  For us the challenge is to see ourselves as commanded even when we are not so sure. To willingly choose to observe when we do not have to because we see in observance the power of ritual, the adhesive in building community, the force that maintains values and gives our life meaning and as an outlet to touch the Holy.” I think what matters today is still a Judaism that promotes Jewish tradition in the key of freedom.  A Judaism that values observance of mitzvot because it incorporates the power of ritual, aids in strengthening community building, allows us to transcend our material limitations in touching the Holy and offers daily meaning to our lives.  It doesn’t matter what you call it, it matters how you live it.  If just Jewish, can construe that, maybe that is enough. 

The last question I proposed in my vision was “How shall we get where we want to be?”

I offered an example from the time of the prophet Isaiah who stood before his listeners in the eighth century before the common era.  The people believed deeply that they understood what God wanted from them. He demanded they make sacrifices in their lives and they complied. They offered their choicest animals as offerings for the altar, they fasted, and they lived a disciplined lifestyle. "To be sure they seek Me daily, Eager to learn My ways ..., They ask me for the right way eager for the nearness of God (Is 58)." But still there was suffering and the people questioned God, "Why when we fasted did you not see? When we starved our bodies did you pay no heed?"(ibid) Their problem was they mistook cause for effect in religious life. The sacrifices they made, which were intended to lead the individual to a greater level of holiness, became seen as the lone spiritual goal. They made the equation that the more they could sacrifice, suffer, starve, withhold from themselves, the more God would be pleased. But while they fasted in order to achieve religious purity, they starved their workers in order to increase their wealth. It took the prophet Isaiah to disabuse the people of this perverted sense of religiosity. "This is the fast that I desire: To unlock the fetters of wickedness and untie the cords of lawlessness. To let the oppressed go free; to break off every yoke. To share your bread with the hungry and to take the poor into your house; when you see the naked clothes him. And do not ignore your family."(ibid)

Compassion for the needs of others is the ultimate demand God makes of us.” It was the very core of my religious motivation then and it is still today. All the rituals we perform sensitize us and spiritualize us to root out the injustice and inequity in the world and to salve a soothing balm on the suffering around us. As community and as individuals we must always strive to develop and strengthen the qualities of concern and compassion.  It begins within our own community, but also extends outward towards the people of the city and county we live in. 

In 1997 I challenged the congregation to create an active Hesed committee within the synagogue to meet the needs of members who suffered from loss and grief, from illness, and from family strife.  Over the years we have been successful but not consistently.  We know that in our world today discretionary time is so precious, stress from work and family presses on us constantly.  Yet I will say over the years, that the best elixir to tension and anxiety for me has been to stop focusing on myself and help someone else. 

I am grateful that the vision I laid out 30 years ago would be the vision I would lay out today if this were my first year at Sinai.  I hope that it will continue to motivate members of this community.  Of course, there will be modifications and adaptations, a new rabbi will share their vision and integrate it with the congregation.  But as my role here changes, I plan to continue to support our congregation to reach for a vision of creating a caring, welcoming and Jewishly vibrant community.   

May we continue this journey together at Sinai, just as our ancestors did at another Sinai generations ago, that will enable us to fan the flames in our own hearts and in the heart of our community, to grow more passionately Jewish and committed to loving God's world.