Temple Gates of Prayer- Rabbi Thaler's Message

FOR ZION'S SAKE I WILL NOT BE SILENT

FOR JERUSALEM'S SAKE I WILL NOT BE STILL- ISAIAH 62:1

From the Rabbi's Desk..

      Much has been written lately about the sense of malaise which has characterized the Conservative Movement in recent years. Some have pointed to the loss of close to a third of the membership in Conservative congregations in the last decade. Others have pointed to the closing of some Solomon Schechter High and Elementary schools in the metropolitan area as evidence of continuing decline. Conservative Judaism, once the largest movement in the United States, has yielded that position to Reform Judaism. When I began my Rabbinic career, Orthodox Judaism had just about been written off. Reconstructionist Judaism was relatively new and most people had not even heard of it. Reform and Conservative Judaism were both capturing the hearts and minds of American Jews. It is personally painful for me to now write about the dispirited condition of Conservative Judaism.
        Dr. Arnold Eisen, the new Chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America is optimistic about the possibility of renewal within our movement. He has brought new energy and from what I hear, a new spirit of vitality to the Seminary, its faculty, staff and student body. Dr. Eisen speaks about quality rather than quantity. It almost reminds me of Professor Salo Baron’s statement years ago that American Judaism would continue to exist and even flourish if there were at least one hundred first rate scholars, rabbis and educators at work. Indeed we have many more than one hundred first rate people in Jewish professional life but our problems persist.
        There are many good reasons for our situation including a worldwide move to religious fundamentalism on the one hand and creeping secularism on the other. At the same time we are witnessing the emergence of new forms of Jewish experience and expression. There is a phenomenom of cultural Judaism where young people find Jewish experiences through film and museum offerings rather than in Synagogues.
        On the positive side, new initiatives have emerged which inject a spirit of inclusiveness into Synagogue life. Alternative Shabbat experiences have replaced traditional Services. The Synergy initiative has Synagogues offering a variety of experiences on Shabbat mornings such as folk dancing, nature walks, book discussions, story telling and meditation. Others have introduced musical “Friday Night Live” programs to revitalize Synagogue attendance. These programs attract certain segments of the Jewish population but I rather doubt that these offerings can lead to permanent Jewish affiliations or meaningful Jewish life styles. Whether these forms of Jewish activity can lead us into the next generation or two of Jewish life is questionable.
        To my thinking we need to put most of our energy and resources into formal and informal Jewish education and learning. In 1910, Ahad HaAm wrote, “Learning-learning-learning: that is the secret of Jewish survival.” I believe his prescription is as valid today as it was a hundred years ago. What happens in the Jewish study hall is of equal, if not greater, consequence than what happens in the Synagogue. That is why I invest so much of my own energy in doing precisely what my title means…’teacher’.
        In Israel, mostly young secular men and women are seeking a way ‘back in’ and are finding it by studying the classic texts of Jewish literature. Can we do less?
        So let’s study together; Basic Judaism for men on Tuesday evenings, Jewish Thought in Pirket Avot on Wednesday evenings or the weekly Torah Portions on Shabbat mornings. I look forward to seeing you in class.

          Rabbi Albert Thaler

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