Sukkot reminds us that synagogues must empower Jews to lead meaningful lives beyond their walls, too
RABBI ADAM CUTLER
BETH TZEDEC CONGREGATION, TORONTO
RABBI ADAM SCHEIER
CONGREGATION SHAAR HASHOMAYIM, MONTREAL
Rabbi Scheier: Recently, I have begun a program called “Pop-Up Rabbi,” where I stand outside a local coffee shop next to a sign that invites passers-by to “ask a rabbi any question.”
The interactions have been extraordinarily meaningful, and the initiative has been well-received. It’s an example of a synagogue expanding its horizons and moving beyond the comfort zone of its bricks-and-mortar building.
This, I believe, is part of the message of Sukkot – that our religious life isn’t to be confined to our buildings. We step out of our comfort zones and engage those outside or on the periphery.
How have you seen this idea effectively implemented in your community?
Rabbi Cutler: Beth Tzedec is a believer in out-of-the-shul Judaism – both myself and Rabbi Baruch Frydman-Kohl have held programs in coffee shops. We have also taught classes in places of business during lunch hours. Purim parties have taken place in music venues and the Megillah has been read at a local kosher restaurant. These initiatives are usually designed to be short-lived. Once the novelty wears off, we try something new.
Our shuls are buildings, but they represent ideas and fulfil missions. I believe that we are tasked with driving forward the mission in the best way possible. We need buildings for our mission, but we also need at times to step out of them. What you are describing is bringing the inside out, taking what is core to us and bringing it to the public.
What about the other way? Should we also be trying to bring the outside in? Should shuls be doing more to drive traffic into our building? Should we be catering more to the general public?
Rabbi Scheier: Yes, our buildings are holy tools used to convey a holy message. Jewish thought emphasizes the power of sacred space – the power to inspire and to serve as a focal point for communal activity and vision.
Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach shared a beautiful teaching about the Neilah service that concludes Yom Kippur. Neilah, which literally means “locking [of the gates],” is traditionally understood as the locking of the gates of prayer – as in, don’t lock us out. But Rabbi Carlebach said that it could be the opposite, too – don’t lock us in!
The message for me is that Jewish life belongs everywhere – in coffee shops, in the workplace, and, of course, in the home. While many of our outreach initiatives might be short-lived, the message of Judaism’s reach can be profound.
Perhaps one way to accomplish this ideal is to teach a form of Judaism inside the synagogue that can be easily implemented outside the synagogue as well.
What is the “take home message” you would like your congregants to leave shul with?
Rabbi Cutler: At our family-oriented Shabbat dinners, we recently began distributing cards to be taken home. The cards are designed to assist families in at-home Shabbat rituals – the blessing of the children, Kiddush, Hamotzi, etc. As rabbis, we are tasked with empowering Jews to live Jewish lives at shul, but also at home and in their day-to-day lives.
In a saying by Moses Mendelsohn that has been eternalized by Y.L. Gordon, one is instructed to be “a Jew at home and a man on the street.” But this is a sentiment that does not sit well with me (even if neither Mendelsohn nor Gordon meant to take it to its extreme) – lived Judaism is not meant to limit itself to certain geographical locales, be they the home, the synagogue or elsewhere. Instead, lived Judaism is meant to permeate all aspects of our lives, wherever we may find ourselves.
A synagogue that can inspire such a Judaism – irrespective of whether encounters with rabbis take place in the building or beyond – will be one that achieves tremendous success.
Click here for last week's edition of Rabbi 2 Rabbi.
