"Bar Mitzvah Sermon"

Rabbi Joshua Heller
Congregation B’nai Torah
rabbi@bnaitorah.org

I delivered this sermon on the anniversary of my Bar Mitzvah. I don't recall the sermon that my dad wrote for me on that occasion. Maybe for the 50th anniversary I’ll trot it out.

I gave a sermon that attracted some notice, and indeed some very strong
responses, including a mention in a national Jewish Telegraphic Agency article that is appeared in many local Jewish newspapers around the country. I spoke from notes, rather than a full text, but I’ve reconstructed my remarks. That way, even if you weren’t in shul, when someone asks about the article, you can speak with authority. If my words move you and you'd like to help, you can contribute through my discretionary fund, or by clicking online:

http://www.masorti.org/contribute.html
or by sending a check to
Masorti
475 Riverside Drive, Suite 832
NY NY 10115-0122

The seed of what I shared was not my Bar Mitzvah speech, but was sprouted from old material nonetheless. It's something that I first came
to that weekend 9 years ago, as I prepared to leave Israel, after spending a year there. It had been an astonishing year: Rabin was assassinated. Two of my friends were blown up by terrorists on a bus the week after they became engaged. It was by no means the first time that I had spent time in Israel, but it was the most intense experience.

The parashah for that week speaks of 12 spies who Moses sends to check out the land. They go for 40 days, their mission to find out:
What kind of people live there? Are they strong or weak, few or many? Is the land good or bad, are the cities fortified? Is the land
productive? Are there trees? Finally, Moses encourages them: be strong and take of its fruit.

They come back with some incredible souvenirs. The fruit of the land was so big that it took one man to carry a pomegranite. Two men to carry a cluster of grapes. James had his giant peach. You think the strawberries today are bigger than the ones you remember from when you were growing up? I wouldn’t have wanted to tested these fruits for steroids and growth hormones.

Despite their success in the produce section, the report that the spies bring back is negative- "while the fruits are great, the cities are
greatly fortified, and it is an eretz ochelete yoshveiha- a land that devours its inhabitants. V'kol Ha'am Asher rainu betocha anshei middot-
the people we saw there were people of magnitude.

Nine, having concluded my own "tour of the land," I read that verse and remarked what an incredible country is- it is an eretz ochelet yoshveha-the rocky soil opens, reluctantly, all too often to accept the bodies of the young men and women who give their lives who defend it. People are devoured by tension by conflict. And yet, Kol Ha’am Asher Ra-inu Betocha Anshei Middot. They are people of incredible qualities and indomitable spirit. I saw people go on, press on despite having experienced the most astonishing things. I saw the courage, the commitment, the drive. When Moses asks the spies to search the land, he asks them to look for trees. Rashi explains that this does not mean trees, literally, but rather a search for the righteous and strong of spirit. The Israelis that I met fit that description- mighty as a cedar, even as they wept like willows.

But the truth is, now, nine years later, as I prepare to return for a visit with members of the Atlanta community, I want to reflect not on
different challenges. For indeed, the challenges of Israel's relationships with its neighbors, of political divisions of right and
left, are still major. The questions of how to handle Gaza, Hamas and terror, are deep. What's going on now is a deeper battle for the very soul of Israel, which is in some way even more threatening than all the French antisemitism, all of the Palestinian arms stockpiling, even than
the Iranian nuclear program.

Even greater than the risk of war with Iran, is the risk of becoming Iran.

Israeli society is increasingly fragmented from within. On the one side, you have the increasing hard-line nature of the Haredi, Ultraorthodox
world. It is a world of Humras, that the only legitimate way is the strict way, that women have no place in the synagogue. That one can't
drink the tap water on Passover, lest someone throw bread into the lake Kinneret, which is the source for much of Israel’s water. Moreover, that the society at large must bend over backwards to accommodate and finance this subculture within society.

On the other hand, Israeli culture has shown a disturbing trend towards ultra-secularization, and even anti-religious behavior. It used to be
that even those who were not personally observant had a respect for observance as part of the communal culture. It used to be that people
who were not religious would go out of their way to fast on Yom Kippur. Now, will have a big meal on Yom kippur "just because." It used to be
that pork was a rarity in butcher shops and restaurant menus. Now, you have people going out to buy bread on Passover. Perhaps so that they can throw it into lake Kinneret!

Israel is raising a generation of children with no common ground- some who have never watched T.V, some who have never observed Shabbat. Imagine an Israel where no-one remembers what a Bat Mitzvah is, because religion is the provenance of the few who don’t believe in haftorahs. Imagine an Israel where the only way to get married is to bribe a rabbi who is already paid by the government, or to fly to Cypress to be married by a justice of the peace. Imagine a choice between a secular school where the children learn Hebrew, but not Torah, nothing about our holidays and tradtions, or a yeshiva where the children learn no science, no math, no world History. An Israel where our money is still welcome, but where we have no place.

There is a solution, a response- Masorti, the Conservative movement in Israel. They have been remarkably successful in creating synagogues that reach out to Jews where they are. Creating a middle ground of vibrant congregations- steeped in our tradition, but with a face towards the modern world as well.

If you are looking for a synagogue in Israel where men and women can sit together, but the liturgy is what you know, where your daughter or
grand-daughter can say her haftorah, then you are looking for one of the over 50 Masorti congregations throughout Israeli.

If you were looking for a school in Israel like Epstein, GHA, or Davis, you'll find it through Masorti, in the Tali system, which has 22,000
students in schools across Israel. Coals to Newcastle! The Israelis need us to bring them Day schools.

If you are looking for a camp like Ramah, or Barney, or a youth program like USY/Kadima you'll find it through Noam.

If you are looking for a rabbi like me, who strives to be knowledgeable, but open, you'll find it through the RA Israel.

But if you don't look soon, if you don't help soon, you might not find any of these things.

If you read the Jerusalem Post this week, you've read that the Masorti movement is in trouble. Budget of the entire institution is $2,000,000-
that's less than the annual budget of some of the bigger synagogues here in Atlanta. With that money, they reach 125,000 people. That’s $8 per person! That's in jeopardy. They've had to lay off staff, including Rabbi Ehud Bendel, who was one of the most eloquent voices for religious pluralism and understanding in Israeli society, and one of the most effective lobbyists for inter-movement understanding. I'm not worried about him- he'll find a great job, but I’m worried for an Israel where voices like his are not heard.

Whenever an institution is in trouble- you ask why. Masorti gets funding from three sources:

$780,000 from the Jewish agency. The Jewish Agency was founded as the “government in exile” of the Jewish people before Israel was created. Today, among other things, it helps funnel our UJA money to Israeli causes. $300,000 from within Israel- the support of local congregations $500,000 from American Jewry.

One figure you will note is missing is that there is none from the Israeli governemnt- most Israeli synagogues don't have dues. Every
orthodox synagogue in Israel, every Orthodox synagogue, gets funding from the government. If you wanted to have a synagogue like ours, the second the mechitza comes down, the spigots turn off. One of the challenges for success of Masorti in Israel is that other options may
not be interesting, but they are free. If you want to get out of paying shul dues, make Aliyah!

The question remains as to why we, as American Jews, haven’t done more. I can’t blame B’nai Torah- we’re new to the Conservative movement, we’re still learning how valuable that connections is. And there are other phenomena- charitable giving is down overall, people would rather give for bricks than for programming. Still, I think one of the problems is a phenomenon that I find troubling, which is that we are often drawn to support institutions that do not project the same kind of Judaism that we practice in our own synagogue, to the exclusion of those that do.

There are many reasons why we support one cause or another. Sometimes it's out of community mindedness- recognizing that there are, indeed, worthy causes across the spectrum of Jewish belief and practice, and we should not be biased or closed-minded in our giving. When that is the case, God bless. However sometimes it's out of guilt. We say to ourselves: “I can never hope to live up to the ‘true’ Jewish ideal.
However, perhaps my checkbook can go to Heaven. I will give money to someone with the appropriate accent, in the appropriate costume, and they will go be Jewish for me.” This behavior mirrors the self-doubt of the spies, saying that we are nothing, and that others are greater than us.

I want to challenge our synagogue to begin to think differently. B’nai Torah is a synagogue for which Israel is important, and where people
have a history of giving, and giving generously. I've been present when we've raised $1,000,000 for Israel bonds. I know that there are those
here who give to a range of causes, Yeshivas, what-have-you in Israel. That’s fine. Every Jewish institution has the right for support and
thrive. However, I urge you to listen to the advice that God gave to Moses- Shelach Lecha, anashim. When you send, send for yourself, people. Send to yourself. Target your money where it will make the most difference.

I hope that your children spend time in Israel. When I sent my children- do I want Caleb to come back with a shtreimel, with a tattoo? (If you
forced me to choose, I’d take the former). But there needs to be a middle ground. if Amelia, if your daughter, if your granddaughter, wants
to have a bat mitzvah in Israel, I want there to be a place where she can read the haftorah.

I want to challenge our synagogue to raise $10K for Masorti. I'll make it easy. I'm giving the first $1000 from my discretionary fund, and $250
from my own money, and as Amelia's first act of Tzedakah. That’s only $8750 left to go. I know that there are many who give graciously to the synagogue, and to other causes, and I don’t want to cheat anyone else. But I also know that no-one ever gives away their last dollar. It comes back to Moses- shelach lecha anashim. Send to yourself- to Jews like you, to support the kind of Jewish life that we believe in.

In November, we have a unique opportunity to go to Israel with federation. I urge you to come and spy out the land with me. We will
learn about the exciting progress that Israel has made in business and technology, the challenges of security and international relations. But
most of all, we will ask the same questions that Moses asked.

Moses asked: “Do they live in camps, or in fortresses” We ask: “Do our brethren live in isolated camps, disconnected from each
other, or fortresses, with high walls between them.

Moses asked: “Are there Trees?”
We ask: “Rashi says that trees are people of righteousness. Where are the true “trees”- are they isolated in the synagogues and houses of
study, or are they those who reach out to the Israeli population at large.

Moses said: Be strong and take of its fruit, for it is the days of the first-fruits of the vine. Right now is the days of the first-fruits of
the vine. The need for Masorti grows every day, the demand far outstrips their ability to provide. Will we allow the buds to be harmed by frost, or will we tend them so that we can someday drink their sweet wine.

Come to Israel- see for yourself the peril and the promise. Be strong, and take of its fruit.