Dear Friends,
Nobel laureate in physics Isidor I. Rabi was once asked, ”Why did you become a scientist, rather than a doctor or lawyer or businessman, like the other immigrant kids in your neighborhood?”
Dr. Rabi answered, ”My mother made me a scientist without ever intending it. Every other Jewish mother in Brooklyn would ask her child after school, ‘So? Did you learn anything today?’ But not my mother. She always asked me a different question. ‘Izzy,’ she would say, ‘did you ask a good question today?’ That difference—asking good questions—made all the difference.’’
With the arrival of Simchat Torah this evening, we will once again end and begin the cycle of reading from the Torah. As we do, I am reminded of a rabbinic teaching that reinforces the importance of asking questions. The teaching takes note of the fact that the first letter of the Torah is the letter Bet and asks, “Why was the world created with the letter Bet [rather than the Aleph, which is the first letter of the AlephBet]?”
It then continues with an answer, stating,
Just as [the letter] Bet is closed on three sides and open only in front, so you are not permitted to investigate what is above [the heavens] and what is below [the deep], what is before [the six days of creation] and what is [to happen] after [the world’s existence]—you are permitted only from the time the world was created and thereafter [the world we live in].
“Don’t try to comprehend what existed before existence existed because it is beyond your comprehension.” the rabbis of old taught, “But short of trying to comprehend the incomprehensible, you may ask whatever question you like about whatever subject you choose.”
And that is exactly what we have done.
The rabbis understood that questions can open the door to new insights and discoveries. And they appreciated the fact that the process of intellectual inquiry often prompts us, as individuals and as a community, to reassess long-held assumptions and practices. That, in turn, allowed Judaism to evolve and remain relevant over the millennia.
The process of asking questions and then, when necessary, adapting our approach in response to the answers we discover, has long been a hallmark of Reform Judaism. No question, even concerning the authorship of the Torah, was off limits.
This has allowed the Reform Movement to respond to the changing needs of our community over time and remain relevant. And it is why today’s Reform Movement looks little like the Reform Movement of my childhood—and even less like the Reform Judaism that first took root in America 150 years ago.
Reform Judaism is about changing to adapt to the world we live in. And that process, as it always has, begins by asking questions.
During services this evening, we will celebrate Torah. We will sing, we will dance, and we will once again begin the annual cycle of reading our ancient text.
On October 20th will also be a celebration as we celebrate 150 years of Reform Judaism in America. During services, we will have the opportunity to explore 150 years of Reform Jewish questions and how those questions have shaped our approach to Jewish life in America. Rabbi Joseph A. Skloot, Ph.D, Asst Professor of Modern Jewish Intellectual History at HUC-JIR/New York and the Associate Director of the Tisch/Star Fellowship program, will join us.
Dr. Skloot’s topic will be, “A More Perfect Union: Reform Judaism and the Dream of Jewish Unity in America.” During services and at the Shabbat dinner that follows, Dr. Skloot will offer an overview of 150 years of Reform Jewish history and explore the opportunities and challenges that face us as we move into the future.
Together we will ask questions, search for answers, and in the process continue to build our sacred community. You can sign up here.
I look forward to seeing you there.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Daniel M. Cohen