Sermons and Divrei Torah
Kol Nidre Appeal
by Gil Palter
(Dvar Torah - Yom Kippur 5764)
Shalom. It is my privilige on this holiest of holy nights to help all of us engage in tzedakah. This Kol Nidre, I will ask every single individual in this room to give generously to Kolel, because this special institution needs our collective support. I suspect many of you don't know exactly what Kolel is: I'm guessing that a lot of you think Kolel is a virtual shul, a place where you go for really good, fairly cheap High Holiday Services, without any baggage, either emotional or financial, for the rest of the year. And yes, that is what Kolel is for one week each year.
And while we are on that topic, let me point out how very good Kolel's services are. My family has been attending services here for five years, and after having tried five different synagogues and independent high holiday services over the five prior years, I can say, without reservation, that Kolel's services are the best thing out there. Experiencing Jacques Israelivitz' wonderful rendition of Kol Nidre every year is an added bonus. I know you all agree that Kolel's services are terrific, otherwise you wouldn't be here, and Kolel's services wouldn't have grown from a few handfuls of families attending a single service six years ago, to the 1,000 people that fill Kolel's three venues this year.
But providing High Holiday Services is just a sideline activity for Kolel. What Kolel is really all about is: creating a pluralistic, egalitarian environment where people can learn about everything Jewish: Jewish theology, philosophy, history, culture, spirituality, you name it. Under Rabbi Goldstein's leadership, Kolel has unequivocally built a better mousetrap to teach and help people learn about things Jewish. Kolel is a totally independent community organization, with no direct denominational affiliation. About half of its students identify themselves as non-affiliated, 20% as reform and 13% as conservative. 5% of students even self identify as orthodox!
So now that you know WHAT Kolel is, the next obvious question is "WHY is Kolel so important? Why does it deserve my support, my tzedakah?" The answer is: because Kolel fills a very, very important niche on the ever expanding spectrum of Jewish belief. And Judaism is vitally important to the world, our country, our culture, and our way of life – maybe more so today than at any time in recent history.
Let me elaborate on that last statement: "Judaism is vitally important to our western way of life." I don't think we spend nearly enough time reflecting on the "big picture" of Judaism. At this point in world history, with the distressing rise in aggressive and repressive activity around the globe by fundamentalist islam, we really should. The core philosophy and theology of Judaism provides the moral underpinning for aggressively countering this dangerous fundamentalist threat, and freeing hundreds of millions of people from oppression, and billions from aggression. That is why fundamentalist muslims want to eradicate Israel from the face of the earth: because Judaism stands in direct opposition to its core ingredients of repression, oppression, and aggression.
As a starting point for delving more deeply into the broader importance of Judaism to our way of life, I recommend Thomas Cahill's book, The Gifts of the Jews: How a Tribe of Desert Nomads Changed the Way Everyone Thinks and Feels. In his book, this Irish Catholic author explains how the core principles of Judaism underpin the founding principles of modern western life, most importantly: freedom, liberty, equality, and justice. Cahill credits we Jews for (quote): "the miraculous development of ethical monotheism", without which the western world's notions "of equality and personalism are unlikely ever to have come into being, and surely would never have matured the way that they have. This Jewish God of justice and compassion undergirds all [the western world's] values, and it is just possible that human effort without this God is doomed to certain failure."
As an alternative to reading Cahill's book, you could turn to Kolel to help understand why continuing to learn and understand Judaism, in the context of our modern western world, is important. There are a host of courses relevant to this topic, like: "In the Footsteps of the Prophets", where you explore Abraham Joshua Heschel's view of theology as a vehicle for social action and the pursuit of justice. And for those of you who don't want to grapple with such daunting issues, but seek other things from this wonderful religion of ours, Kolel offers courses covering most facets of Judaism. Like "Reading Torah and the Rabbis with Maimonides: Religion for the Rationalist", where you can try to reconcile the world of religion with the world of reason. Kolel's range of courses is extensive and impressive. I encourage every one with even the slightest interest to grab one of these course outlines on their way out and see if there is anything that turns your crank.
Kolel offers a truly unique Jewish experience: it enables a serious exploration of all aspects of Judaism from a liberal perspective. Kolel has become the envy of most reform and conservative institutions, who want to tap its "secret sauce". But the secret is - there is no "secret sauce" – it's a complete cook book. Kolel's success is predicated on a completely different, and demonstrably more successful, approach to Judaism. Kolel is pluralistic, bridging a critical and widening gap between the "fluff" and "sound-bites" offered by other liberal institutions, and the rigidity inherent in many of the more orthodox, right-wing institutions. Kolel provides a thinking man's Judaism to young, smart, technologically sophisticated Jews.
Many Jews, and especially Jews of my generation and younger, have become bored, disillusioned, or disenfranchised with the more rigid, traditional Jewish institutions. And this trend is one of the root causes of the looming crisis facing Judaism, as Jews quit their synagogues, and stop keeping particularly Jewish homes, or leading particularly Jewish lives. Kolel is one of the lone forces having any positive influence against this strong tide. Kolel is attracting back to our religion a large number of Jews who have "defected".
Unlike many established Jewish institutions, Kolel is non-judgmental, doesn't profess or pretend to have any "pat answers" to the tough questions, and has no rigid "rules and regulations." Kolel embraces diversity, not just of opinion, but also of practice. The very popular course, "Conversations About Conversion", while not a conversion course, enables single, married, and matrimonially undecided, Jews, Jews-by-Choice, and the Jewishly undecided, to engage in a very open and honest discussion about such issues as conversion, managing holidays and life cycle events, and dealing with mixed extended families. In our modern, integrated world, intermarriage is a reality, so a "just say no" attitude will only drive people away.
I joined the Board of Kolel because I believe this institution plays a vitally important role in the continuity of our religion, and as I said earlier, I believe that the continuity of our religion is critical to the preservation of our way of life. At a time when there is ever more backlash and isolation from right-wing Judaism, a strong liberal Jewish voice is needed. The Jewish community absolutely needs this diversity of thought and opinion: if there was only one flavour of Judaism, what is the likelihood that you would opt in?
Hopefully I've convinced you that Kolel deserves our tzedakah. Let me now briefly tell you why it needs it. Because to date, Kolel has focused its limited resources on creating this fabulous environment for attracting, retaining, and educating Jews, at the expense of devoting resources to funding its wonderful offerings. To date Kolel has been supported by a very small group of extremely generous donors. But with the institution's rapid growth, in courses offered, students served, and high holiday participants welcomed, we need to expand the donor base.
Kolel strives to be as inclusive as possible. Their courses are priced to be affordable. And look at what you paid for your high holiday tickets. It is a fraction of what you would pay at almost any synagogue or shul in town. However, providing this level of inclusiveness is becoming increasingly costly as Kolel becomes increasingly successful at attracting people to its courses and services. So here is what Kolel needs from you:
Kolel needs every person here today to give generously to help support this very important, growing institution. On this holiest of holy days, I am going to remind everyone of the very important mitzvah of tzedakah. The Torah prescribes a special tithe for "each of the Levite, the orphan, and the widow". Hopefully most everyone here gives to UJA/Federation, addressing the widow and orphan part of that commandment, as well as a large number of other worthy causes.
In a modern context, giving to Kolel fulfills the commandment to give to the Levites. In today's world, any one who studies or explores Judaism is filling the ancient role of the Priests, the Levites, by guarding, preserving and advancing our precious religion. So completely fulfill the commandment of Tzedakah on this holiest of holy days by giving generously to Kolel. And while we always need gifts of tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars from those who are in a position to give so generously, we also need gifts of thousands, hundreds and tens of dollars if that is what you can afford. We ask that you please give at least some meaningful portion of what you estimate you save at Kolel by not paying temple dues and not contributing to a building fund, a temple brotherhood or sisterhood fund, etc.
On your seats are pledge forms. There are some suggested pledge amounts – please choose one. Then look at the next amount to the right, and choose that one if you can afford it. And please don't be constrained by the indicated amounts: Kolel will appreciate and make outstanding use of whatever amount you can give. If you haven't started teaching your kids about Tzedakah, now is a great time, and Kolel is a great cause. And if your children are too young, please consider giving $18, or $180 if you can afford it, in each of their names. In addition, there is a list of various items that you can sponsor directly, like: courses, the Rabbinic Endowment, rooms in Kolel's school building, even the building itself. We have a list of available sponsorships if you're interested.
My final request tonight is that you decide NOW on the amount of your generous pledge. Don't delay, or put it aside, and let it become another item on the high and ever growing To Do pile that may never get done. If you don't write on this holy day, make your pledge to the person beside you as your witness, and fill in the form early in the week. You can deliver your pledge one of several ways: Leave it on the table on your way out tonight. Or mail it after Yom Kippur in one of the stamped, self addressed envelopes provided. If you have further questions, or want to speak to someone about a special gift, like sponsoring a course or naming a room, please feel free to call Rabbi Goldstein at Kolel this week.
To put you in the right frame of mind while you fill out your forms, I want to tell you a story. Last year I was in Italy on business. I had a spare morning in Rome, so I went for a walk. As I walked past the steps in front of the Vatican, I saw two men soliciting money. The first was holding a huge wooden cross, with a sign written in Latin with Italian translation that said: "Love the Lord – The Lord Loves you." The second man had on a kippuh, and was holding a mogen david – a star of David. His sign was written in Hebrew with Italian translation, and it said: "Shma Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonia Echad. Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, The Lord is One." As people walked by, almost every single one put a fistful of lira into the man with the cross's box, leering with contempt at the Jewish man. The Jewish man's box was completely empty, while the other box was overflowing with money. After watching this scene for about 10 minutes, I saw the Pope with his entourage exit the Vatican and start walking down the steps. The Pope saw this scene, and said to the Jewish man, in a helpful tone: "Good Sir, why don't you go find somewhere more fruitful to solicit funds. Can't you see that you have almost no supporters here in front of the Vatican, and if anything are only helping this other man beside you?" With this, the Jewish man turned to the man with the cross beside him and said: "Hey Moishe, look who's trying to teach us how to raise Tzedakah."
I am not trying to teach anyone about Tzedakah – just encouraging you to fill the box in front of the Mogen David. Thank you for listening, and hopefully for contributing. Your gift might just help change the world. L'Shana Tova, and G'mar Chasima Tova. May we all be inscribed in the Book of Life.
Sermons and Divrei Torah
Additional Resources
Elul: Period of Preparation
Yamim Noraim: Days of Awe
Rosh Hashanah: Introduction
Shofar Symbolism
The Custom of Tashlich
Yom Kippur: Introduction
G'mar Chatima Tova...
