SERMON  Parashat Re’eh    27 Av 5784  August 30, 2024    

Rabbi David Edleson    Temple Sinai   South Burlington, VT

The Value of Jewish Peoplehood

Yesterday,  I had the great joy of being part of five conversions at Thayer Beach in Colchester.  It was also a bit of a weird scene, with lots of people on the beach, and with some random dudes paddling by on innertubes while some naked people were saying Hebrew blessings and going under.   It is one of the joys of my work that each year I get to see our tradition through the eyes of someone who has chosen to study for a year to become part of the Jewish people.  This was especially meaningful yesterday when two young people chose our tradition despite the rise of antisemitism all around us, particularly on campus.

It is important than when people convert to Judaism, they not only become part of our religious traditions, but also part of the Jewish people. That’s why converts receive the Hebrew name that ends “child of Abraham and Sarah.”   They are symbolically being adopted into this people.  So in some ways, the verb ‘convert’ is not the right word.  It’s much closer to ‘becoming part of.”

There is much talk of Jewish values these days, particularly the idea of Tikkun Olam, of the Jewish value of working to repair the world around us.  This is indeed an important value, as it includes working for justice, for fairness, for helping the most vulnerable.

Aubrey and Emmett, I know those values are deeply rooted in you and in your family.  Tomorrow, your d’vars will explore some of that.  You are young Jews who want a better world, whose passion for justice is clear, and that is a beautiful part of our tradition.  

But tonight, I want to take the opportunity of your b’nei mitzvah so be sure to share another value that is too often overlooked or ignored  -   Ahavat Yisrael,  the love of the Jewish people.   We are supposed to love the Jewish people. 

What does it mean to “love our people?”  I confess there are plenty of Jews I really don’t like, and some I downright think are awful.  Love feels like a reach, but I think it is like the idea of family, whether born or chosen.  Family are people you look out for, have their back, and that you are connected to even when you are angry or disagreeing or far away from one another.  Love is in some ways a choice, a commitment to stay connected even when parts of you want to let it go. 

The Talmud teaches us that “kol Yisrael arevim zeh bazeh”   All Jews need to have one another’s back, look out for one another, particularly in difficult times. 

So as you become b’nei mitzvah, and we are so proud of the work you’ve done and the people you are becoming, I wanted to remember the idea of Ahavat Yisrael.   We have to be there for our people, even Jewish people who don’t dress like we do, or worship the way we do, or who have beliefs or practices we strongly disagree with or are even offended by, even those who view us as Reform Jews as less Jewish.  The Jewish people is very, very diverse, with practices that come from all over the world and over the centuries.  Today,  about half the Jews live here in America, and about half live in Israel, and while we might have differences,  we are one people and our future depends on our reaching out across our differences, and holding each other up. 

Aubrey and Emmett, don’t ever let someone tell you how to be Jewish, or question the way you “do Jewish,” but also don’t let anyone tell you which kinds of Jews are ok to be friends with or to divide us into ‘good Jews” and “bad Jews.”     People who try to do that are forgetting one of the most important Jewish values -  Ahavat Yisrael.   We may argue with each other, and have too many opinions, but our people’s story is one of the most powerful, miraculous, unlikely, and inspiring stories humankind has even known.   There is much to love, and as you become b’nei mitzvah, may you be blessed to grow year after year in love for this tradition and this people.

Ken Y’hi Ratzon