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A year ago last October, I began studying to convert to Judaism. Below is the drash I delivered to the congregation on October 15, 2005. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent. :-)
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Community.
On Rosh Hashanah, we talked about how each of us belongs to several communities: family, work, and of course the congregation. I've been part of this community for years as a member's husband. In fact, one of the main reasons I decided to convert was so that I would feel more a part of this community.
Most of this week's portion, Ha'azinu, is the Song of Moses. It gets pretty fire-and-brimstone at times, talking extensively about God's wrath. The portion also reflects on God's relationship with "His" people. So being the good liberal Reconstructionist Jew that I am, I had a lot to think about.
Today I want to focus on a larger community and mankind's place in it.
One way to do this is to share a little insight into what God means to me. A year ago, I started to think of God as kind of a "force," although I had trouble articulating what I meant by that. In my conversations with the Rabbi and my wife, through my reading, and thanks to our Intro to Judaism class, I've come to think of God as something that exists in everything:
- We just celebrated the new year. Many of you know that Judaism has several new years. One of them is
Tu B'shvat, the new year for the trees. Any religion
that celebrates nature is OK with me and earns my instant respect. In fact, in several places, this
congregation's liturgy emphasizes our connection to nature.
- On a more personal level, there's a very special place in my heart. It's a little slice of heaven
in the middle of a national forest. It's been in my family for five generations now. (And incidentally
three of them are here today.)
I've grown up at that plot of land in Southern California, so it's meant different things to me over the years: from riding around on my dad's back as a little one, to being a typical boy and chasing lizards and getting as dirty as possible. Now I find heaven in the crunch of granite under my feet first thing in the morning, the wind in the trees, the sound of the creek, and the coyotes' howl at night. While the meaning of that little bit of heaven has changed over the years, one thing is constant: it has always been there.
So, what does this have to do with community? When I reflect on community, I think about my connection to planet Earth. Art Green, former president of the Reconstructionist Rabbinic College, said in his book Seek My Face, "The psalm of all existence is sung within each creature and all around us. We humans only write the lyrics." I don't think he's diminishing humanity's role. He is, however, putting us in the context of a larger picture.
It's up to us to do our part to protect Nature. Tikkun Olam, repairing the world, doesn't just mean fixing problems, but also preserving what we have.
That's what community is all about.