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54
FRIDAY, SEPT. 25, 1987
5748 Pluralism
Continued from Page 2
could spell hurban, destruc-
tion, and could be interpreted
as a "Spiritual Holocaust"?
An exceptionally in-
teresting comment on the
subject of amity is in the cur-
rent issue of Reconstruc-
tionist. The September 1987
issue of the official magazine
of one of the religious Jewish
factions under consideration
here is entitled "Reconstruc-
tionists and Jewish Unity."
In it the author, Arthur
Green, president of the
Reconstructionist Rabbinical
College, outlines arguments
in support of his movement
with which he would not com-
promise. But the introduction
to his theme, which is cer-
tainly angled towards his
movement's purposes,
presents an accumulation of
views contra divisiveness. He
states:
When I first began
reading Martin Buber's
Tales of the Hasidim, long
before I knew that I was
going to spend much of my
life as a student of
Hasidism, there were two
tales, or perhaps just two
lines from within the tales,
that impressed me above
all others.
One was a statement by
Rabbi Zusya of Anipol,
who is supposed to have
said: "When I get to the
World of Truth they won't
ask my why I wasn't
Moses. They'll ask me why
I wasn't Zusya." The other
comes from a tale about
Rabbi Raphael of Bershad.
Embarking on a journey
by coach, he asked his
disciples to join him. When
they protested that there
was not enough room in
the small coach he said:
"So we'll love each other
more!"
Within these two tales
are embodied the essential
principles of living in com-
munity. Each of us has to
know who he or she is and
not try to be anyone else.
At the same time, we all
have to be willing to move
over, to make room for one
another, to love each other
more. Thi
s is true of life in
community at all levels:
within a small, intimate
havurah, in our movement
as a whole, in the larger
Jewish community, and in
the human community of
which we are all a part.
We must learn to love
others for their differences
from us, not for being just
like us. God is praised in
our tradition as being
Meshaneh haberiyyot, one
who makes for variety in
Creation. The great
wonder of human ex-
istence, the Talmud tells
us, is that God stamps each
human being in the im-
print of Adam, and yet
each of us comes out dif-
ferent. We differ from one
another, the sages say, in
appearance, in voice, and
in opinions.
Perhaps it is not to farfet-
ched to read this as saying
that because each of us
sees and hears differently,
each of us is necessarily of
a different mind. Our age,
like none other, is one that
legitimizes personal
idiosyncrasy. Each of us
revels in his or her own
uniqueness. The task in
such an era is for us to
recognize and accept the
uniqueness of the other,
not just of ourselves, and
to recognize, in this very
difference, the shared
divine imprint, the com-
mon humanity that unites
us all. We must learn to
love and accept others for
who they are, not for who
we would like them to be.
Here is proof that all fac-
tions relish quoting Chasidic
lore. Even the extremism of
Reconstructionism takes
delight in such recognition of
the very Orthodox Chasid.
The obligation towards unity,
of judging all Jews as sharing
in a community of traditional
legacies, is indisputable.
Therefore the rejection of
divisiveness becomes the ma-
jor factor in responding to the
shofar. It is the unity of Israel
that emerges predominantly
at this time. It is a pluralism,
religious and cultural, that
can not be denied or trampl-
ed upon. Such is the Rosh
Hashanah message in these
crucial times.
I take pride at this time to
share with my readers a deep-
ly moving Rosh Hashanah
greeting from my dear friend
Dr. Robert Gordis, one of
world Jewry's most eminent
scholars and spiritual leaders
and editor of Judaism
magazine.
In behalf of his wife Fannie
and himself, Rabbi Gordis
wrote on Sept. 3rd: "Fannie
and I can only hope and pray
that the New Year 5748 will
live up to its billing! The
Hebrew Tav, name of the
year Tav Shin Mem Het,
spells the word Tismah,
which means "you shall re-
joice." I hope the new lease on
life will make it possible for
you and Anna to find sources
of joy in life in the new lease
of time which stretches before
us."
It is a privilege to apply this
message to all in out com-
munity. May it be the totali-
ty of Jewish blessings on the
New Year 5748.
.