SPECIAL COMMENTARY

CHANGE from page 74

a covenant — one that elevates the
purpose of the institution and does
ences are inclusivity, empowerment
not shrink from making demands on
and engagement.
members.
• "Inclusivity" implies a need for
• Organizational Culture: When lay
the synagogue to recognize that the
Jews are given a chance to lead ser-
two-parent family with children is
vices, deliver talks, read Torah, intro-
only one of many family configura-
duce new music, etc., what is (some-
tions in the community today, and
times) sacrificed in professional quality
that other family configurations are
is more than made up for in the sense
deserving of equal programmatic
of ownership that gets created. Syna-
attention.
gogues need to find more ways to tap
• "Empowerment" suggests an
into that energy.
approach to Judaism that radically
• Spiritual Leadership: The deepest
democratizes syna-
truth people know
gogue life, giving lay
is their inner story,
Jews the tools to
not Torah. Rabbis
The challenge for the
function as rabbis
increasingly need to
and cantors.
invite Jews to tell
• "Engagement"
their stories, their
century . . . calls for a
requires a serious
spiritual journeys,
approach to the
and then to put
change in the paradigm
study of the tradi-
those experiences
tion and provides an
into the context of
from synagogue-center to Jewish wisdom and
opportunity for lay
Jews to enter into
tradition. It is the
the centuries-old
synagogue-community.
way that seekers
exercise of text
come to realize that
wrestling to discover
Judaism offers a
what Torah has to say about the way
portal to greater meaning. It is a por-
we live our lives.
tal that thousands are ready to walk
The synagogue-centers of the
through, if properly guided.
American Jewish community do not
• Framing of Serious Judaism: Syn-
come by these traits naturally or easily.
agogues must be, primarily, places that
The synagogue-center was created
Jews attend to study classical texts,
for the first generation of American
engage in social-justice activity and
Jews who entered suburbia. Syna-
extend themselves in acts of mercy
gogue-centers were characterized by
and compassion. Let worship services
large edifices, clergy in robes, services
allow for alternate expressions of spiri-
with choirs and rehearsed staging and
tuality through meditation, music and
a program that supported the ethnic
movement, so that we invest our
agenda of the community.
ancient liturgy with newfound
Though most synagogue-centers
kavanah, or intention. Let the halls of
have made modifications from these
the sanctuary reverberate with a multi-
institutional styles, inclusivity, empow-
tude of voices — of joy and of
erment and engagement are not their
anguish, of faith and of doubt.
forte. The chavurah movement and
These are the characteristics of syn-
Jewish renewal have been important
agogue communities that will inspire a
outlets for just such expressions of
new generation of Jews to join their
Jewish life and practice.
ranks. They will also be the kind of
communities that will lead the way to
Understanding The Challenge
a renaissance of Jewish life. ❑
The challenge for the century that we
are now entering is to mainstream
Rabbi Sidney Schwarz is the founder
much of this style. It calls for a change
and president of the Washington Insti-
in the paradigm from synagogue-cen-
tute for Jewish Leadership and Values,
ter to synagogue-community. The four
an organization dedicated to the renew-
main characteristics of the synagogue-
al of American Jewish life through the
community that are beginning to
integration of Judaic study, social justice
transform the synagogue as we know
and civic engagement. He is the found-
it are:
ing rabbi of Adat Shalom Reconstruc-
• Articulation of Mission: Fewer
tionist Congregation in Rockville, Md.,
and fewer Jews know why it is worth
and authored the book Finding a Spiri-
the time and expense to pursue Jewish
tual Home: How a New Generation of
affiliation. Synagogues need to engage
Jews Can Transform the American Syna-
their members in a process of creating
gogue (Jossey-Bass, 2000).

MODESTY

from page 73

hear each other, to respect the creative
spiritual insights of their peers and to
cooperate in experiments designed to
achieve common goals. This democra-
tic spirit animates Jewish customs —
from the lighting of candles for Shab-
bat to the commemoration of Yom
Hashoah, from the washing of hands
before eating to the shofar being
sounded 100 times instead of only 30.
Each of these customs became and
remained universal by virtue of the
capacity for collaboration and respect-
ful relationships between individuals
across all lines of division.
Pharisees and Sadducees, men and
women, Ashkenazim and Sephardim,
Chasidim and Misnagdim, Orthodox,
Conservative or Reform, all Jews
could join in the creative process of
shaping spiritual moments. It is this
democratic strength that the Jewish
sages understood to be one of the
underpinnings of tzeniut.
In a third fascinating midrashic
passage, the sages describe God lov-
ingly shaping each limb and organ of
the human being at the moment of
creation. As He forms each one, He
says to it, "Be tzanuah" (Genesis Rab-
bah 18:3).
What is the nature of this modesty
that God counsels in a whisper to the
emerging human person? It is clearly
not modesty of garb since Adam and
Eve began life without any clothes. It
is the modesty of constant remem-
brance of that whisper itself? It is the
modesty of living with awareness of
the presence of God in one's life.

This, then, is the third underlying
awareness that animates modesty in
the life of a person. If I am deeply
aware of the presence of God in my
life, then my conduct changes radical-
ly in every area of my relationship to
others as well as in my relationship to
my property and to myself.

Moving Toward Modesty
Why does all of this hold special
meaning to us at the start of the first
Rosh Hashanah of the 21st century?
It ought to be obvious. We have
become a culture largely devoid of
tzeniut.
People are deeply self-centered.
They are atomized and short of col-
laborative spirit, and lack a sense of
the transcendent in their lives.
This Rosh Hashanah is the right
moment to restore a powerful sense of
tzeniut, of modesty, in our lives.
It's not just in the way we dress and
the way we express our sexual identi-
ties, albeit also in those areas. Beyond
those, we can, in all of the aspects of
our lives — in how we party and how
we mourn, in how we decorate our
homes and how we vacation, in how
we eat and how we speak — truly
manifest modesty.
Tzeniut is not a single command-
ment; it is not a law or a set of laws.
It is a set of attitudes that need to be
integrated into all areas of life. It is a
set of attitudes that can shape how we
spend our money, how we use our
bodies and how we speak and relate to
others.
Modesty is a Jewish teaching for
the 21st century. It's time to begin! ❑

LETTERS

Young Adults Busy
Learning, Too

We would like to elaborate on your
issue concerning Jewish learning
("Voices In Jewish Education," Sept.
15, page 33). Specifically, we would
like to help answer the question
"What will it take to make Jewish
learning exciting, meaningful and
ongoing for all ages?" as that question
relates to young adults.
While certainly not professional
educators, the lay leadership of the
Young Adult Division (YAD) of the
Jewish Federation of Metropolitan
Detroit has done an outstanding job

at reaching out to its constituents
with new and exciting educational
programming.
During the 1999-2000 program-
ming year, the Educational and Cul-
tural Committee of YAD was formed
in response to a growing desire of
young adults for more educational
and cultural opportunities, both Jew-
ish and secular.
Last year, the committee organized
three very successful events. As Sharon
Hart mentioned in her article
"Don't Forget Adults," we co-spon-
sored a Seminars for Adult Jewish
Enrichment (SAJE) class, "Building a

LETTERS on page 76

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