EDITOR'S NOTEBOOK

jarc

Shabbat Sparks

Cincinnati
"Do not worry about who sits where," Dr Sarna told the
n intellectual giant among Jewish professors told
Class of 2004. "Do not worry about honor and status.
the newest class of Reform rabbis that the inex-
Instead, like our first and greatest rabbi, Moses, strive for
orable breakup of a caste system within
the day when all Jews, men and women alike, may stand
American Judaism did not come at the expense
fully equal to one another: as priests and as prophets, as
of tradition.
rabbis and as teachers, without heed to wealth or to ances-
Rather, it was an outgrowth of the changing Jewish experi-
try — and above all, as Jews united in the quest for Jewish
ence from the American Revolution onward, said Jonathan
learning and for Jewish living."
Sarna, the Joseph H. and Belle Braun Professor of American
That's no small order for a young rabbi. So I asked the
Jewish History and past chair of Near Eastern and Judaic
two class graduates with Detroit roots what they thought.
Studies at Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass.
Both impressed me with their clarity of thought.
Dr. Sarna gave the sermon at the Hebrew
Youthful Wisdom
Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion
Class of 2004 ordainment ceremony held
Rabbi Jennifer Tisdale Kroll splits her time between Temple
last Shabbat at the historic Plum Street
Israel in West Bloomfield and the Southfield-based Jewish
Temple in downtown Cincinnati. This
Hospice and Chaplaincy Network. Rabbi Aaron Starr joins
Cincinnati-based class of 12 included seven
Rabbi Arnie Sleutelberg at Shir Tikvah in Troy.
women and five men.
Equality of the individual is at the center of their world.
Dr. Sarna tapped into this 350th
As Reform rabbis, they say, Halachah (Jewish law) guides
anniversary year of American Jewish life to
them and its teachings are inspirational, but they're not
ROBERT A. relate how the Jews of early America chal-
bound by it.
lenged hierarchies. He called this challenge
S KLAR
"We are all bound by our desire to live Jewish lives in the
"an example of how America's egalitarian
modern age, and we are all committed to the principle that
Editor
ideas came to influence our American
both the Written and Oral Torahs are the guiding forces in
Jewish religious life."
our struggle to live as Jews," Rabbi Starr said.
It was no surprise that Jews developed hierarchies
"If we can remember that we are
of their own, having lived for most of their history
fighting the same fight and that we
among peoples who embraced such social strata.
are all looking to grow as individuals
As Dr. Sarna recounted examples of departures
and as a community, then those divi-
from Jewish law — including financier Haym
sions that should fall will fall and
Salomon's signature on the Revolution-era marriage
those divisions that we determine are
certificate of a Philadelphia woman convert who
healthy will and ought to remain in
married a priest, Jacob I. Cohen — I wrestled with
place. My role as a rabbi is to teach
their validity. I knew that some of what he was say-
and to learn, to build bridges and to
ing reinforced the fundamental differences between
tear down walls, and to work with
Judaism's liberal and traditional streams.
my community to determine which
He quoted Moses from Numbers to argue that all
task is needed and when."
Jews were prophets — "all the Lord's people," not
"When I visit someone in the hos-
just the "spiritual elite."
pital," Rabbi Kroll said, "I do not see
I was proud to hear Dr. Sarna say that one of
a wealthy donor or a congregant in
Detroit Jewry's greatest leaders, Rabbi Leo Franklin
need of financial assistance. I do not
of Temple Beth El, introduced free seating in U.S.
consider their lineage — whether
synagogues back in 1904 — five years after he
they are a kohen or a levi.
helped found the United Jewish Charities, today's
"I only see a person in need of
Rabbis Starr and Kroll
United Jewish Foundation. All seats were available
healing and comfort, a Jew that is
first-come, first-served, for rich and poor alike.
turning to their rabbi for guidance,
"There must be no aristocacy and no snobocracy,"
solace and hope. It is my job to help
Rabbi Franklin said.
carry their burden and to empower them and their families
Still, I respect the role of the mechitzah (separation of
to learn how to heal themselves."
men and women), although within each section, free seat-
She described the halachic teaching of pikuach nefesh, of
ing — which Dr. Sarna says allows even the poorest mem-
saving a life, as the pathway to equality among Jews.
bers to come early and claim the choicest sanctuary seats
"This mitzvah is powerful enough to override even the
— reigns there, too.
Sabbath," said Rabbi Kroll, whose fortitude to be ordained
I was intrigued as Dr. Sarna talked about the democratiza-
echoed even as older sister Risa's recovery from a serious ill-
tion of Jewish learning. For years, he said, "mastery of Jewish
ness became the priority. "It is also powerful enough to
texts, high-level Jewish study and creative Jewish scholarship
override any caste system or level of inequality that might
were as foreign to most American Jews, women in particular,
exist within Judaism.
as prophecy and priesthood."
"To teach Jews Torah, to guide them through Jewish liv-
It took Eastern European immigrants like Rabbis Bernard
ing, to allow them to fully realize their potential as a partici-
Revel and Shraga Feivel Mendlowitz in the early 20th Centu-
pating member in the Jewish community, that is saving a
ry, he said, to open the door to wider learning and to wel-
Jewish life. And that is my greatest challenge as a rabbi."
come the "unlettered Jewish laypeople." The cross-stream
Rabbis Kroll and Starr join newly ordained Conservative
popularity of Yeshiva Beth Yehudah's Partners in Torah pro-
rabbis Eric Yanoff (Congregation Shaarey Zedek) and Jason
gram, as well as the Ohr Somayach and Aish HaTorah
Miller (University of Michigan Hillel) as important young
lunch-and-learn sessions, is a tribute to that foresight.
additions to our Michigan rabbinate. ❑

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