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Parshat Emor: Leviticus 21:1-24:23;
Ezekiel 44:15-44:31.
I
spent 13 summers on staff at
Camp Ramah in England, a Jewish
educational summer camp asso-
ciated with the Conservative move-
ment. As is true of most who have
spent time at Jewish summer camps,
the experiences I had there as a
counselor, division head, teacher and
adviser are among my most meaning-
ful Jewish memories.
At camp, we had tefil-
lot (services) every day.
While I can't say that every
service I participated in at
camp was spiritually mov-
ing, I can still feel the sense
of ruach (spirit), so often
reflected in the singing and
joyous sense of community
in those minyanim.
One of the defining fac-
tors of camp tefillah was
that, with the exception of
Shabbat, campers and staff
dressed in very informal clothes (usu-
ally T-shirts and shorts). We gathered in
unadorned wooden buildings furnished
with simple wooden benches and floors
often covered with sand or mud.
And yet, the prayers were so elevat-
ing.
These "summertime" memories
from years ago came to mind when
I considered a section of this week's
Torah portion, Emor. In this parshah,
we read of restrictions placed upon
the priests in Torah and, later, Temple
times.
The Torah enumerates physical dis-
figurements that would invalidate a
priest from performing a public sacri-
fice. Many of the commentators seek
to justify this deeply troubling section
of the Torah by explaining that it is
natural for people to ascribe value
to an act based on the appearance of
the one who is performing it. Thus,
there was a fear that people would
denigrate the sacrifice performed by
someone who did not appear "nor-
mal:'
This entire approach should strike
us as archaic, insensitive and mis-
guided. We have rightly learned
over the centuries that the outward
appearance of an individual does
not in any way reflect their value as
a human being. We know that what
truly matters is the sincerity and the
ruach, the spirit, a person brings to
any act.
So, let me return to Camp Ramah.
The way the campers dressed or the
way the room looked was
not important when it
came to finding meaning
in the prayer experience.
What was important was
that everyone felt part of
a community and partici-
pated in singing and cel-
ebrating. There was a spirit
of friendship and joy in
the room that was palpable
and warms my heart so
many years later.
This is a lesson we could
learn in our synagogues
today. I'm not suggesting that people
should come to shul in T-shirts and
shorts (although we do have an
annual less formal "T-shirt" Shabbat
at Beth Israel in Ann Arbor, which is
among our most popular programs).
But, I do believe that we must look
beyond externals when we consider
how to make our communal prayer
experiences more meaningful.
While it is human nature that we
might judge an act by how we feel
about the person who is perform-
ing it, we should not be focusing on
clothing or physical surroundings.
We should judge based on the spirit
and the sincerity of those in the room
and seek to elevate not the way we
look but the meaning we bring to that
which we do. ❑
Robert Dobrusin is a rabbi at Beth Israel
Congregation in Ann Arbor.
Conversations
How important are external
appearances when it comes to
our attendance and participation
at services?
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May 7 • 2015
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