Tonight commemorates our ancestors’ history- the transforming encounter at Sinai, fifty days after the Exodus from Egypt. The timeless memory of the receiving of the Ten Commandments at that time, inspired one of Reform Judaism’s most creative innovations, the ceremony of Confirmation. For Reform Jews, each new generation was challenged to symbolically make the ascent to Sinai, receive the Torah for themselves, and confirm their own commitment to our faith.
The Ten Commandments are revered by both Judaism and Christianity, as the moral foundation of our civilization. While the Torah employs ritual and ceremony as symbolic expressions of eternal and universal spiritual values, it is the underlying ethical principles that are paramount. This is no¬where more clearly reflected than in the Ten Commandments from which our students just read. In the ancient world these words were a radical and revolutionary leap forward in the history of humanity’s spiritual quest. For the first time, faith and ethics were integrated into an inseparable whole. The message of Sinai proclaimed for all time, Judaism’s fundamental idea that what the God of Israel ultimately demands of us is righteous and ethi¬cal living – compassion for the weak and needy - integrity in our dealings with others – and the pursuit of justice in society. It is so significant that of these ten mandates, singled out as the very essence of the entire Torah, only two are theological principles – proscribing idolatry and proclaiming God’s reality and unity as the sole liberating Force for human freedom. Only one of the commandments concerns ritual - the observance of the Sabbath – and yet even this commandment focuses on the underlying ethical di¬mension of a day of rest and spiritual renewal for all living things. All the rest of the Ten Commandments proclaim the imperative of ethical, just and caring relationships between human beings. Centuries later, the Prophet Micah would offer an even more concise summation of Judaism, when he taught that what God ultimately requires of us is “to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly.”
This is, of course, the essence of the understanding of Reform Judaism that we continue to proclaim: a faith focused on ethical values and spiritual sensitivity, rather than on ritual or ceremony…a faith of freedom, rather than fanaticism. At this season of rebirth, we are called to renew our Confirmation vows…and together to ascend Sinai anew… receiving the Torah for ourselves - for our own time and place – exemplifying its sacred ideals in our lives.
So tonight, I have some public hopes for all of you that stem from this Sinai moment.
The first message to take from this is to be in conversation with the text. No one has yet written or proclaimed the last word. I want to challenge you to be a part of the ongoing dialogue and discussion about Torah. This is not the domain or purview of previous generations or elderly rabbis. It is yours. It is your heritage and therefore your responsibility to keep up the conversation. Think of a group of people in a circle playing hackey sack, where the point is not to drop the object, but to keep it going. That is your task. Keep it going.
Judaism demands that you think, that you process, that you reflect, that you study and struggle with the tradition and with your responses. From the role of the Talmud and text, we learn that life is not black or white, nor is it grey. Sometimes it is black and white, and maybe even grey, all simultaneously.
This year, whether you realized it or not, we studied Torah, Bible, The Oral Law, the Mishnah, Gemorrah, and Talmud. We read the Torah and then saw how the midrash elucidates, clarifies, and sometimes modifies the text. We looked at Responsa literature, and came to understand the need for a code of Jewish law. And with all this, we only scratched the surface.
I want to let you in on a secret. Promise me you won’t tell anyone. Let’s just say, when I attended Hebrew school, I was not the best pupil. But I came away from my religious school experience knowing two things – I realized how little I knew and more importantly, I had a thirst and strong desire to learn more.
My second message is a hope that you have gained an appreciation of how enormous our tradition is, how much more there is to learn, and hopefully by appreciating its relevance to your lives, you will obtain a desire to explore your heritage and to expand your knowledge of Judaism.
Next, I hope that you continue to maintain your Jewish relevance. Whether you are in a class with one other student or a hundred, your personal journey is the most important. While we place enormous importance on community and a minyan, the minyan is composed of individuals and each journey is essential to its success. Continue to explore ritual and its meaning and please, whether at camp or through BBYO and into college, continue to find personal expression is the rich and varied traditions of Judaism and its many opportunities for a spiritual encounter with God.
Our tradition celebrates life and living, and offers keys to understanding how to live a meaningful life. That is my greatest prayer, to keep Judaism alive. By studying its texts, by arguing about their meaning, by debating their applications, by experimenting with traditions, by encountering others in the journey, we are nourished by Judaism, and we create nourishment for others. Am Yisrael Chai … through you, the Jewish people live on!
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