All kinds of Jews

I attended a sermon seminar for rabbis at the Greater Miami Jewish Federation. About thirty rabbis, male and female, and a Reform Rabbi conducting the session - talking about this time of year, Elul, teshuva (repentance), and thoughts for improvement for the coming year.

It's amazing to meet Jews of all stripes who are passionate about what they do. Politics and party lines are irrelevant when Jews gather simply to study Torah. The truth is, that is how it should be.

One of the big ills of our day is the polarization of Jews from one another. Many years ago, I decided that if Hitler wouldn't distinguish between us - we are all 'Jews' to him - what gives us a right to look askance at others who are doing their best to live their Jewish lives the way they know best?

Ahavas Yisrael - loving other Jews - is one of the greatest assets we have and should always play up. It makes us stronger as a people and as a nation.

Should Torah be taught, studied, learned more? Absolutely.

Does every Jew need to be given a chance to grow his/her Jewish IQ? Of course.

But the way to have this happen is for every Jew, not just every rabbi, to become an emissary for our faith. We need to have discussions with all Jews about the things which bind us - our shared history, our shared religion, our shared nationality, our shared sacred writings. We need to have an open dialogue, bring texts to the table, and have a real discussion about fundamentals.

Today's instructor, for example, spent a significant amount of time quoting Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik (1903-1993), an Orthodox thinker and teacher. He even concluded his talk saying "We must have more inter-denominational reading." No one should be afraid of reading the works of thinkers from different movements. מכל מלמדי הסכלתי - There is knowledge to be gained from every teacher who has something to teach, and a particular skill in conveying a message.

Will we agree over the dogma of Orthodox v Conservative v Reform? No we will not.

But we have a shared history as the "people of the Book" and we have no excuse allowing us not to seek and not to study.

Any business professional who wants to stay on top of the game subscribes to magazines and journals, reads about the industry and is constantly reinventing himself/herself in order to stay relevant and to succeed. Should we not be doing this to become expert Jews? Should we not read books, articles, journals, speak with professional mentors and teachers who can answer our questions? Doesn't it behoove those of us who want Judaism to be central to our lives, to do everything we can to achieve that goal?

"You can't take it with you," the old saying goes. But you can take something with you - the good name you acquire, uphold and maintain, and that which we hope will be our defining title when we leave this earth.

What will it be? Here are a few options....
Good parent
Good spouse
Good child to his/her parents
Good boss
Good employee (hard worker)
Mentsch
Eved Hashem (servant of God)
Good Jew
Grandparent
Accountant
Lawyer
Doctor
Businessman
Honest person
Scholar
Friend
Entrepreneur
tzaddik
Yoshor (straight shooter, doesn't take shortcuts, cheat or subvert in any way)

For those who are happy with the mundane, professional titles, there is not much I can to you. Good luck, work hard, and that is how you'll be known when your time is up.

For those who are looking for the family titles, that is great. It is tremendously admirable to live your life for your family and to be known for the role you play in building that family.

But for those who seek depth in life and real meaning beyond family, there is an added element of religion which is meant to serve as a guide for how to achieve scholarship, wisdom, understanding, knowledge and all-out personal fulfillment. For Jews, the journey should start with Judaism, and it should never stop. We have so much going for us, we can fill books and books and university libraries.

Seek and ye shall find. Find and you will know. When you know, you can begin to understand. When you understand, you begin to teach others and have the process come full circle.

We have a lot to do - let's get crackin'!