Creating a Jewish Constant

by Ann Goldman

We live in an era of 30- second sound bites and marketing messages screaming in vibrant colors across television and computer screens. Thanks to the great American tradition of tolerance and acceptance, everyone’s group identity has become less definable. The upside is that as Jews we encounter few social, economic, or educational barriers. This reality, though, also creates some very real difficulties for Conservative Jews seeking to hold on to a holistic Jewish lifestyle.

Several months ago Jewish Theological Seminary Chancellor Arnold Eisen, in his Torah commentary, noted that “our Jewish identity is hyphenated rather than whole. Jewish activity is generally episodic and marginal, rather than constant or central.”

Although Dr. Eisen was referring to communal prayer in this d’var Torah, I believe that this disjointed engagement with Jewish constructs extends far beyond the synagogue. Episodic engagement in Jewish experiences has been a danger throughout our history. By creating separate and distinct “Jewish moments” we give credence to the notion that it is possible to be “a little bit Jewish.”

Like any well-honed skill, internalizing Jewish sensibilities requires sustained practice. The goal is to become proficient at living Jewishly; the more sporadic we are in our Jewish behavior the less satisfying and meaningful it becomes. We may feel wonderful after volunteering at a community function, but how long does that feeling last? Adrenaline rushes cannot substitute for constancy of purpose.

The difficulty, for many, lies in the tendency to view the world as having both secular and religious spheres, as though these were two mutually exclusive existences, an idea that has no basis in Judaism. Our tradition urges us to find the balance and interaction between being holy and separate (goy kadosh) and engaging with the world as exemplars of communal justice and the rule of law (tzedakah u’mishpat). For Jews, ritual acts and justice are intertwined. We cannot participate in intermittent random behaviors and fulfill our mission to the next Jewish generation or to the world at large.

Not surprisingly Jewish engagement, ritual behavior, and moral imperatives are part of the Conservative movement’s discussions of who we are and where we are headed in the 21st century. How do we integrate our inherited moral imperatives while carrying out our complex daily activities outside a cloistered Jewish milieu?

A tangible example of how observance leads to holistic Jewish engagement in the modern world is exemplified by the movement’s Hekhsher Tzedek Fund (see the Fall 2007 issue of CJ). Incorporating standards of communal justice such as workplace safety and the fair treatment of workers with the ritual holiness of maintaining kashrut, the hekhsher tzedek illustrates the undeniable genius of our tradition and creates a compelling narrative about Judaism.

Hekhsher tzedek is but one example of how we can enhance Jewish engagement. Undeniably, this balancing act is our best hope at reinvigorating our Jewish narrative and making it compelling enough to pass onto our children, our communities, and the world.