By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal
SAN DIEGO–Terms such as the “chain of Jewish tradition” and “Jewish continuity” have been so overused that they are in danger of becoming trite. However, once in a while something happens that makes me pause and reflect on how our tradition is truly ancient and unbroken.
One such moment occurred for me at Board of Directors meeting of Tifereth Israel Synagogue on Wednesday night. The Board was reviewing an amendment that has to be made to Tifereth Israel’s Articles of Incorporation to bring them into conformance with current law. This was easier said than done because it turns out that we did not have a copy of the original document. Our Executive Director Nivi Rahm finally procured a copy from the California Secretary of State who registers and records them. As our Board considered the necessary amendments, they reviewed the original Articles of Incorporation which were dated 1906!
After the vote I wondered aloud whether any of the signers to these original Articles of Incorporation could have conceived that 104 years later a Board of Directors of the synagogue they established would be reviewing and updating these same documents!
One hundred and four years are a long time but as I turned to this week’s Torah reading, I realized that it is but a short amount of time when compared to the totality of Jewish existence and history. In this week’s parasha, Emor, we find among other laws those pertaining to Shabbat and the major festivals of the Jewish year: Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, Pesach, Shavuot, and Sukkot.
As I read them I wondered if any of our ancestors who wandered through the Sinai desert with Moses ever considered that 3,000 years in the future their decedents would still be dwelling in booths during Sukkot, eating matza on Pesach, or listening to the shofar on Rosh Hashana! That these practices and observances have existed and have been practiced for so many years is mind boggling.
For me, one of the truly amazing and moving things about being a Jew is that we are part of a chain of history and tradition that not only reaches into the ancient past but is still vibrant today. We are the beneficiaries and guardians of a wonderful life-giving religion and way of life. Receiving and passing on this Jewish heritage is what the Hebrew phrase, “dor l’dor” is all about.
However, to be a “link in the chain of Jewish tradition” or to be proud of our role in preserving “Jewish continuity” implies that we are in the middle of a great enterprise which not only reaches millennia into the past but millennia into the future as well.
The other thought I had during Wednesday’s Board meeting which I did not verbalize was: I wonder if 104 years from now some future group of leaders of Tifereth Israel Synagogue will be shaking their heads in amazement as they review the documents that were agreed upon today. Will they also reflect that they are the continuation of a great congregation and community that began 208 years ago?
Whether or not this will be depends greatly on the Jewish decisions and commitments all of us make today.
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Rabbi Rosenthal is spiritual leader of Tifereth Israel Synagogue in San Diego.