Rabbi Arnold I Sher
Closing Statement

Bob Heller and I began this conversation by attempting to respond to the question of what we perceive to be the greatest challenge to Reform Judaism in the future, based on our own experience in the Movement. I am sure we both agree—there is no simple response, no one solution and no quick fix that we might proffer as an answer. What is very clear is that we live in times that demand of us that we not rest on our past achievements, nor mark our success by a numerical evaluation alone. We cannot determine our success by numbers of congregations now affiliated with the Union for Reform Judaism or the membership size of individual congregations. We may take some pride in the fact that we are the largest Jewish stream in North America, but that too does not tell us anything more than we are able to attract members. It does not indicate the depth of commitment of each individual member to a liberal Jewish way of life. It does not indicate how we as a Movement touch and affect the lives and deeds of our members. What we do know, however, is that with the numbers who claim to be Reform, with the growth in synagogues and with a dynamic Reform Movement, we have the possibility to transform lives, to keep the voice of a liberal dynamic Jewish life a reality in our world, and to continue to make contributions for the well-being of all Jews and all humankind.

We do this by being true to those creative and courageous instincts that identify the liberal aspects of our Judaism. As I mentioned in my first posting, the ordination of a woman rabbi developed from that liberal courage. It is the same instinct and courage that helped us realize that the traditional definition of who is a Jew was faulty. We regained and helped our own people strengthen itself when we defined a Jew by intent and not solely by birth, through both matrilineal and patrilineal descent. We opened the doors of our synagogues to gay and lesbian Jews who had been either invisible or unwelcomed. Our Reform rabbinate, cantorate and Movement have been strengthened by gays and lesbians who were finally allowed ordination as Reform Jewish clergy. They have bolstered not only the future of Reform Judaism, but have also influenced the Conservative Movement, which will soon also ordain openly gay and lesbian clergy.

Leonard Fein was correct in describing us as ever-changing. His study of Reform Judaism decades ago was aptly named, “Reform is a Verb.” In a time when many of our congregations are rediscovering once discarded rituals and practices and finding meaning in them, we ought not to diminish that impulse which urges us to base what we believe and what we do on reason. In this day and age of “touchy feely” religious experience, we need to remind ourselves that the beauty and relevance of our liberal Judaism is not just soulful or emotional but rational as well.

As I approach my retirement from the position of Director of Rabbinic Placement on June 30, I look back on my forty-five years as a Reform rabbi. I am ever grateful to the lay and rabbinic leaders of our Movement who along the way served for me as teachers, exemplars and friends. May we all continue to go from strength to strength in service of the Jewish people and all humankind.

Robert M Heller
Closing Statement

It has been a privilege for me to engage in this dialogue with Arnie Sher. Once again, I learn from him. I am grateful, too, for his generous words about me, especially because they come from Arnie, whose contributions to Reform Judaism are extraordinary. His professional career, in particular his service as Director of the Rabbinic Placement Commission, has touched the lives of most of our readers, including many who may not know it. He has guided countless professionals and congregations through the difficult processes of rabbinic interviewing, selection and transition for nearly two decades, bringing wise judgment, balance and an essential sense of humor to those tasks. And he has been an able advocate for the CCAR.

Our dialogue has touched many facets of the Reform Jewish future: study, worship, the work of social justice and connection with Israel and world Jewry, drawing in those who are outside our doors. These and these, eilu v’eilu , are at the heart of our vibrant communities today. Let’s be clear that they are not in conflict, that we need not pick one over the other in framing our agenda for the Reform Movement. In reality, each of these pathways leads to the same chamber. It does not matter whether we begin with study, prayer or action, the crucial building blocks; doing any one of them wholeheartedly will lead to the others.

It is impossible to study and take seriously our texts and tradition with their emphasis on remembering we were slaves, and on meeting our communal obligations to the least among us— the widow, the orphan, the stranger—and not strive to feed the hungry, house the homeless or provide medical care for those in need. Our ethics instruct us to pay laborers fairly and promptly, to use honest weights and measures, and to respect the land. But they lack meaning if they do not lead us to insist that workers are paid a living wage, that businesses behave ethically, and that we protect the environment. Our prayers for the coming of God’s reign and the messianic era are hollow if they do not move us to repair our fragmented world.

By the same token, action alone is not enough. If we act without an understanding of the deep Jewish roots for our actions, the commandments that obligate us to act, we are, as Rabbi David Saperstein has taught us, cut flowers, flourishing for a brief moment but destined to quickly wither, leaving no seeds behind in the soil.

So I end where I began three weeks ago: our immediate agenda as volunteers and professionals is to create communities where each of us can live our Jewish journey and find our own doorway to the sacred. It will not just happen. We have to understand and rejoice in our heritage as Reform Jews and accept the responsibilities that go with it. We have to be lifelong learners as well as doers. Not all of us can be learned but we all can be learners, coming to a richer understanding of the choices we must make as Reform Jews.

A final thought about a less lofty, but important part of our task. We have to get serious about funding our institutions. Our congregations are the building blocks of communal Jewish life, but with rare though welcome exceptions, our philanthropists and community fundraising organizations do not provide resources to congregations that are commensurate with the work they do. Somewhat shortsightedly, mega-donors seek to create programs to build Jewish identity without strengthening the very home of Jewish identity.

The Union for Reform Judaism does not do much better in attracting funding at a level that reflects the centrality of its work in shaping the Jewish future. We know the resources exist in our Movement to fund our institutions more effectively, if we bring a vision and engaging, powerful ideas to the table for people to invest in—and if we work together. There was a time in our history when wealthy members of our community gave generously to the Union, the College and their own congregations, because they wanted their institutions to be the very best in Jewish life. Our challenge is to give the current generation of donors some reasons to feel that way.I am convinced that we will meet this challenge too, and that we will continue to meet the meta-challenge I described at the outset: to keep creating a vibrant Judaism that engages us, faithful to our past but integrating emerging human knowledge and understanding, enabling each of us to live a meaningful religious life in the twenty-first century.