Modern Orthodoxy and Congregation Bnai Jacob Dinner speech by Jonathan Baker, 15 June 1999 Thank you, Bernie. You said all those nice things, and you wouldn't lie, so I guess I have to believe you. I'd like to thank my parents, for raising and educating me, my wife Debra for being my reason for living, and for spurring us to grow in Judaism and in the community, and especially, I want to thank the Congregation Bnai Jacob community, for being there, for being friends, for giving us a warm caring place in which to develop and help out. For years we've advertised ourselves as "Park Slope's Only Modern Orthodox Synagogue". But what does that mean to us? What does that mean for our future? 1) What is a Modern Orthodox Synagogue? Let's go last to first: Synagogue is the building, where we meet, learn and pray. Isn't it handsome? Orthodoxy is an overarching committment to Torah and Mitzvot, in which we are ably led by Rabbi Hecht. Modern, the modifier, suggests a philosophy, a communal identi- ty. 2) Why think about a communal hashkafah, a communal identity? a) Now that we have a building, we need to concentrate on growing the community. How can we do this? In the past, we've relied on random immigration, and the Rabbi's kiruv work. This worked OK, but it kept the community the same small size. We need something else b) We need to attract people from older Modern Orthodox bas- tions, where socioeconomic pressures are driving the Modern Orthodox out. c) Before we can do this, we must be attractive to ourselves - as I learned in a self hlp pgm, the best way to sell something is to live in it wholeheartedly, so that people see the thing's ef- fect in your life, and want to be a part of it. How can we do this? We must keep people in the community and build it up We must be positive about our community. It's a lively, tolerant and close community of which we should be proud. 3) If we want to portray ourselves as Modern Orthodox, we must know what Modern Orthodox means. In general, it is a positive attitude towards four areas of cultural identity: a) The modern world, including its educational opportunities b) Israel, as a people, a holy Land, and as a Jewish State c) Women's issues, of learning and community participation d) Pluralism, understanding that we as Orthodox Jews are not alone, but have to reach out to the other Jews in our communi- ties, to increase mutual understanding and respect, which is often expressed in kiruv Of course, underlying all this must be an unswerving committ- ment to Torah and its values. 4) We do fit this model, and we can grow in this model to solidi- fy and strengthen ourselves. How? a) On the secular world: Most of us have gone to college, and consider what we learned there to relate to our conduct as Jews. Since we hope our children will continue in this path, we must ensure that they are sufficiently grounded in Judaism that their Jewish identity will enrich their cultural broadening in college and later life. In my experience, understanding the physical and secular world has enhanced my understanding of Torah and committment to the Jewish people. I would hope that others have had and do have similar experiences. b) Israel: Most of us have positive feelings about the State of Israel. We as a community maintain an active interest in Is- raeli politics, Israeli culture, current affairs, etc. How is this expressed, though, in our community? In the past, we have said the Prayer for the State of Israel. However, as the Rabbi pointed out, it's just an extra Hebrew paragraph that nobody understands. Furthermore, its rabbinate- created phraseology expresses a particular messianic vision, which does not necessarily coincide with the messianic views of the whole synagogue. Therefore, I propose that we hold a class or a lecture series on religious responses to the State of Isra- el, and then decide what, as a community, our liturgical or cul- tural response should be. In the absence of a united messianic vision among current rabbis, it is left to the political process in each community, to decide, in consultation with its religious leaders, how to respond. I would hope that we find ways to express our individual hopes for the State of Israel as a community, as a unity. c) On Women: Opportunities for women's personal growth within Judaism have abounded in the past century. Starting with the growth of religious girls' schools, to the rulings of the Luba- vicher Rebbe and Harav Soloveitchik that women should learn Gemara, if they are so inclined, women's educational opportuni- ties have grown tremendously. At least two of our members learn at Drisha, awomen's yeshiva in Manhattan. Women here are fully engaged in the community. We have weekly and monthly women's classes, in the latter case a learning circle on Rosh Chodesh. Perhaps we could bring in outside teachers for more advanced topics, as Rabbi Fund already does, but that goes equally for men and for women. Women run the non-liturgical activities of the synagogue through the Special Events, Education and Dinner Committees. Women are officers of the synagogue. We're pretty strong there. d) Pluralism: This is the place where we need the most work, and yet must tread most carefully. Our relationship with the "upstairs synagogue" has created a tremendous chilul hashem: the denigration of the Orthodox synagogue, and the Orthodox communi- ty, in the eyes of the non-Orthodox people of Brownstone Brook- lyn. Now that the lawsuit is thank-God settled, we must begin a tikkun, a repair, of our reputation and of the reputation of Orthodox Jews in Brownstone Brooklyn. However, even the most liberal Orthodox opinions, such as that of HaRav Soloveitchik, limit us to relating to our non-Orthodox neighbor institutions on "external matters", on cultural matters, on instances of antisemitism, historical questions, social events. We may not participate with them on a religious level. Therefore, I think it would be a good idea for some of us to start attending some of their lectures, chosen with care, and en- couraging them to attend ours. The Rabbi Fund Kabbalah class, for instance, might be advertised to the other synagogues - Rabbi Fund is known for being able to relate to people in all denomina- tions. When one or the other of us has a concert, or a history class, perhaps there should be some cross- participation. If we start to join in each other's cultural events, perhaps we could begin to heal the breaches. Perhaps, too, this way some of them will be encouraged to ex- perience an Orthodox synagogue, a committed community of Jews, and will decide to particpate with us on a religious level. But as I said, in this area we must exercise care and discretion. 5) Conclusion: We are a modern Orthodox community. We must present ourselves as such to the outside world, and do so convincingly, to attract new committed members. To do this we must understand ourselves as that committed community. Harav Soloveitchik said, in many contexts, that the lot of the modern (small-m) Orthodox Jew is to make choices, to balance values, to distinguish between the holy and the profane, and to act in accordance with such choices made in the context of Torah. We are an eclectic community, a community of individuals, and face it, we revel in our eclecticism. As Jews in the modern world, daily we live Rav Soloveitchik's life of choice and judg- ment. Exercising our individual judgement, we grow in our com- mittment to Torah, to our community in Israel, and to God. It is said, God, The Torah and Israel are One. Let us all, individual- ly and together, embrace that holy Unity. In so doing, we will sanctify His name and bring the promised redemption to the world.