Connecticut Post
September 15, 1990
A different type of congregation
Article by John Franklin, co-founder of
the Congregation for Humanistic Judaism, Westport.
"Sure I believe in God," said the thirty-something
psychologist." But what does that have to do with how I express my Jewish
identity?"
For decades, the members of our Congregation for Humanistic Judaism have expressed their
identity in creative ways, ranging from building Sukkas (for the harvest holiday) and
writing services, to participating in relaxing retreats and intense rap sessions. In our
unique search for a relevant expression of Judaism, words like "worship" and
"prayer" have been replaced by participation and interaction.
Sure, many of us believe in some sort of personal God concept, but they're all different.
It's what we have in common that counts when we're in a room together. We share a special
synergy based on the whole of the Jewish experience which, after all, is the most unique
potpourri of history and culture in recorded time.
Adapting that experience to our lives right now is an exciting and demanding challenge. In
many ways the activism of the congregation is consistent with what Jews have always done.
We believe that people wrote the Bible based on history and the needs of the time.
Talmudic concepts were debated, comma by comma, by the great rabbinic scholars of the
time. Even prayer books used in more traditional congregations today were written by
rabbinical committee.
Jews have always responded to the conditions they find themselves in - usually with
terrific insight and intellect.
In that spirit, the congregation is a cooperative venture. Every member is required to
participate in a meaningful way. This could mean writing or producing a high holiday
service or a Passover Haggadah, leading a tour through New York's lower East Side, or a
discussion of Palestinian rights.
Bar and Bat Mitzvah celebrants are required to write and deliver a paper on a subject of
their own Jewish interest. By giving the 13-year-old a choice, rather than demanding
adherence to a strict format, we believe we offer the young person a positive experience
that will motivate a continued exploration of their Jewish identity.
My wife, Jeanne, and I started the Congregation in 1967. We had moved to Westport from
Detroit, where we belonged to the first Humanistic Jewish Congregation, the Birmingham
Temple, founded by the movement's charismatic leader, Rabbi Sherwin T. Wine. After a
sampling of many established groups, we felt we just missed the excitement of really
having a say in how we were Jewish. We invited Rabbi Wine to speak. Since then, our group
has grown from several families to its present size of about 80.
We're not for everybody. We enjoy the intimacy that comes with being relatively small.
While big events - like seders and high holidays - are held in public places, many of our
Friday nights are held in homes.
While I hesitate to speak for anyone else - I'd say our members tend to be social
activists in a wide variety of causes - great, but highly critical friends of Israel, and
not hung up about interracial marriage between people who share the same set of values. We
believe that we are our own authors of moral authority and have the power to change
ourselves. And if religion is the consistent search for answers to the unanswerable, we
are a very religious group, indeed.
On the eve of Rosh Hashanah, we'll gather in Westport for our annual Rosh Hashanah
service. We'll love the traditional strain of music even as we realize that their origins
are mostly late 19th century. Some equally familiar songs have been written by us, in our
time. That, too, is a kind of tradition.
There'll be something from the Torah - a meaningful connection with all the Jews of our
past. But somewhere in the text, there'll be moving and poetic allusions to that which
will confront and unite the Jewish people in the year ahead. That, too, is a kind of
Torah.
|
