Cautionary tale:
Close to 25 years ago, I began studying the central prayer
in our liturgy. The Shemoneh
Esreh or Amidah, in its weekday form, consists of 19 prayers. We are
supposed to read it thrice daily, so, over one thousand times per year. I asked myself why. After having invested many years in this
endeavor, I reached the conclusion that the Rabbis who composed it had in mind
that which I later named my work: I call
it NTAG. Never Take Anything
for Granted.
The middle 13, the petition prayers, ask for wisdom, health, forgiveness, good
harvest, justice and more, and the frequent recitation of this is there to remind
us not to take any of these attributes for granted.
In life in general, I have come to realize, it’s a good policy to Never Take
Anything for Granted.
The same is true for IKAR.
Yes, IKAR is soaring to ever higher altitudes and doing so well. New members are constantly added, and even
non-Angelinos join from afar. But we cannot take IKAR for granted. Will it
always be the shining light it is today?
Imagine 70 years from now, when the founding Rabbi turns 120, and decides she
wants to spend her time with her grandkids and great grandkids. What will happen then? Everything in your
power must be done to secure a succession and make sure that this won’t be a
“20-year fad”. Just as a caution.
A celebration
Thousands and thousands of Jewish people in the 20th century,
grew up Jewish, maybe
attended Jewish day school, had a Bar/Bat Mitzvah, maybe went to Jewish summer
camp and then…………. The 1960’s. The Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam
War. So many of us turned progressive
and felt alienated from our Jewish upbringing.
We simply had no use for Judaism in our lives.
And still. As
intellectuals we were detached, but as humans we still had warm memories of a
Jewish childhood, of food, music, history, stories, community, and friendships.
Our intellectual and emotional selves were definitely on a
collision course.
Then IKAR came along!
We were told that no longer do we have to choose! Keep your good memories, the steaming good
odor of your mother’s cooking, the Jewish jokes, the music. BUT combine it with a progressive, outward-facing,
conscious, smart, egalitarian, equality-centered world view.
And voila! Here is a
group of (at the time) young professionals, angels in the city of
angels, saying “Yes, we can!” From a
modest beginning with just a handful of couples rose an “empire” of likeminded,
active, positive, funny people, who simply could not be stopped.
If this is not worth a CELEBRATION, I don’t know what is!
From coast to coast, from all continents of the world, we
raise a glass (or two) and say MAZEL TOV!
No comments:
Post a Comment