MY THOUGHTS ABOUT JEWISH SURVIVAL
A message from the Pulpit by
Miriam Grossman
Beth Israel, December 9, 1983
As we know, "Survival is the essence of Life." We struggle to survive physically, economically and spiritually.
As Jews, we have responsibility to preserve our Faith, while through centuries is being challenged by physical and spiritual destruction.
Until now our ancestors paid a high price to preserve Judaism, and now it is our turn to keep it up.
It is true that we are a minority among Christians, Moslems and others.
Some time ago I read an opinion that our Faith is a "Fossil" because we are not a progressive society with so called "Christian standards".
With this attitude are people with other faiths better human beings? Don't they deceive, hate, rob and kill? What makes them better than we are?
Even with a promise of an afterlife in Heaven is one to disregard or hurt others?
Of course there are people who are noble, but not because of their religion, but because they are respectful of others, knowing that each of us has the right to preserve our identity.
To those we should pay tribute, but the ignorant should be taught the truth.
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Let's take a closer look at Jews and Judaism.
We have diverse Jews: the "Ultra", the "Orthodox", "Conservative", "Reform" and those who are not affiliated with any of these branches, but all contribute to the survival of our Faith
"Ultra Jews" survive in their self-made ghettos. The three other branches flourish by different ways of their accepted code of practice.
But those who claim they can still be Jews even by following other religions are only deceiving themselves.
We know well that each religion has its proscribed and accepted rituals, and so do also the cults. Therefore it is not realistic to be on both sides of the fence.
Such individuals are only Jews by birth, as it would be with any person born to a different Faith, without practicing it to some extent.
Now let's take a look at Judaism. A religion which has the most beautiful blueprint for living--the "Ten Commandments".
It is the unconditional Faith in the Almighty, Invisible God, and until now no one could prove that He has such or such form.
It would be a sacrilege to imagine that a Power which created the whole cosmos could be grasped by visual appearance or in any form.
Therefore, we shall have no other god's before Him, which we pronounce in the "Shemah".
Next, "The Day of Rest", the Sabbath, which is a blessing for all people after a week of work and worries. It gives us a renewed strength to proceed with our tasks for another week.
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Now who can improve on the commandment to "Honor our Parents"? who brought us into this world, nourished and cared for us until we were ready to stand on our own?
The commandment of not "killing one another" is a safeguard of our and others life and the assurance of physical survival. The only chance one has to experience the things one is able in this world.
The prohibition of "adultery" would save an enormous number of broken families and hearts, also abused children.
"Not to steal" will make us honest people and eliminate the courts backlog and even the "Crime Stoppers" on TV. Our justice system would be able to function more justly.
Now if we would not "covet" things which don't belong to us, the grass in our yard would be much greener.
This is the essence of our duties, because we believe in the God who brought us out of Egypt--the same one who in miraculous ways is preserving us to this day against all who try to destroy us.
One could say: If we have such a Savior who can hurt us?
Well, in this world full of challenges and evil inclinations, we have a responsibility to protect our individuality as Jews and this cannot be done merely with words of Faith alone.
We have to perform: to keep our home with Jewish flavor and tradition. To keep the most of our rituals, and not the least, and by giving an example to our children so they can feel comfortable to be Jews in any society and not be ashamed when confronted by ignorant […]
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In a nut shell--our Jewish survival depends on our committment to Judaism:
--to appreciate our faith and traditions and the diversity of our fellow Jews.
--to live by the precepts of our Torah.
--to be prepared to resist temptations which will draw us away from our way of life.
--to transfer our precious Faith to the next generation which will guarantee our Jewish survival.
This may be a repetition of things we all know, but it is the only way to learn and remember!
