A Sermon for Rosh HaShana 5780 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
by Rabbi Scott Sperling<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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For a period of four years, NPR ran a remarkable series of commentaries under the title of \u2018This I Believe\u2019. Featuring commentaries from people of all walks of life, the series drew its inspiration from a landmark series that began in 1951 and was hosted by legendary journalist, Edward R. Murrow. The original series included essays by luminaries such as Eleanor Roosevelt, Jackie Robinson, Helen Keller and Harry Truman. Yet, the series also included many who were not just well-recognized figures, but as NPR put it, \u201ccorporate leaders, cab drivers, scientists and secretaries — anyone able to distill into a few minutes the guiding principles by which they lived.\u201d At its peak, this original series drew some 39 million listeners. While I doubt that the reboot of the series hosted by NPR ever achieved that level of listeners, I know many people, along with me, who tried not to miss a single essay. I always found them engaging and often they were filled with insight and inspiration. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over the past months, I have often thought about both of these series as I began preparing for these High Holy Days. I have been working to clarify both what I believe and to more carefully examine not simply what I believe, but why I believe what I believe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I am so pleased that our former members, Debbie and Barney Feingold, are with us this morning\u2026not just because I and many others miss them and remember their years in our community fondly\u2026but because Barney\u2019s many decades of remarkable research, writing and teaching have been based on, as he wrote in the introduction to his website, barneysplace.net, \u201cMy dissertation explored the questions, \u201cWhat justifies classifying a belief as \u2018superstitious\u2019?\u201d and \u201cWhy do people create and cling to superstitious beliefs?\u201d Since then, I\u2019ve devoted much of my personal and professional life to exploring questions like, \u201cWhat distinguishes helpful beliefs from harmful ones?\u201d, \u201cWhat leads people to commit themselves to beliefs that are self-destructive or damaging to others?\u201d and \u201cHow can people become more objective about the beliefs that guide them?\u201d Before I go any further, I want to offer my thanks to Barney Feingold for his lifetime of research, testing and teaching and his generosity with his time in discussing these complex and important topics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This morning, I want to focus on a specific dimension of \u2018why we believe what we believe\u2019 by exploring a specific set of my own beliefs that I think that some or perhaps many of you share, that is – Reform Judaism. I want to use Dr. Feingold\u2019s remarkable structure as the lens by which I do this exploration for two significant reasons. First and foremost is the goal of the High Holy Days to carefully examine our deeds and our souls as we formulate our plans to do better in the coming year. I cannot imagine a better opportunity for us to step back ask ourselves why we believe what we believe and if, as Dr. Feingold bids us to do, we ask ourselves the hard questions, \u201cHow, and to what extent, are our beliefs shaped by our (uniquely human) capacity to ask reflective questions like, \u201cIs what I believe true?\u201d \u201cAre my judgements well-grounded?\u201d \u201cHow might I be fooling myself?\u201d \u201cWill my beliefs, if embraced, help create the kind of relationships, institutions, and environments I wish to live in and\/or would wish for others?\u201d \u201cHow might I evaluate my beliefs, judgments, and desires?\u201d \u201cDo I want to be the kind of person my beliefs encourage me to be?\u201d \u201cWhat are the virtues and failings of the procedures and criteria I bring to bear in answering questions like those above?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Second, I have spent much of the past 50 years trying to understand how I would choose to live according to the principles of Reform Judaism. While I believe (and I use that word specifically) that I have done so in the context of a virtually constant process of self-examination as to the philosophical underpinnings of that effort, I am so grateful to Dr. Feingold for providing us with an approach to that process of self-examination that is appropriately complex and, I believe, incredibly helpful. All of that said, I take the credit and the blame for whatever proper use of Dr. Feingold\u2019s work that I\u2019ve made along with any and all misinterpretations or failures to properly grasp his writings. This morning, I will be touching on just a tiny fraction of his writings on belief analysis and I encourage you to visit barneysplace.net and continue your exploration of this important topic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In preparation for today\u2019s sermon, I went to the Union for Reform Judaism\u2019s website and read through the page titled, What Is Reform Judaism?, so that I might begin my self-examination by looking at what is the current state of Reform Jewish belief. The opening paragraphs read,
\n\u201cThroughout history, the Jewish people have remained firmly rooted in Jewish tradition \u2013 and yet, since its earliest days, Reform Judaism has asserted that a Judaism frozen in time cannot coexist effectively with those who live in modern times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this way, Reform Judaism has enabled the Jewish people to introduce innovation while preserving tradition; to embrace diversity while asserting commonality; to affirm beliefs without rejecting those who doubt; and to bring faith to sacred texts without sacrificing critical scholarship.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Clearly, these two opening paragraphs represent only a brief summary of the belief system of Reform Judaism. The information available on the website is brief but gives its readers excellent summaries by which to begin exploring a much broader and deeper belief system. These summaries include a theological statement and brief overviews of Reform Judaism\u2019s social justice goals that are couched in theological terms. While I will quote from these overviews in a moment, I first want to bring in a brief section of Dr. Feingold\u2019s analytical framework.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr. Feingold writes, \u201cThe approach to beliefs this website offers is grounded in a deceptively simple and self-evident answer to the question, \u201cWhat makes a belief worth believing?\u201d \u2013 A belief is worth believing if it provides the guidance that believers rely on it for. Beliefs serve us well if they provide the guidance we expect them to provide. They serve us poorly if they don\u2019t.\u201d This is an important beginning for my analysis but what I found most helpful was the series of four classes of precision and in particular, the fourth class which he calls, \u2018catalytic narratives.\u2019 He notes that these are beliefs that \u201cmake the most imprecise predictions\u201d which seems to me to be just right for evaluating religious beliefs. But what was most helpful for me was the statement that \u201cIt\u2019s easy to tell if a belief qualifies as a catalytic narrative. All you need do is ask a believer, \u201cHow would you know if this belief were wrong?\u201d If the believer is incapable of answering that question or denies that error is possible (even if an answer to that question is evident to unbelievers), the belief is, for that person, catalytic.\u201d We\u2019ll look at this in regards to the stated beliefs of Reform Judaism in a moment but I want to bring in an additional statement about these \u2018catalytic narratives\u2019 that for me, is critically important. Dr. Feingold writes, \u201cWhile they (that is, catalytic narratives) do not inform us about reality, they shape the way we see it. As such, we can evaluate them by asking the question, \u201cDo I wish to be the kind of person my catalytic narratives encourage me to be?\u201d Again, a perfect question for us to ask during these Ten Days of Awe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now I\u2019m ready to go back to the stated beliefs about Reform Judaism and to offer my thoughts about them. Under the heading, What Do Reform Jews Believe, we read:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We see the Torah as a living, God-inspired document that enables us to confront the timeless, timely challenges of our everyday lives, and believe that Judaism must change and adapt to the needs of the day to survive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reform Judaism affirms the central tenets of Judaism \u2014 God, Torah, and Israel \u2014 while acknowledging the diversity of Reform Jewish beliefs and practices. We believe that Judaism must change and adapt to the needs of the day to survive, and we see the Torah as a living, God-inspired document that enables us to confront the timeless, timely challenges of our everyday lives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Indeed, Reform Judaism asks us to renew our living Covenant with God, the people Israel, humankind, and the earth by acknowledging the holiness present throughout creation \u2013 in ourselves, in one another, and in the world at large \u2013 through practice that includes reflection, study, worship, ritual, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These theological concepts certainly fall within Dr. Feingold\u2019s category of catalytic narratives motivated by the desire to understand and manage reality. This idea that the Torah is \u201ca living, God-inspired document\u201d is for me, a foundational belief as a Reform Jew. I further share the belief that it must help us understand and manage reality as both a timeless and timely document that must change and adapt to the times in which we find ourselves. Clearly, the belief that the Torah is \u201cGod-inspired\u201d and not direct revelation is a marked difference between Reform Judaism and both more traditional and non-theistic Jews. I assume that if we opened up a discussion now about Dr. Feingold\u2019s question, \u201cHow would you know if this belief were wrong?\u201d that we could be here all afternoon and beyond. We\u2019re going to save that discussion for another time. It is in the other areas of the overview of Reform Jewish beliefs that I think we would find an even more debatable series of ideas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The next section of this URJ webpage is titled, \u2018We are committed to the ongoing work of pursuing justice.\u2019 The text reads, \u2018Central to Reform Jewish beliefs is the idea that all human beings are created b\u2019tzelem Elohim, in the image of God, and that we are God\u2019s partners in improving the world. Tikkun olam, the repair of our world, is a hallmark of Reform Judaism as we strive to bring about a world of justice, wholeness, and compassion.\u201d In the introduction to the last section of this webpage, we read, \u201cWe believe that there is more than one authentic way to be Jewish, and we stand for a Judaism that is inclusive and open. Crucially, we recognize that we can become a stronger, more vibrant Jewish community only when we fully welcome and incorporate the diversity that is the reality of modern Jewish life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even as I agree with these general principles, I am profoundly aware of the warning in Dr. Feingold\u2019s statement in the section on catalytic narratives, \u201cWhen assumed to be sources of practical guidance, catalytic narratives appear to provide us with profound understandings of broad swaths of reality. But they do so only because they are consistent with almost all outcomes and immune to almost all challenges. They appear rich in wisdom only because they are bereft of content. When we use catalytic narratives to help achieve palpable goals, we use the wrong tool for the job.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I am, I like to believe, open and willing to test these principles both in terms of the Jewish history along with traditional and modern textual interpretations. I am convinced that testing these principles requires us to be \u2018inclusive and open\u2019 by listening to and validating differing interpretations of these long-standing Reform Jewish principles\u2026whether they are theological, social or political. The concerns that some express within our own congregation and our Reform Movement about a too narrow band of acceptable ideas and behaviors are, I think, mostly well-founded. Suffice it to say that as I wrap up this all-to-brief look at why I believe what I believe about Reform Judaism, I am mindful of some of the ideas with which I began today in quoting Dr. Feingold. In particular, I am committed to asking myself \u201dWill my beliefs, if embraced, help create the kind of relationships, institutions, and environments I wish to live in and\/or would wish for others?\u201d and \u201cDo I want to be the kind of person my beliefs encourage me to be?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I can answer with a heartfelt affirmation, yes to both of his questions. What I also know is that I am just as firmly committed to another key element of belief analysis, \u201cHow might I evaluate my beliefs, judgments, and desires?\u201d As I engage in the process of cheshbon ha-nefesh, an accounting of the soul, I commit myself to a cheshbon ha-emunah, an accounting of beliefs. I am just beginning on this process of discovery and I look forward to deeper study and deeper consideration of the questions that must be asked. In expressing my commitment to that difficult and likely painful self-inquiry, I can respond again, that this is precisely the person that I wish to become. The fundamentals of Reform Judaism have brought me thus far in my striving to be and become a person of faith and a person of deep moral commitment and action. Next year at this season, I hope to be able to look back and say that I have acted well and that I have done so out of principles that not simply reassure me but that I have challenged, considered deeply and found them to be able to stand up to the tests of traditions both old and new. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shana Tova! <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A Sermon for Rosh HaShana 5780 by Rabbi Scott Sperling For a period of four years, NPR ran a remarkable series of commentaries under the title of \u2018This I Believe\u2019. Featuring commentaries from people of all walks of life, the series drew its inspiration from a landmark series that began in 1951 and was hosted … Continue reading “Why We Believe What We Believe”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-918","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/barneysplace.net\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/918","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/barneysplace.net\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/barneysplace.net\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/barneysplace.net\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/barneysplace.net\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=918"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/barneysplace.net\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/918\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":919,"href":"http:\/\/barneysplace.net\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/918\/revisions\/919"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/barneysplace.net\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}