I would be able to take us all out for lunch after services today, if I could have a pound for every time someone starts a conversation with me by saying: ‘I’m not a shul goer, but…’ Quite often they will then proceed to tell me various ways they are involved in synagogue life; from attending concerts to playing bridge, toddler groups or helping with a night shelter. Perhaps it is a strange thing for a Rabbi to say, but being present at a Shabbat morning service is, in many ways, only a tiny part of what it means to be a part of a shul.
The Yiddish word ‘Shul’ is derived from the German for School, but we use it to mean synagogue. This is unsurprising when a large function of synagogues historically has been educational. ‘Synagogue’ is a Greek word, but is a close translation of the Hebrew; Beit K’Nesset – House of meeting. Neither school, nor house of meeting, is necessarily about prayer, but both are essential parts of building a community. We have just heard Mia beautifully leyn a part of the description of the building of the desert Temple, or Mishkan. I like to think of them as an ikea flat pack instruction – and I wonder what pieces were left over after construction! This flatpack, however, is an endeavour that seems to be largely about creating a beautiful, portable place, in which the presence of God (incidentally described in the feminine) can literally live in the midst of the Israelite congregation.
I can’t say if the Israelites really believed God would dwell there and nowhere else, but my sense of it is that this was to be a focal point, in the way this Beit tefillah, this sanctuary, is a focal part of the Synagogue. People would gather there, worship there, and be asked not to attend if they were not quite well. But it was not everything life in the Israelite encampment was about, just as what happens here in the Beit Tefillah, the house of prayer, is just a part of what we are about as a community and as a Beit K’nesset – a house of meeting.
And as Mia so beautifully explained this morning, the model of how the Israelites began building this week has a lot to teach us. In two weeks time, the torah will instruct us that the Israelites should all give a tax towards the maintenance of the community – a nominal half shekel which was required of everyone who would be connected to this central focal point of the camp, whether or not they chose to use it. Interestingly the command is given to all the Israelites, and some commentators have noted this suggests many women had their own means, from which they could choose to give, and were not just counted as a part of their male family. This ensured the basic functioning of the Temple could be maintained for all, and exist into the future. It was also a way to keep tabs on how many people they had in the camp. What is being asked of them this week is quite different thought.
The gifts are only to be given by those who want to, and they need to be something the giver really wants to offer… no one is compelled, and the level of value is irrelevant – all would be accepted. These two models of how the community supported it’s mishkan are both core to how we still run today. Our members are the encampment of Israel, all of whom give their half a shekel to ensure the central functioning of the community can continue, whether it is in maintaining the sanctuary, running educational activities, ensuring there is pastoral care and Rabbinic support available when it is needed, and investing in a future for the Jewish people. We couldn’t continue to function if we weren’t made up of lots of people giving their bit to Jewish continuity. We don’t have eons of inherited money to lean on as many established Churches do, we are a collective looking after one another.
Today, on the other hand, we have seen an example of how we can give from our hearts. Mia didn’t have to have a Bat Mitzvah ceremony. Yet she has committed her spare time, shared her wisdom, and also spent time doing amazing charity work along side it all, so that we can create a sacred moment together, celebrating the beginning of her adulthood, and all that we hope you will bring to continue to keep Judaism alive, relevant and meaningful.
Similarly members have given up their time to organise Kiddush, to serve as teachers, to sit at our tech desk and ensure the live stream works, and to ring one another when we are feeling isolated. Some have donated to create a new torah scroll in memory of Rabbi Kraft z’l, others volunteer to serve meals at our lunch club. Giving doesn’t have to mean physical goods, it can be in time and in care.
This week I welcomed Rabbi Jackie Tabick to our pre-schoolers Shabbat Stay and Play, as she will be helping us out over the next few months. As we walked through the building she commented on how wonderful it was to be back in a building that was buzzing and alive. And it really is. Even when there are no services happening, the building is busy with bridge clubs, memory way café for those struggling with dementia, a monthly cinema, our brand new Stonegrove Serenade concerts and café, evening classes, yoga classes, book club, a whisky club that is launching this week, and I know at this point I will have offended half the community by not mentioning the thing they love to do! Now honestly this is not intended as a plug for all these events, the point is to demonstrate that being part of a Jewish community, isn’t really about any one thing. It isn’t even about the building itself. When a person apologises to me that they aren’t a shul goer, they then very often demonstrate the various ways they engage in synagogue or Jewish life.
Defining what it is to be Jewish today is a complicated thing. We are not a religion, we are not a race. I like to use the word ‘mishpachah’, or family. Ultimately, it is about building community, and being a part of something that has the power to act and to work together for the good of the individual and of the collective. Torah understood that being in community was about a system of learning to live together well. Hence we don’t just have rules on how to support the prayer life of the community, although that is very much there, but rules and guidance on how to farm, how to look after the vulnerable, how to be fair in business. We are told about the need to take responsibility for our actions among the collective, and even how to parent (though we might want to use a fair bit of discretion on how we apply those parenting rules today!)
Mia, you are taking your place today in a community that has for thousands of years prided itself on its ability to support not only beautiful and humble places of worship, but one another. Whether it is in charitable giving, or in creating spaces to share our passions together, reducing loneliness, or finding out how our Judaism can add spiritual meaning and personal healing to our lives, community is about every single one of us, giving what we uniquely have to offer, and doing it with a willing and happy heart. I am so excited to see how you and your friends will continue to grow our family Mia, but know that you are never alone in doing this. We are a community designed through history to walk life’s journey together, to build a place of meeting where all can be valued for what they have to bring, and it is such a privilege to do so with all of you.
Shabbat Shalom
