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Our Union thrives from the ideas and suggestions of its members. Thanks for sending them.THIRD CONFERENCE OF THE UNION OF JEWISH
CONGREGATIONS OF LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
In San Salvador, from February 3 to 6,
representatives from nine Caribbean and Latin American nations gathered at the
distinguished Hotel Princess, in a conference that was marked by friendship and solidarity
with each other. I was privileged to represent Aruba, and I have returned home enriched by
this unique experience. I now have a new awareness of how many hidden possibilities for
development exist in small communities like ours, when they get together with others in
the region that may be going through similar tribulations, and sharing similar
aspirations.
Participants in the Conference were delegations from Costa Rica, Panama, Puerto Rico,
Cuba, Curacao, Honduras, El Salvador, Jamaica and Aruba.
The central theme of the Conference was
Between Assimilation and Fundamentalism: the Challenge of Building a Jewish Community in
Latin America in the 21st. Century. After the opening words by the President of the host
community, Jean Claude Kahn, the guest speakers approached the subject in depth. Jorge
Schulman, associate director of the American Joint Distribution Committee, Latin American
office, said that the big problem lies within us. We live a residual Judaism, saying
“no” to religion, and “no” to tradition as historical conscience, yet,
we are unable to elaborate a new concept without a repertoire of Jewish values.
There is a feeling of being Jewish, but not
a process of elaboration to create a new identity. Judaism is our “software”
that we take along wherever we go. Judaism is, however, also “humanware”, and
its effective survival along history has always been through its institutional system.
Judaism is an essential humanism with room for dialogue, a magal (circle) that nurtures
it, and enables us to solve our disagreements in order to obtain a consensus. In the
process of transmission of ideas it is important to consider upon whom we delegate the
responsibility for it – usually the school rather than the home.
In some cases, it is done by a process of
immunization, e.g.: the Hasid who dresses in his way in order to differentiate and isolate
himself from others. Proselytism is another way of transmitting ideas but, traditionally,
Judaism has not used it. We do not actively seek converts. Motivational ways seek to
create motifs to make Judaism more appealing.
What is then our only tool? To dedicate
ourselves to the study and reinterpretation of traditional texts. In the words of Rabbi
Soloveichik: it does not matter when we go to the synagogue, what is more important is
where do we go back to. Rabbi Aaron Peller, presently the Rabbi of Congregation Kol
Shearit Israel in Panama, started by saying that many of us, who were raised in
traditional homes, are now exposed to Progressive Judaism in Latin America and the
Caribbean, and we worry about what we tell our children. We have to analyze,
understand, decide. We question: is this ritual meaningful? If the answer is negative, we
give it meaning, For too many years we took a back seat to Orthodoxy. Today we hold our
heads high.
Progressive Judaism is not
“light”, on the contrary, it is “full fat.” Fundamentalism has always
been there. Mordechai Kaplan was excommunicated by some ultra orthodox rabbis in 1945 for
his new siddur (prayer book), but he felt that what was relevant was that he was a
thinking Jew. Rabbi Peller went on to declare: We try what we can do for Tikkun HaOlam. If
we stand up for what we believe in, others will believe in us. We must have the courage to
defend what we feel is right for our home and for our synagogue.
Rabbi Gustavo Kraselnik, the spiritual
leader of the Jewish Community of El Salvador, addressed us by saying that we have to
imagine Judaism as a highway with permanent exits on both sides, for assimilation and
fundamentalism. The Modern Era has brought along the alternatives that an open society
offers. This is, according to Rabbi Plaut, the challenge of freedom. Some have coped with
it by locking themselves in a virtual ghetto; others entered the open society, abandoning
their roots. Post Modernism accentuated these attitudes, one sector becoming more militant
and proselytizing, the other adopting syncretisms, e.g.: picture of Santa Claus wearing a
kippah.
Ultimately the responsibility is ours for
not having built an attractive model, suitable for future generations. In order to
transmit our heritage we are returning to previously marginal precepts. We do not have the
answers. Our limits of acceptance have moved so much as to become inadmissible. We have to
become involved with our Judaism. Up to now, we have made from our ignorance a strategy.
We must prepare ourselves, study our traditional texts, and recover our traditions. But,
also, we have to recover a Jewish community life, the old Beth Am (house of the people).
We have to generate Jewish life with a great handicap: the lack of Jewish homes. We are
living a kind of inverted “marranism”, whereas the Marrano appeared to be
non-Jewish outside his home, we are Jews outside our homes only. We have socialized
Judaism, e.g.: only a community Seder.
If our children are going to learn to be
Jewish in our homes, we must prepare ourselves.
Lorne Sossin, presently a member of the Dept. of Law and Political Sciences at York
University in Canada, a Fulbright scholar with a doctorate in Law from Columbia
University, and a doctorate in Political Science from the Univ. of Toronto, also joined
the distinguished panel of speakers. He said that assimilation and fundamentalism have
points in common: they have stopped asking the questions, where as the Progressive Jew
takes it upon himself to answer them, always being true to his feelings, always searching
for a way to live as an individual and as a member of a community. A.J.Heschel referred to
Jews who attend the synagogue in body but not in spirit. Still, we must welcome them if we
want to effect a positive change. For the last 300 years there has been a spectrum of
choices for the individual within the community. For those who choose to be Jewish, and
for those marginal Jews who, at a certain point, become involved with their community,
what is more
relevant is the journey and the process of becoming, not just the moment of conversion or
of their decision to belong.
The resistance to change is not
characteristic of Jewish tradition, We do nor freeze a moment in time, rather we have the
ability to adjust, e.g.: matrilineal descent was an adjustment to the consequences of war
in the Roman era.
Even though we may be tempted to reject
Orthodoxy, it is still important to welcome them and try to reach out to them, to create
ways in which we can establish a relationship. On the opposite side of the spectrum we see
Jews who still attend a seder because that is how they celebrate freedom and because it is
an important step in Tikkun HaOlam (Restoration of the World).
Most moving amongst the reports from the different communities was the one from Cuba. Dr.
Miller said that, for so many years it was out of style to be religious in his country,
that nowadays Cubans refer to a “Cuban minyan” as a minyan of five. Opposed to
R. Kraselnik’s model, the Cuban Jewish community is neither Jewish in their homes nor
in their synagogues, of which there are three in Havana (one Conservative, one Sephardic
Conservative, and one Orthodox).
He spoke of the need for a common foundation and for unity. Dr. Miller thanked especially
the Joint (JDC) for reconstructing their community. It is a highly educated one, in which
women have reached a higher level of education than men.
The level of this Conference was
consistently high. Although because of space constraints we cannot report individually on
each of the workshops, suffice it to say that their topics, which we now list, give
evidence to the quality of their leaders: Community Development: Twelve Basic Principles,
by Dr. Jorge Schulman, Outreach – Inreach: Affecting the Future of Liberal Judaism,
by R.Aaron Peller, Social Justice – Human Rights and Jewish Law, by Dr. Lorne Sossin,
and Talmud Torah KeNegued Kulam, by R. Gustavo Kraselnik.
On Saturday afternoon four more workshops
were held: Community Development by Dr. J. Schulman, Building a Jewish Library by R.
G.Kraselnik, Interchange of Experiences in a Growing Community, by Hilda ten Brink, and
Home and Community – Jewish Education for Our Children, by Ruthy Krasselnik.
Austin Beutel,, who holds an M.B.A from Harvard University, and is the president of the
World Union for Progressive Judaism, is deeply dedicated to the welfare of Reform Jewish
communities around the world. As our Special Guest Speaker he addressed us on the main
topic of the Conference, and felt optimistic because fundamentalists will forever be a
minority within the mainstream of Jewish population, albeit with great political leverage
in Israel. He reminded us of the principles of Liberal Judaism: democracy, egalitarian
treatment and tolerance. Our standard response to the threat to Jewish continuity has been
youth camps, an Israeli experience for youth, and laws regarding religious practice.
He encouraged us to address him in order to
correct a lack of involvement of WUPJ in our region.
Religious services on Friday evening and Shabbat morning were held at the beautiful
synagogue of the El Salvador Jewish community, a remodeled house donated by one of its
members. It was most touching to feel first hand the care they had put in its
reconstruction.
Contemporary, yet full of “ruach”, the synagogue is adorned with an exquisite
allegoric tapestry embroidered by one of its female members, and an impressive bronze Etz
Chaiim (Tree of Life), the work of a local artist. R. Kraselnik led services with a very
important participation from two young female members. The love which the community
lavishes on its youth, and the pride their children and teenagers manifest in being a part
of their people made one wonder if this, more than anything else, is not the magic formula
for success in our efforts.
Martha E, Lichtenstein
February 2000
DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES FOR THE
UJCL
Phil Gelman, from our member community of
Honduras, has submitted to us the following Declaration of Principles, which we feel
embodies the basic tenets of our Union. Please read it carefully, and let us know if you
have any suggestions for changes or additions. Thanks.
We affirm that there is no single manner of being Jewish. Rather, we respect and encourage
the ongoing effort to give contemporary meaning to our ancient laws and traditions, for we
consider that, through the search, we give concrete embodiment to the phrase “Am
Israel Chai – the Jewish people lives and flourishes. We believe that, if we do not
promote the creative evolution of Judaism, we lose an opportunity to enrich our religious
and communal life.
We further affirm that our claim of the freedom to interpret our traditions brings the
responsibility to exercise intellectual and spiritual creativity within a framework of
rigorous understanding. We recognize that the practices of a millennial faith should not
be altered haphazardly.
Our Union does not intend to dictate positions on the issues confronting contemporary
Jewry. To attempt to do so would ignore a fundamental reality: our divergent communal
contexts virtually guarantee that not only will the appropriate answers vary from one
congregation to the other but, in fact, the fundamental questions of concern may differ as
well.
Furthermore, our Union does not subscribe exclusively to the doctrines of the established
branches of Judaism. To attempt to do so would inhibit our member communities’
process of identifying their preferences and determining the standards to govern their
communal lives.
As a Union, we exhort our member communities to:
- Seek out the guidance of an ordained Rabbi
of the community’s choosing both in the development of an educational program, and in
the process of policy setting.
- Assure that inclusive, participatory
decision-making processes are employed, in order to accurately reflect the concerns and
preferences of our communities.
- Enhance processes of exchange and sharing of
resources amongst member congregations, to the mutual benefit of all.
- Speak out forcefully on behalf of religious
tolerance everywhere, for Jews and non-Jews alike. Just as we claim the right to give
unique meaning to our faith, so too must we accord the same right to others.
We thank Phillip very much for his
significant contribution, and hope that others will also engage in this creative, ongoing
process that is our Union.
REV. DR. ERNEST DE SOUZA, Z”L
Just as this newsletter was about to be
e-mailed to you, we were saddened by the news that Ernest, our enthusiastic and dedicated
member from Jamaica, had suddenly passed away, after a massive heart attack, on Saturday,
March 4.
Ernest was a true leader, widely liked in
his community, for which he worked incessantly.
We wish his widow, Judy, much fortitude to bear her irreplaceable loss, and reiterate our
deepest sympathy. For those of us who participated with him in our Third Conference in San
Salvador it is hard to accept that he no longer is with us. We shall truly miss him. |
