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This is not intended to be a political posting; I'm hoping to discuss the changing Jewish culture and how synagogues are adapting, or failing to adapt as the case may be, and avoid getting into a left-versus-right debate.
I have been a fiscal conservative and social moderate most of my adult life. In recent years, it seems as though the synagogues around my area (large metro area in the Northeast) have become very liberal, very committed to leftist social and political causes and I no longer feel much connection to them.
I have now quit two synagogues which had become too left wing in their politics for my taste. I'm pro-2A, and the rabbis are anti-gun and rail against guns in their sermons. They go on and on about climate change, racism, homophobia, and Islamophobia. Both synagogues are involved with an interfaith organization that includes Christians and Muslim groups, and the religious school seems to teach the children more about social justice issues than Jewish culture and history.
I can live with rainbow signs and Black Lives Matter posters on every wall, but I really dislike the rabbi standing at the pulpit spouting Democrat talking points in every sermon. What about the 10% or 20% of the congregation who might be Republicans (this is a heavily Democrat area)? Are we supposed to just sit there and grit our teeth?
At the time I quit, I sent letters to both synagogues explaining why I was leaving. I'll give the Conservative one a bit of credit; the assistant rabbi, a young woman who as far as I can tell keeps her politics to herself, called me on the phone and tried to persuade me to stay. "You could represent your viewpoint," she suggested.
Yes I could do that, but the bottom line is that if I'm going to invest time and money into a community, I want them to at least be respectful of diverse ideas and that means don't shove your politics in my face at every event. I don't want to be the token conservative.
A like minded friend and I had a kind of running joke about how we were going to set up a pro-Zionist table at the kiddush, with a little Israeli flag, for the few people who actually support Israel.
In my way of thinking, a synagogue should be a haven for all Jews, not just Democrats. Nor, for that matter, for just conservatives. It should be a "big tent" that welcomes everyone. The Rabbi's job should not be to tell people how to vote.
Supposedly, the rabbis skew left because they're trying to attract more young people. It's a reasonable goal because without young participants, a synagogue can die. But won't it also die if they drive away older members? You need both.
By the way, the one synagogue around here that does avoid politics completely is the Chabad. They seem to stick to Torah and leave the politics at the door. That said, they are not anti-anything, that I can tell. I was told that a recent post-Purim lunch at the Chabad house was sponsored by a same-sex male couple celebrating their anniversary. Interesting.
But the Chabad Rabbi never talks about LGBT, or climate change, or any other potentially controversial topics. It's almost as though he instinctively understands that the way to grow a congregation is to make all feel welcome.
Yes, Chabad is welcoming same sex couples. As they acknowledge, being gay is not a reason to exclude people from a community of faith. Regarding activism, in the south where I live, synagogues were part of the civil rights movement, so that isn't a new thing; it's why synagogues in the south were targeted like Black churches were. Many in my family no longer belong to a synagogue due to the identification of Judaism with the State of Israel, they want our money and then use it for purposes which are antithetical to our beliefs - obviously I am considering also leaving. That is a hard decision since my family has deep roots in VA and one branch of the family or another were founding members of several in the Commonwealth; it's very difficult especially for those of us who have family there. As for 2A, again its a difficult subject, but having prayed at Congregation Beth-El in Charlottesville, I recall in 2017, men in fatigues with assault weapons marched past shouting fascist slogans and then stood threateningly outside as worshippers left through the rear taking the Torahs with them.
I agree, stay out of politics, but I would add stop asking for money for Israel. Those who want to give know how.
I have now quit two synagogues which had become too left wing in their politics for my taste. I'm pro-2A, and the rabbis are anti-gun and rail against guns in their sermons. They go on and on about climate change, racism, homophobia, and Islamophobia. Both synagogues are involved with an interfaith organization that includes Christians and Muslim groups, and the religious school seems to teach the children more about social justice issues than Jewish culture and history.
I can live with rainbow signs and Black Lives Matter posters on every wall, but I really dislike the rabbi standing at the pulpit spouting Democrat talking points in every sermon. What about the 10% or 20% of the congregation who might be Republicans (this is a heavily Democrat area)? Are we supposed to just sit there and grit our teeth?
In my way of thinking, a synagogue should be a haven for all Jews, not just Democrats. Nor, for that matter, for just conservatives. It should be a "big tent" that welcomes everyone. The Rabbi's job should not be to tell people how to vote.
Do they even care that they are in jeopardy of losing 501(c)(3) making donations not deductible, paying tax, losing state tax deductions, paying more for postage, etc?
Do they even care that they are in jeopardy of losing 501(c)(3) making donations not deductible, paying tax, losing state tax deductions, paying more for postage, etc?
I was in High Holy Day services at a synagogue I was part of for many years, in 2016, and the rabbi made a kind of joke "if we weren't a 501(c)(3) organization I would ask you not to vote for the misogynistic war mongering blah blah blah." Most of the congregation laughed. I didn't.
Unbelievable she would be that stupid. She went to Harvard, for God's sake. Around that time, I read about a church in the suburbs where the minister railed against Trump, and in the midst of the sermon, the treasurer and long time church member got up and stomped out; he and his family never came back. The minister admitted he was surprised and taken aback by this.
The lack of self-knowledge of these supposed men/women of God is distressing, though of course it's nothing new.
I was in High Holy Day services at a synagogue I was part of for many years, in 2016, and the rabbi made a kind of joke "if we weren't a 501(c)(3) organization I would ask you not to vote for the misogynistic war mongering blah blah blah." Most of the congregation laughed. I didn't.
Unbelievable she would be that stupid. She went to Harvard, for God's sake. Around that time, I read about a church in the suburbs where the minister railed against Trump, and in the midst of the sermon, the treasurer and long time church member got up and stomped out; he and his family never came back. The minister admitted he was surprised and taken aback by this.
The lack of self-knowledge of these supposed men/women of God is distressing, though of course it's nothing new.
She may have gone to Harvard, but it wasn't for G-D's sake.
The overt sentiments we are now seeing were always there but hidden behind polite veneer.
I don't practice Judaism, but have a Jewish mother, and Jewish cousins as a result. They took me to their synagogue (think it's conservative) a few years ago before COVID for Shabbat services and found the Rabbi's sermon to be painfully and naively liberal. There's been growth in woke churches the last few years as well, but with so many choices for Christian services, they're easier to ignore.
My wife, who was raised Lutheran and felt it was too ceremonial, and I go to Bible study and attend our nondenominational church about once every 3-4 Sundays, it's easy going, i.e. you wear street clothes, it's somewhat racially diverse, we have some openly gay members, but it's also comfortable for right-of-center Reagan/Nikki Haley Republicans like me.
I've attended Universalist Universalist services in the past, and like many non-Orthodox Synagogues, they also tend to overdo it with political messages that can make anyone to the right of Obama uncomfortable.
March 27, 1863 was declared by Jefferson Davis as a day of prayer for the Confederacy. Participating in that was the Jewish Synagogue in Richmond, Beth Ahabah. Rabbi Michelbacher delivered a sermon which included the statement that the "The duties of the citizen are so intimately associated with the services he owes to G-d..."
How can a synagogue be in isolation from its wider community? Of course, sometimes we look back and that is wrong. The word "woke" has no meaning other than being aware of the larger community and those less fortunate. https://docsouth.unc.edu/imls/michel.../michelba.html
I don't practice Judaism, but have a Jewish mother, and Jewish cousins as a result. They took me to their synagogue (think it's conservative) a few years ago before COVID for Shabbat services and found the Rabbi's sermon to be painfully and naively liberal. There's been growth in woke churches the last few years as well, but with so many choices for Christian services, they're easier to ignore.
My wife, who was raised Lutheran and felt it was too ceremonial, and I go to Bible study and attend our nondenominational church about once every 3-4 Sundays, it's easy going, i.e. you wear street clothes, it's somewhat racially diverse, we have some openly gay members, but it's also comfortable for right-of-center Reagan/Nikki Haley Republicans like me.
I've attended Universalist Universalist services in the past, and like many non-Orthodox Synagogues, they also tend to overdo it with political messages that can make anyone to the right of Obama uncomfortable.
Sounds pretty cool!
When I first joined this one synagogue with the anti-gun rabbi, I did so with high hopes. People were friendly enough, it's a large congregation with lots of groups & activities, and the rabbi leads tours of Israel every 2-3 years, so, I figured what could go wrong?
But right outside the sanctuary was a table covered with posters and flyers about gun control. I guess it was a project of the teens in religious school. It seemed rather blatant to put it right there, where hundreds of people would file by every Saturday morning.
I put a stack of NRA flyers on it one time, and they were gone the following week. It's kind of ironic since right now the Israeli government is actively encouraging citizens to apply for gun permits.
They also had, from time to time, rainbow banners and posters saying things like "LGBT safe space!", obviously created by the children as a school project.
Even then, I could have maybe put up with the obvious leftist and political slant, except that the small minded rabbi insisted on railing against guns in his sermons as well as other causes like climate change.
I suppose the predominantly Democrat congregation was fine with this, but I wasn't, and I know for a fact several other congregants weren't. We even have a small email list where we grouse about it. The conversation has kind of died down, because it's pointless to just grumble amongst ourselves. Again, I've been told "If you want to make a change, get active and make your voice heard."
But at a certain point, you're not making any change; you're just annoying the overwhelming majority of people and making a name for yourself as a troublemaker to be avoided and excluded from events. So I just got busy raising my kid, working to save for college and retirement, and generally put these synagogues in the rearview mirror.
Occasionally I'll go to a Chabad event, but the stark contrast between the Rabbi plus his many children and grandchildren (they have really big families ) wearing religious garb, the men in long black coats and black hats and long beards, the women in long dresses and stockings and head coverings... versus us "civilians" dressed however... it does kind of feel like the well dressed missionaries living amongst the primitive natives (us being the natives).
Perhaps “Democratic talking points” are closer to Judaism (and Christianity) than your values?
I doubt it. More likely his values are closer to Judaism than your “Democratic talking points.” Regardless, my advice to blisterpeanuts would be to continue or expand his relationship with Chabad. While I continue to dress in a standard U. S. fashion of my generation, except that I dress below my economic class, I perceive no negative attitudes from our Chabad rabbi and his family. I am comfortable with their choices and reasons therefor, likewise with my choices and reasons.
Best wishes and good Shabbos.
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) wearing religious garb, the men in long black coats and black hats and long beards, the women in long dresses and stockings and head coverings... versus us "civilians" dressed however... it does kind of feel like the well dressed missionaries living amongst the primitive natives (us being the natives).
