by Ruchi
At JFX, we often field contradictory requests.
At JFX, we often field contradictory requests.
"Can you make the Yom Kippur services longer? That's what I'm used to from my youth. It just doesn't feel real otherwise."
"Can you keep the services short? I just can't stand sitting through long services."
"We want a bat mitzvah that will be meaningful and relevant."
"Without a long Torah service it just won't feel authentic."
"What a great feeling, to have such a great crowd and fill the room at Rosh Hashanah! Word is really getting out about JFX!"
"When there's a crowd, I feel anonymous and overwhelmed. I want JFX to be a small family where everyone knows each other."
"When you include more English in the service, I feel included and able to participate."
"I think many of us are ready for more Hebrew in the service."
Sometimes it feels like it would be so great to have God's powers to meet everyone's needs.
"To the One who knows man's thoughts on the Day of Judgment...
to the One who responds to those who call Him on the Day of Judgment...
and
all the humans who have come into the world pass before You like
individual members of a flock...so do You cause to pass, and number, and
count, and consider the soul of every living thing; and apportion the
fixed needs of all Your creations..."
(from the Rosh Hashanah prayers)
In
my talk on Rosh Hashanah, I told the story of a non-Jewish painter
named Jackson who attended the funeral of a beloved mentor, the Jewish
Chassidic rabbi of the Bobov sect. When asked how he came to know (and
profoundly mourn) the rabbi, Jackson told how as a new painter 25 years
prior, the rabbi had hired him to paint his home. After first serving
Jackson a delicious breakfast, the rabbi said, "Now Jackson, I want to
tell you something. It doesn't have to be perfect."
He
continued telling the astonished man: "We Jews used to have a Temple
in Jerusalem. THAT was perfect. Since then, there's no perfection in
this world."
When
another Jew hired Jackson and demanded perfection, Jackson educated
him: "You Jews used to have a Temple in Jerusalem. Now THAT was
perfect. Since then, there's no perfection in this world."
At
JFX we strive to fulfill our mission of helping each Jew reach his and
her Jewish goals. But what happens when those communal goals conflict?
It would be so great to be God - to be able to meet each person's
individual needs and apportion to each soul exactly what it needs to
fly.
But
alas, there's no pefection in this world. In any group that you join,
there will be some that feel strongly one way and others that feel
strongly another way. Maybe we should all pray individually...? But
God doesn't want that. He WANTS us to suspend our ideal expectations in
order to come together as a community. He wants us to compromise; to
blend our individual aspirations with those of the community. Maybe
that's God's version of perfection: to give us imperfect circumstances
to navigate, so that we might learn how to "zoom out" and see the
greater value?
One
thing remains true: although we are not God, here at JFX we will always
continue to do whatever we can to meet as many of your needs as
possible.
And that's as close to perfect as we can hope to get.
With
you and us together, it will, with God's help, be a sweet new year full
of Jewish experiences, inspiring moments, and loving community.
