Monday Morning Message – May 14, 2012

This past week I was privileged to attend the Rabbinical Assembly convention in Atlanta. For those who are unfamiliar, the Rabbinical Assembly is the international association of Conservative/Masorti rabbis. The RA has over 1600 members who serve as congregational rabbis, educators, military and hospital chaplains, professors of Judaica and officers of communal service organizations throughout the world.

Some of the topics at the convention included:

• Greetings from Vice President Biden in which he affirmed this administration’s strong commitment to Israel and pledged to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. His personal commitment to Israel was very clear as he shared amazing stories about his relationships with leaders such as Golda Meir, Yitzhak Rabin, Benzion Netanyahu and Ehud Barak.

• Greetings from Yair Lapid, founder of the Yesh Atid party in Israel who came to talk to us about Pluralism in Israel and the many challenges facing Israeli society today. It was amazing hearing from him just moments after the upcoming elections were postponed due to the recent coalition that was formed between Likud and Kadima.

• Conversations about issues relating to keruv (outreach), conversion and intermarriage in which we discussed a wide range of issues within our communities and searched for ways to be inclusive and welcoming of our interfaith families who are committed to living in Jewish homes.

• The unveiling of a an incredible new publication by our movement entitled: The Observant Life- The Wisdom of Conservative Judaism for Contemporary Jews. In the words of Dr. Jonathan Sarna: “With this volume, the Conservative Movement spells out in unprecedented detail and wondrously accessible form how to live “the observant life…. This guide provides a comprehensive and up-to-date answer to the age old question: what does it mean to be a good Jew? “

• A incredibly informative conversation about the work   Masorti in Israel and its fight to work for the voice of pluralism and freedom of religion for all Jews living in Israel.

• Study sessions about a wide range of topics. I attended one study session (of many) about possible Jewish marriage and divorce rituals for same-sex couples which I look forward to sharing with all of you.

• An incredibly informative session about creating relevance to your community and congregation by Steve Koonin, the president of Tuner Entertainment Networks (TNT), and Jay Kaimin, the Executive Director of the Marcus Foundation. We discussed the future of Synagogue life and the creative ways that synagogues will need to think in world where institutions in general are continually challenged, and according to some studies the median age of marriage is now 32, people have their first child at 35, and nearly 51% of Americans will not marry in their lifetime.

As always, I come back from convention invigorated, inspired, and ready to continue the work of building kehillah kedosha, holy community.

To find out more about the convention and hear some of the presentations that were offered, check out the following   RA You Tube Chanel. Have a great week!