One of the great benefits of being part of a creative, dynamic, and forward-thinking entity like the Conservative Movement is having a front-row seat to the evolution and reshaping of Judaism. Our movement has played a critical part in redefining the role of women in Jewish worship, has developed rituals and practices for new holidays like Yom Ha-Atzmaut (Israel's Independence Day) and Yom Ha-Shoa (Holocaust Remembrance Day), and has led the way with Hechsher Tzedek, a group seeking more ethical practices in the preparation and handling of Kosher food.
Well, the leaders of Conservative Judaism are at it again! And this time Ohev Shalom has been invited to be a pioneer congregation for a new revolution. What would you say is the one thing that we really need in our lives, something that could bring more people to synagogue, reengage our youth, and inspire new members to join?
You're probably thinking what I'm thinking: Sacrifice. Ever since the year 70 CE, Judaism has been missing something. I know you've all felt it. Praying is great, studying the Torah is terrific too, and we all love Social Action projects and trying to be good people as well as good Jews. But our ancient ancestors knew that the "real" way to connect to God was through ritual offerings, and the Conservative Movement is ready to bring them back.
A group of young rabbis has formed a coalition called the Jewish Organization for the Conservative (or Konservativ, for our European colleagues) Establishment of Sacrifices (it works better as an acronym...). They wrote a responsum on how to bring back ritual sacrifice, and it passed unanimously. Now obviously we aren't talking about real, live animal sacrifices; that would be crazy! No, we're going to start off with grain, meal, and oil offerings, and build from there. I know what you're thinking, how would this even work? The Ritual Committee and I discussed it, and the Cantor is on board; from now on, the Cantor will lead services from the middle aisle, and we will use the space in front of the Ark as the new spot for the altar. We will have vents installed above the altar to direct the fire and smoke out of the building, and if/when we get really serious about sacrifices later on, we can create a drainage system underneath the altar as well.
It'll certainly take some time to get used to; let's face it, we haven't done anything like this in 2,000 years! But
it's a very exciting time for our movement, and for Ohev Shalom. One of the things we are going to need, however, are priests to help run the altar. If you are a Kohen (or a Bat Kohen), please consider dedicating some time to our new, merged committee, the Priesthood-Ritual And New-sacrifice Committee. Now I'm certain the biggest question on your mind is: Who's going to be our new High Priest?
Well, if you'd like to apply, and you're a Kohen, please click here.
We're also going to need Levites to help wash the hands and feet of our priests, so if you're a Levite and want to apply, please click here.
I think this is really going to ring in a new era for Ohev Shalom; one that will get a lot of people "fired up" about coming to synagogue. The last hurdle we need to clear is the fire safety code, which our Executive Director, Josh Laster, is working on as we speak. In the weeks and months ahead, we will learn more together about priestly garb, the laws for when to bring which type of sacrifice, and how much God has been longing for us to bring this back. It'll probably be a good idea for us to go over emergency exit rules with everyone, and we should definitely learn about "strange fire" so we don't risk any mishaps... But at least we now know what the theme-word is going to be for the year ahead, right?
Happy Purim, everyone!
Photos in this blog post:
1. CC Image courtesy of Living in Monrovia on Flickr
3. CC image courtesy of austinmcgee on Flickr
4. CC image courtesy of David Blackwell on Flickr
5. Image courtesy of Rabbi Gerber
No comments:
Post a Comment