Religious Litmus Test

I am not an atheist.

This may seem like a strange statement to have to make, but somehow it feels somewhat necessary for a centre/left progressive in 2015. We seem to be a vanishing breed, us liberals of faith.

I will not get into why I believe or how I choose to articulate that belief. Frankly, that isn't any of your business. All that anybody needs to know about me is that I am a committed Reform Jew; that the structure of my belief in a Higher Being stems from the basic tenets of God, Torah, and Klal Yisrael (the entirety of the Jewish community); that I do observe many of the mitzvot (commandments, albeit reimagined for a modern world); that I am deeply committed to Tikkun Olam (the reparation of our world); that my Judaism is one of equality for all no matter their gender, race, or sexual orientation; and that for me, belief in a Higher Power is not in any way inconsistent with scientific discovery. It is my hope that anybody reading this will respect my intensely personal and private belief system as I vow to respect theirs.

So it deeply concerns me when I hear political candidates vying for the highest of leadership positions talk of religious litmus tests as necessary qualifications for office.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R): "Any president who doesn't begin every day on his knees isn't fit to be commander-in-chief of this country."

The Senator was responding to a question as to whether an atheist should be allowed to serve as president. Jews actually do much of our praying standing up. Is the Senator also disqualifying Jews from the presidency?

Ben Carson (R): "I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation. I absolutely would not agree with that."

Dr. Carson's views are wholly inconsistent with the U.S. Constitution, of course, but why should he let details get in the way of xenophobic fearmongering.

Mike Huckabee (R): "The only thing worse than not being elected president would be to be elected president without God’s blessing. I can’t think of a worse place in the world to be than in the Oval Office without God’s hand upon you. I’d rather not get near the place."

The idea that God is dictating the decisions of the president is not only inconsistent with the separation of church and state, but it is a bit worrisome. Does the president owe his/her first allegiance to their God or to the citizenry of the United States?

I find it absolutely stunning that many of our American friends find it necessary to apply a religious litmus test to their presidential candidates. Here in Canada, there is little or nothing known about the religious beliefs of our leaders. Our new Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau is a practicing Catholic who finds absolutely no inconsistency in advocating that divisive issues like abortion or doctor-assisted suicide should be based on personal conviction. He believes that public officials should not impose their personal views on entire communities.

“I’ve sat down with a number of bishops, archbishops, and even a cardinal and I’ve talked about the fact that their job as priests is very different than my job as a leader, as a politician,” he said.

And while many political opponents point to former Prime Minister Stephen Harper's evangelical Christian faith as the basis for his many disputed policies, the truth is that he kept much of his radical Christian right-wing effectively muzzled during his almost ten years in power.

Western democracies cannot function as they were meant to when religious beliefs creep into policy-making decisions. The Bible should never be looked upon as the source of scientific proofs, nor should centuries-old religious disputes play out in a country that pits "us against them". Our governments need to remain staunchly secular so that they may adequately and properly serve the needs of all citizens, no matter their religious convictions.

Earlier this year, a Gallup poll found that only 58% of Americans would vote an atheist for president. I do wonder what has people so spooked about the lack of religious belief in their leaders. It seems to me that qualifications, a clear vision for the country, intelligence, management skills, compassion, and understanding should matter far more. I fear the day when religion is a litmus test for leadership.

She Changed The Way We Pray

I am a songleader. I have been been labeled a cantorial soloist, a teacher of music, a singer of Jewish liturgy-but ultimately I am songleader. I stand in front of my congregation, my community--guitar strapped onto my shoulder, and I facilitate prayer and spiritual awakening through music. I have always wanted to be a songleader ever since I heard my first Debbie Friedman song.

I was a young girl sitting in a religious school class in the early '70s when our music teacher taught us Debbie's Im Tirtzu as a way to facilitate some lesson about the birth of the state of Israel. I was hooked. Finally, here was music to which I could relate. Here was music that spoke to my generation and allowed us to find meaning in prayer. I wanted more.

I purchased vinyl of all of Debbie's early recordings. I found meaning and spiritual awakening in her liturgical settings. I couldn't wait to share a new melody with everybody around me. I knew that in order to properly sing these songs I would need to learn to play guitar, and so I sat for hours trying to get the exact strum patterns and odd chord changes for Sing Unto God. Debbie Friedman's music was reaching out to me and my thirst for a connection to Judaism.

Every summer I would return from Goldman Union Camp, armed with my songbook and pages of chord charts for a whole slew of new Debbie Friedman songs, hoping against hope that I might introduce them into the mainstream services of my congregation. My songleading friends and I would sit for hours trying to re-create the sheer revelry of her Dodi Li or the magical beauty of her Mi Sheberach. It took a lot longer than I would have liked for Debbie's music to find its way out of the camps and into the synagogue, but I knew then as I do now, that we in the movement were witnessing a true renaissance of Jewish music. Debbie Friedman had helped to create and define a new North American nusach, and we knew it was just the beginning.

It is impossible to overstate Debbie's importance to our prayer, to our sense of spirituality, to our music, and to our Jewish lives. She was the first to overlay English meaning with Hebrew liturgy. When she sang "L'chi Lach", she gave you a true sense of its meaning.."to a land that I will show you." She reintroduced healing prayers and songs back into our liturgy. She changed the way that congregations sing. She invited all to participate and understood that there was meaning in the silences as well as the noisy ruach. She sang for adults, for children, with choirs and solo. Music was the way in which she communicated her Judaism to us, and I for one was her willing student. She was truly on the cutting edge, a true visionary.

I am a songleader in great part because of Debbie Friedman. I was drawn to her music, her energy and her voice like no other in my profession. I will miss her creativity, her spirituality, and her teachings. Her music will inspire many for generations to come.

Zichrona Livracha-May her memory always be a blessing.

Debbie Friedman performs Mourning Into Dancing

A visionary artist who has transformed the way we Jews pray and sing.

It's Christmas, So Do a Mitzvah!

I heard a story yesterday that almost brought tears to my eyes. A true story that really defines that "Christmas Spirit" thing that we all hear so much about at this time of year. As a committed Jew, I must admit that Christmas is not really on my radar screen. I do love this time of year, though. Rabbi Eric Yoffie, the president of the Union for Reform Judaism, published a blog post this week that actually articulated very well why I like this season and why Jews can learn much more from Christmas other than where to find good Chinese food. Here is one such tale.

We have a very good friend down here in the Southern Home. He is a single man who gathers his friends close. He is the first one willing to help when something breaks down. He has been known to spend hours fixing computer networks, setting up wireless systems, hunting for bargains for needed items that he has heard them mentioned once in a passing conversation, waiting around for cable guys when neighbours have been unable or unwilling to do so, and basically just being an all-around mensch!! He graciously watches over our place down here when we are north, as he does for both of my sets of parents and countless others in the building, and we have come to think of him as a part of the extended family. What our friend doesn't have a lot of, unfortunately, is family. He is an only child who lost his father many years ago, and over the past number of years has been the sole caregiver for his aging mother and aunt. Unfortunately, his mother passed away this past summer and his aunt is living in an assisted living centre. This will be the first Christmas that our friend will be spending without his mom, and as the holiday approaches it is obvious that is painful.

He has gone about his preparations as usual. He has decked out the building with his usual flair. (As a matter of fact, he was just informed that his lighting designs won first prize in the Hallandale Beach decoration contest.) His tree is up, and he continues to attend mass every Sunday leading up to Christmas Day. But he knows, as do we all with sympathetic pangs, that this year is different for him. I think it is getting to be all too much, and he has had moments of tremendous grief and sadness as one might expect he would. And then yesterday, I heard something rather wonderful. My dad and mom told me that they, along with 4 or 5 other couples-all Jews, by the way-are going to join our friend at midnight mass on Christmas Eve. I was so moved by this act of compassion. These people are committed Jews, every last one of them. Catholic mass is about as foreign to them as is the thought of travelling to Afghanistan. They are going because it is an act of love for a friend in need, a friend who has been there for them many times, and because nobody should have to celebrate their holiest days without family.

My parents and their friends have truly demonstrated the true meaning of Christmas this season. They have crossed ecumenical lines with one single act of compassion. These people are performing a Christmas mitzvah and I am so proud that they are my family.

Merry Christmas to all of you who observe and may the season be filled with joy and peace. B'simcha v'shalom!!