[HANASHIR:2995] Re: High Holiday music

[RaizelD <RaizelD...>]

Folks...

I too appreciate the diversity of this list, as I do appreciate the diversity 
within the Jewish community and pray everyday that Jews everywhere should 
learn to get along...

I was, however, hurt by some of the responses to the YK H20 queery.

It's important to remember that there is no one right way to be Jewish, or 
the right way to be a shaliach tzibbur, as if Hashem grants favor to the ones 
who do things halakhically over ones who choose to modify their observance.  
(And anyway we all have different theologies and understandings of the 
Divine.)

Halakha is a rabbinic system in which the rabbis grappled with teachings of 
various generations of Jewish practice so as to instruct Jews on the proper 
way to live and worship.  Contemporary Judaism strives to find a balance 
among tradition, contemporary Jewish scholarship and the reality of life in 
our generation.  (As we Reconstructionists say, tradition has a vote, not a 
veto!)

I am sure that few of the Jews on this list lead perfectly halkakhic lives, 
in fact I doubt that any of us do, as most of us practice some form of 
liberal Judaism--otherwise forget guitars at shul on Shabbat, forget new 
melodies and forget adaptations in liturgy.  

If some of us choose to drink water on Yom Kippur that is a personal choice.  
When I asked my question it was to find out what works best for folks, not to 
get slapped in the face for opening the door to what I think is a very 
important discussion.  

We should all be careful, especially as leaders, not to impose our own 
religious attitudes on others, congregants etc., lest we become dogmatic and 
closed minded and unconsciously caouse our constituents to leave our shuls. 
(Remember that the remaking of the American shul, which began in the 60's and 
70's with the chavurah movement brought a lot of us back to Judaism!)

Our tone and attitude is also important in regard to respect for our 
colleageal relationships.
Sometimes email makes expressing our proclivities in an imposing way too darn 
easy. Convenience and expediency is not worth the consequences being glib.  
So, I suggest we all think twice about the tone of our emails before sending 
them.

Thank you.
Rosalind Glazer
Reconstructionist Rabbinical College

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