The Joy of Community Involvement - From the Rabbi

I once sat with a boy preparing for his Bar Mitzvah and asked him was was his favourite fesitval. He replied without hesitation: “It’s definitely Purim.” I asked him why Purim was his favourite, expecting an answer such as ‘I like dressing up’ or ‘I love Hamentashen’ but received none of these answers. ‘My favourite festival is Purim because last Purim I took part in a play and we told the story of Purim. I was amazed by his answer. At that moment it dawned on me that the reason the Bar Mitzvah boy enjoyed the festival was because he had an active involvement in the affair and that gave the celebration a completely new meaning for him. We live in a fast-moving world and we have many distractions in our lives. For a young person there are the increasingly demanding academic workload at school, extra-curricular activities in the afternoon and much of the time is filled with virtual reality – mobile phones and watching TV. Many adults work hard and often play hard. In our society we often find it difficult to engage in the life of the Jewish community. Active involvement in the life of the community is both essential and enjoyable. It is almost impossible to lead a meaningful Jewish life without the continuous support and encouragement of the community. Judaism and Jewish values cannot be acquired solely from text books, TV programmes and Hollywood films. One has to live and experience the reality of Judaism in order to appreciate it. Without real and concrete hands-on engagement with Judaism then there can be no Judaism, and ultimately there will be no Jews. 

The solution is to get spiritually active and fit. When I join a health club I want to make the most of my membership fees and attend regularly. We ought to treat our synagogue membership in the same way. There is a wealth of activities in our community: study sessions, synagogue services and social events. It is possible that we do not currently support your particular interest but with sufficient demand and enthusiasm you can make it happen. Together we can support Israel and Jewish interests, and get involved in local and wider causes. I believe that we need to do so for our own sake and for the sake of our future generations. We need to get active for the sake of this wonderful religion named Judaism, for the truth and beauty it represents and for the sake of the unique role that our religion plays in the world. 

The Tannaitic Rabbi Hillel once said: “If I am not for myself, who is for me? And when I am for myself, what am I? “And if not now, when?” (Mishnah, Avot 1:13) “If I am not for myself, who is for me?” We cannot rely on others to practice our Judaism for us. We must make the effort ourselves in order to reap the benefits. “When I am for myself, what am I?” In our times individuality and personal space are appreciated, sometimes at the expense of the communal. Yet, the prayer in a Minyan (a quorum of ten) is considered to be higher than the prayer of the individual. This also extends to cultural and social aspects of Judaism. We draw our strength from numbers and we are able to support each other. “If not now, when?” Detach your eyes from the small and large screens, reshuffle your busy diaries to make space available for meetings, study, prayer, and other Jewish activities, whether within the community or without. Do not say ‘when I have time I will get involved’. Get involved today!