Marcus Lloyd

REL 2011

Section RVD-1091

January 31, 2009

Site: Temple Israel of Greater Miami

Time: Friday 30th of January

My Understanding of Judaism

One of the first things you come to appreciate about religion is the devotion

that it inspires. Judaism is a religion inspired not only by the word of Yahweh but

also the faith of its devotees. It has a rich history punctuated by the schisms that

so often mark historical religions. Today those schisms are represented in terms of

the Orthodox Jew and the Non-Orthodox Jew. Temple Israel of Greater Miami situated

in the heart of Miami subscribes to the non-orthodox tradition of Judaism. On

Friday the 30th of January I had the pleasure of attending my first Jewish

service at Temple Israel of Greater Miami. I was very excited to study this

particular faith within the synagogue. Submitting to stereotypes of Judaism

and the Jewish race I had previously failed to learn that this great faith has a

rich history, symbolism and tradition.

There is a word called Judaism that is not limited to religion. More than

half of the Jewish people living in Israel say that they are secular and an

equal proportion living in the United States do not attend Jewish religious
services. To begin, Judaism must also then be used to refer to a certain race

of people with a common history. In 1980 the United States Supreme Court

recognized this and declared “Jewish” to be a race. The Jewish collective is

now recognized throughout the world as an ethno race. 41 percent of that

world population of Jews now lives in the state of Israel. The remaining Jews

living outside of the land of Israel are said to be the Jewish Diaspora. All of

this said, it would surprise many to know that Jew is actually not a race.

Common ancestry is not required to be a Jew. Instead, a Jew can be Sammy

Davis Jr., a convert, or hail from Ethiopian origins. Thus we learn the words

Jew and Jewish can be misnomers. This paper will limit the discussion of

“Judaism” to the study of its religious context and by default that which

implicitly refers to the study of the Torah, the Jewish holy text.

The word for the Hebrew Bible, “Torah,” means learning or instruction

in Hebrew. The authorship of this holy text is said to be from Moses and

serves as the basis of Jewish law and tradition. This Jewish Bible is

noteworthy in that it serves also as the precursor to the Christian Bible.

However, throughout the history of Judaism cultural practices and knowledge

of Judaism have not been limited to the holiest of Jewish texts, the Torah.

There also exists the Talmud for the purpose of discussing Jewish ethics,

traditions law and history. Instructional texts such as “Gates of Prayer for

Shabbat and Weekdays” found at Temple Israel of Greater Miami further

guide traditional religious ceremonies within a synagogue.

 In order to fully understand Judaism it becomes necessary to define its

traditional words, namely those that I came into contact with. A synagogue is

a Jewish house of prayer. Nevertheless, Jewish worship may be carried out

wherever ten or more Jews assemble. A kippah is a skullcap worn by

observant Jewish males. Yet, it may also be worn by women within some

branches of Judaism against popular stereotype. Hebrew is referred to as the

holy language of Jews and is used for prayer and study by Jewish

communities across the globe. Israel is referenced as the “land of milk and

honey” in the Torah. This land is both sacred and central to the Jewish faith.

A menorah is a candelabrum that in the words of the Torah symbolizes "a

light unto the nations." (Isaiah 42:6) to be lit during religious observances.

A menorah was the first Jewish symbol that I noticed upon entering Temple

Israel of Greater Miami. All seven candles flickered in the dimly lit synagogue

located in downtown Miami. On Friday the 30th of January service began at 7:30

p.m. and continued for almost an hour and half. Warmly welcomed by two

hosts the service began in earnest with prayer accompanied by soft piano

music. I quickly noted that the service was highly structured and followed a

detailed program set out in “Gates of Prayer for Shabbat and Weekdays,

Shabbat Evening Service II.” The first prayer signaled the lighting of two

Shabbat candles followed by an up-tempo hymn whereby the congregation

clapped in rhythm. To my surprise I noticed that the general layout of the

temple resembled that of a Christian church save a few exceptions. The

altar of the synagogue was centered on the “ark.” No choir was present nor
was there any indication that a choir existed. The Star of David could be

found embossed throughout the temple on the pews, light fixtures and

numerous commemorative plaques throughout. The altar was bordered on

both corners with an American flag and on the other side an Israeli flag.

The role of community was made apparent by the announcement

section of the service. During this segment the membership and outreach

coordinator announced yoga classes, networking meetings and upcoming

wedding celebrations. Linda Levin reminded all in attendance to pray for the

ill and those not able to attend Shabbat. I was able to gain some insight into

the role of the ark in the synagogue when she remarked that it had been

“kept” by Sandra and Julian Goldstein. Later I would learn that the ark

candles were maintained lit by a rotating group of volunteers

Upon observation I was surprised to see that not all men wore the

ritual Jewish cap. The evening service was dominated by the elderly in

attendance. I was particularly surprised to see a rainbow of races practicing

the Jewish faith especially other blacks like myself. The attire of the

congregation tended to be of black and white colors. Many members wore

shawls of specific colors. Further, the church was decorated with many

stained glass windows depicting scenes from the torah and

commemorations.

The religious instructional text that guided the service was very

particular in emphasizing the roles of the congregation, attendants and the

use of English and Hebrew. The presiding rabbi read certain lines of texts and

the congregation others. Hebrew was often cited and read instructing

members to rise and be seated at given moments. Upon further investigation

of “Gates of Prayer” I noticed that the texts called for three separate but

individual evening services for the weekday and also included a section for

afternoon service instruction.

The historical aspect of the service greatly focused on the Jewish

people’s exodus from Egypt. Reference to this exodus and the “awe” of God

was made often. However, my most profound and startling impression of the

entire service experience centered on the message delivered at the end of

the service by Rabbi Mitchell Chefitz. He began by asking the congregation

to raise their hand if they read certain newspapers and their political

preferences. The sermon was objective. Rabbi Chefitz read articles by a

famous Israeli author concerning the long history of conflict between Israel

and the Palestinian people. I cannot begin to express the deep admiration

and respect I came away with. The message at once acknowledged the

biases of one’s interpretation of news and the need for objectivity. He noted

that Israel had created grave mistakes in dealings with its Middle East

neighbors and called for a clear middle of the road reasoning in addressing

the conflict in the Middle East. The most pertinent message of the sermon

was that in order to gain peace with others we must strive towards

cooperative understanding which can only be found in the middle and not at

the extremes of perspective.

 Astonished at the message of Rabbi Chefitz I came to realize that

Judaism is not so rooted in tradition as to not be contemporary and relevant.

Historically, the moment that God spoke to Moses is the most significant

Jewish reference. Moses received Gods word in the oral form of the Torah. He

led the Jewish people out of Israel and later the oral torah was committed to

writing for the sake of preserving God’s will. The Jewish God, Yahweh, was a

jealous god. According to the Torah there were to be no other gods. Thus,

Judaism is acknowledged by many scholars to be the first monotheistic

religion. It was during the reign of King David that Jewish symbolism

acquired the Star of David. The Star of David is found throughout the Temple

Israel of Greater Miami. This five pointed star was used by Nazis to identify

Jewish people for persecution during a dark chapter in their history: the

holocaust.

My supplementary research following Shabbat service was aimed at

learning new terminology and reshaping my view of the Jewish faith. The first

word I researched was “Shabbat.” Shabbat is a short reference to the

“Covenant of Shabbat” given by God. God instructs: “Remember the Sabbath

day, and keep it holy. For six days you shall labour and do all your work. But

the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any

work... For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that

is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the

Sabbath day and consecrated it. I was impressed to learn that the word

Sabbath is a derivation of Shabbat.

 The second word I researched was “rabbi.” This word bears no

resemblance to the definition of the word priest in Christianity. Rabbis are not

endowed with the right, privilege or authority to perform rituals more than

any other adult Jew. Instead, a rabbi is a teacher sufficiently educated in

Jewish law and ritual to aid in instruction of such. Having defined “rabbi” It

became apparent to me that the female chosen to lead the service at the

Temple Israel of Greater Miami served in a defined capacity. Her role was that

of “chazan.” Chazans are persons of good moral character and possessing

musical ability who lead recitation of prayer and song.

My lasting impression of Judaism is of profound respect and

appreciation. I was very apprehensive attending a Jewish service. I believed

this great missionary religion to not be inclusive and found my belief to be

lacking. A rainbow of skin colors I saw inside of Temple Israel of Greater

Miami. However, if the words of the Torah are eternal then the message from

Rabbi Chefitz was indelible. I know now that in order to achieve his theme of

cooperative understanding we all must venture beyond our preferred

newspapers and read a page from one another whether or not one is Jewish.

Sources:

1.
2. http://www.jewfaq.org/toc.htm

3. Livingston, James C. Anatomy of the Sacred. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2009

4. Boyarin, Daniel. A Radical Jew. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997.