A Jew for all seasons: does Judaism need synagogues?

 The peculiarities of Yomim Noraim services during the Covid-19 era have led many to re-evaluate their relationship with shul on the High Holy Days (“Weren’t shorter brighter services a breath of fresh air this year? Can they perhaps be similarly adapted on a more regular basis?”). Writing two centuries ago in Germany, Rabbi S. R. Hirsch had his own deep reservations about the nature of the Yomim Noraim services and, particularly, the impression of Judaism that they left less traditional Jews with.

For R’ Hirsch the phenomenon of Jews who only visited the Synagogue three days a year (or for formal rites of passage) was a double-edged sword. On the one hand, even this partial acquaintance has gratifying effects of demonstrating and enhancing Jewish identity and continuity. Nevertheless:

this sporadic relationship with Judaism has an exceptionally troublesome effect for it is limited to special times and occasions. If for a period of years our sole contact with Jewish institutions is limited to Rosh Hashanah or the Day of Atonement, and we behold Judaism only in the white vestments of the dead, then our relationship with Judaism dissipates even before we reach the happy festival of the booths and the happy Torah-celebration…the poetry of Judaism becomes reduced to eulogies and confessions of sin – and everything about Judaism becomes so bleak that we are unable to use it in our bright, fresh, happy, pulsating lives.

Judaism is a splendid life symphony of the times of the year, of which Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are only solemn introductions…the Jewish veneration of God does not peak with the Rosh Hashanah mood. God seeks the joyful sound of the soul…the joyous Sukkoth festival.

R’ Hirsch teaches that Judaism is about infusing our lives with meaning and vibrancy. Living and celebrating the Torah’s moral, spiritual and intellectual teachings. While the High Holy Days perform a crucial function of directing us to focus inwards and reassess our life goals and direction, it is the joyous festival of Sukkot which is more quintessentially ‘’Jewish’’ than the austere and intimidating aura prevalent in many Synagogues on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

This essay got me thinking: how applicable are R’ Hirsch’s observations in today’s generation? My impression of less observant Jews is that their Judaism certainly contains more positive elements than what R’ Hirsch describes. These may include identifying with or advocacy for Israel, Chanukah parties and communal social activities. Although I have also read about how a not-insignificant part of Jewish identity – particularly in the previous generation – lurks in the dark shadow of the Holocaust and national suffering.

In truth however, R’ Hirsch’s broader message is applicable just as much to fully observant Orthodox Jews – and perhaps particularly to them. A related teaching of R’ Hirsch implores his readers not to imagine that Judaism is primarily concentrated in the solemn confines of synagogues and study halls. Rather its moral and spiritual teachings must infuse and guide our every thought and action. How we conduct ourselves in the streets outside of the synagogues, how we interact with those around us in our lives – and particularly in our own homes. We must uncompromisingly reject the unspoken notion that regular attendance in Shul and Yom Kippur chest-beating somehow furnishes us with a “Get Out Of Fail Free” card which excuses undesirable behaviour at other times.

This year’s abrupt and painful shock to Jewish observance and communal prayer provides us a rare opportunity to re-evaluate not the length of our services nor the tunes of our Chazzan. But rather the relative degrees of importance that we place on the Synagogue within our broader Jewish lives, and on the solemn meditations of the Yomim Noraim versus a year-long embodiment of the Torah’s moral, spiritual and intellectual riches.

First posted to Facebook 30 September 2020, here.