H ow to Spre ad th e M es sa ge
Lib eral
% y C %
.
%
S er m o n preac h ed
J
.
at
J
d
u a i sm
M % % T % % I% % %
th e
an uar y
f
.
.
S y n ag o gu e ,
Lib er al
6 th , 1 9 1 7
o
.
b UU
80 3 %
H ow
Sp re ad
to
M e ssage
the
J u dai sm
o
f L ib e ral
.
read i n t h e sh or t b ook of Ma l ac hi th ese w o r ds : T h e
pr i es t s l i ps should k eep k now l ed g e an d m e n s hould
see k te ac h i n g a t h i s m o ut h for h e i s t h e m e ss enger of
th e L o rd of H o sts
To da y n o pries t s rem a in : we ca n on ly
us e th e words of Ma la c h i i n th e l i gh t of a fa r o ld er a sser tion
Y e shall b e u n t o me a k in g d o m of priests
S o far as th ere
ca n to d a y be a ny q u est i on o f pr i est h ood th e wh o l e c o m m u ni t y
mu s t be t h e p r i e sts B u t i f so w h at i s t h e t each ing wh ic h men
should see k at ou r mo uths
I f we a re m essen ger s w hat i s o u r
m essa g e
T h e q ue sti ons are p la i n a n d j u s t ifie d an d I rece ntl y
h ea r d th e m p ut w i t h a k i nd of pa t h e t ic i n s is t ence of almost
pla in ti ve wi s t ful ne s s I w as a t a s m all propaga nd a mee t in g of
th e Jew ish % e l ig i o us U ni o n f or th e ad v a nce m en t o f L i ber al
J udai s m and t wo o r th ree of us i nc ludi n g myse lf h ad spok e n
a b out ou r caus e and o ur work O ne or th e oth er of us had
pe rhap s to o c asually or conven t ion ally us e d t h e f ami lia r
ph r as e
th e m essa ge o f J ud aism T h en a m a n i n full s ymp a th y
w ith ou r mov emen t b ut n o t w holl y sat i sfie d wi th w h a t we ha d
sa i d got up a n d i n ad d i t ion to s ever al u se ful su gge st i o n s h e
Y o u hav e
mad e an ob s er v at ion t o t h e fo llo win g e ffect
spo ke n of th e mes s age o f J ud a i s m B ut w hat i s thi s mes sage %
Most of us hav e so me sor t o f n oti on w hat i t i s b ut th e no ti on is
I th in k it
too o ft en va gu e I t nee ds fi ll in g u p a n d fi ll ing o ut
should be ca re f u ll y f orm ul a t ed i t s h o uld be st a t e d w ith precis io n
and e x ac t i tud e no t t oo l eng thi ly b ut wit h ad eq uat e cl e a r n ess
If th i s were do ne i f we ha d a si mp l e prec is e l e a fle t call e d th e
Messa ge o f J u d ai s m we co uld g rasp i t a n d l e a rn i t % we should
hav e i t b y us w h en we wan t e d i t If anyo ne s houl d ask us a
q u es tion c on cern in g J u d ai sm we co uld i m me d i a t e l y re ply and
re ply w ith a cc u racy If an oppor t uni t y a rose or cam e ou r way
fo r s pre ad i n g t h e m ess age we c oul d m ak e us e o f.i t
We co uld
ha n d th e me ssag e o n We c oul d st ren gt h en th e d o u b t ing we
could re pl y to th e enq ui r i n g % we could i n fac t b e m es s e n ger s
wit h a m e ssa ge of which we w er e in no dou b t o r h e sitation
%
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50 0 8 0 8 1
2
At the first b lush the request so u nds hi g hly re a sona b le I f
we are messen g ers we must possess a messa g e And i f there i s a
messa g e i t is surely possi b le for that messa g e to b e formulated
% very reli g ion
i n words and not only possi b le b ut d e si ra b le
may be presumed to have its messa ge and why s h ou l d J uda i s m
b e more chary than other reli g ions to express i t i n words % And
i f I nevertheless desi re to show why i t is dou b tfu l whet h er our
e arnest friend s wish should b e f u l fi l l e d at any rate i n t h e
precise form i n which h e wanted i t — t h at i s not b ecause I do not
sympat h i % e wit h h is desire or bec ause I do not b e l ieve th a t
t h ere i s an y messa g e of J udai sm whic h c a n be more or l ess
accurately precipitated i nto words and certainly n ot becau s e I
do n ot b el ieve that J udaism has any messa g e at all
I n order that I may pu t the case against myself at i t s w o rst
I wi ll say that there are I th ink some espec ia l reasons why
L i be r a l Judai sm w ith the emphasis on t h is occa si o n u po n t h e
adj ective cannot or should not attem p t this c l ear preci se an d
not too len g thy formulation of its messa g e T ha t is putting
t h e case a g ainst myself at i ts wo rst b ecause I am we l l aware
that some peop l e mi g ht answer and say : You g ive yourse l f
away What the orthodox criti c s say o f you is j u stified o n y our
own co nfession Yo ur Judai sm i s so va g ue an d flabby a nd
e l astic an d shifti ng tha t you wi ll no t and cannot define it th a t
yo u are u na b le to put i t down in defini te propos i ti o ns and
statements that he who runs m ay rea d
Well I have not b een re l uctan t h ither t o to proc l ai m t ha t
Li b eral J udaism h a s a messa ge Bu t l et me try t o expla in w h y
as I b elieve there i s a certai n dan g er in attemptin g to p ut
t h at messa g e down in preci se statements or in cut and d ry pr o
position and par agraphs numbered perchance f rom I to : 2 o r
even to I 3
L i b e ra l Judaism as h a s often b een sai d f rom th i s desk
b el i eve s in % ro gressive % evelati o n Wh at we mean by % ro
i
v
%
r
ess
e
eve
l
ation
we
have
moreover
often
explained
% ow
g
b eca u s e we b elieve i n % ro g ressive % eve l ation and tea c h i t we are
relucta nt to sa y that the followin g ten or thi rteen propos iti o n s
co n stitute Judaism — nei ther more nor l es s % rom Moses an d Am os
to our o wn day there is a cert ain a g reement a certai n deve l opment
which ena ble. u s to s pea k of the reli g i on by the sam e na me
t hrou g ho u t a l l these g en erations
But to g et her wi t h t h i s
sameness there goes a diff erence Th e developm en t c on tin u e s
Th e J u daism of
wi ll a ssuredl y no t b e iden tica l wit h th e
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3
J uda i sm o f 1 9 1 6
An d i t m a y e v en be s a i d th a t t h e con c re t e
d efi n i t e n e ss w h ic h m a ke s such an ab s tr a ct s t atemen t as God is
or Go d i s One sti r an d move us i s j ust t ha t part o f t h e s t ate
m ent w h en fi l led out i n words whi c h i s mo s t of al l su b j ect to
ch an ge H ence o u r j u s t i fied re l uc t ance t o at t em p t a too preci s e
fo rmu l at i on o f the message Mo reo v er suc h a f ormu l at i on i s
a p t t o beco m e s o met h in g o f a do g m a t ic creed We a l l know
t he creed of t h i rtee n a rti c l es w h ic h i s fo u n d i n t h e ordina ry
o rt h odo x pr a yer book s We s h ou l d be very di s i ncl ined to set
up a ny riva l creed o r fo rm u l a for t he sa m e o b jecti ons w h ic h we
ha ve to t h e o l der p res entati on as a cree d m i g ht j ust l y b e m ade
t o ou r o wn n ewer a l tern a ti ve
% n d w ith i n th e b od y of Li b er al
Jews of to day there are variet ies I sh ould no t l ike to a ssert
that my concep t ion o f Li b era l J u d a ism and o f i t s m es sage i s
necessa ri l y m ore tr u e t h an you r conception or that i t wi ll
assur ed l y prevai l i n t h e f ut u re
B ut to thi s rep ly I ca n he a r a rej oinder L e t fm e ex p ress i t
i n words S o meone m i ght s ay
Yo u s h a ll not e l ude m e i n t h i s
man ner % ven i f t h ere are var i et i es t h ere m ust be a greement s
an d even i f a prese n tati on o f the m es s a g e be g iven whic h i s
defini te ly s t a ted t o be the p re s entat i on o f a particu l ar person
and w h ich does no t clai m t o be t h e fina l p re sen tation of Li b er al
—
J u da i s m a s a w h ole even s o and w i t h a l l these qu al ifica t ions
su c h a presentat ion wou l d b e o f va l ue
Your c h arine ss t o
f orm u late t h e m essa ge makes me f ea r that Li bera l J u d a ism i s
so fli m s y a nd g au % y an d e l usi ve t h at i t ca nnot be p resented i n
I f ear l est t he scru ple
w ords bec au se there i s not h in g to p resen t
to f ormu la te t h e me ssa ge me a n s th a t t h ere i s no mes sa ge to
fo r m u l ate
Wel l to t ha t objec ti o n I wo uld i n the first pla ce re ply by
sayi ng t h at so f ar as I my s e lf a m concerned l ea vin g o t h er s to
sp ea k f or th em se lv es I ha ve n o t bee n a lto g et h er c ha ry of gi vin g
m y vi ews o f Libera l J ud a i sm and o f i ts mes sa ge i n a n u m b er
p er ha ps al l t oo n umerou s — o f book s a n d es s ays an d pamph l et s
An d in t hos e wri tin gs I hope t h a t t h ere is set f ort h s om ethi ng
su b s t a nt i al an d even defin i te
A n d i f t h e rej oin der t o t h i s wo ul d be that p e opl e a re v ery
bu s y an d t h at t h ey n eed and l ike f ew wor ds rat h er t han m an y
w o rd s a s h or t a nd p recise s tatement rat h er t ha n e l abor at e
d i sc us s io ns an d disqu i siti ons t h en I wo u l d l i ke to subm i t a
d ee pe r and es s enti a l d i fli c ul ty th ou gh one l ess e asy to p u t in to
w or ds
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4
Let us assume that l or any b ody else expresses the m essag e
o f Judaism as he conceives i t i n words % that he does what i s
a sk e d j o f hi m and descri b es and defin es Ju d aism i n a seri es o f
propo si tions and statements But here is t he trou bl e % ven as
he does so J udaism has fled away % o r Judaism % l i ke any ot h er
reli g ion W h l C h is worth i ts salt% i s not a seri es of pr o position s
I t is a spirit % i t is a li fe
I t is not expres sa b le in words % i t is
only expressa b le in human lives i n human character in human
action J udaism has its theolo g y you can write o u t this theo l o gy %
you ca n cut i t up into para g raphs and statements But the
resu lt is w or d s not an exper i ence b ut at the b est the r ecor d of
an e xpe ri ence Judaism teach es that man ou g ht t o love G od
But thi s proposition is n o t really a part of Judaism
Th e
experi ence i s the part of J udaism not the statement
T he love
—
of God the love as felt b y Jews and Jewesses a s ex perienced b y
t hem as translated b y them into li fe
as worked up b y t h em
—
into character t h a t 1 8 part of J udaism n o dou b t b ut not t h e
% escri b e this love and the deeds and the char a cter
wo r d s
which i t causes and the result is intere stin g and may be
valua b le b ut i t is not the love itself % i t i s only a description o f
the love I f I g ive you a ca reful b ot a n ica l account of a certain
rose — th a t may b e accurate and valua b le % b ut i t i s not the ro se
I t is j ust — words
Here then is a dee p er r e a son for a rel uct an ce t o p u t do wn
t he me ssag e of J udaism i n a lea flet And i f you say why t h en
ever wri te a b out Judaism a t all why wri te a b ook about it or a
treatise % the answer is that the shorter and more categoric the
—
statement the more it inclines to a series of cut a n d d ry propos i
t ions or to a series of articles of faith — the g reater is the dan g er
lest these proposi tions and articles should b e mistaken for the re a l
and livin g thin g or the i ntell e ctual assent to them su b stituted
for and re g arded as the e qu i valent of the spirit and the l ife
% o r you cannot deal wi th reli g ion as you can wi th a mutton
chop You can I believe to s ome e xtent po u nd the m u tton
chop and condense it and make the meat of i t i nto a s ort o f
pi ll which you ca n swallo w at a g ulp
You can not dea l like
this with reli g ion I f I say J uda i sm is the l ove of God and the
l ove of man or i f quotin g the old % a bb i I say that seek God
and live is its esse nce and principle my statement may be tr u e
b ut whether as a s ta te me n t i t c a n b e helpful except to th e
m ere u nderstandin g i s exce edin g dou b tful
S o far as th e
s t a t e men t i s t r ue i t is t ru e be ca use i t is t h e s h ort h a nd v erbal
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p ress i on o f a spi ri tu a l ex p erien ce an ex oe ri en c e w h ich as i t
w ere in c lud es h eaven a nd eart h whic h contro l s and t ra n sfi g u re s
life e xpla inin g al l t hi n g s a n d trans formin g t h em T o give a nd
to recei v e a serie s o f p rinted pro p osi ti o n s accepta bl e to an d
—
e
acc e pt e d b y, th e u ndersta ndin g th e i nte l l c t i s n eit h e r to
g iv e re li gi o n no r t o recei v e i t Tha t i s wh y o ne s h r i nks f ro m
t ry in g to satisfy a d eman d tha t on t h e face of i t s eem s so
l egi t i m a te a nd so re as ona bl e One s h rin ks from say in g : H ere
my f r i e nd i s J ud a i s m h ere i s i ts m essage % i n t h i s l eaflet i n
th es e t h i r t een p r opo s i ti o ns or a rtic l es or i nj u nc t i ons w h ic h all
can u n d er s t a nd — w h ich all ca n rea d i n fo u r or five m in u tes b y
th e clock T ak e th em and di s tri bute t h em
Y o u ca n h ave as
f
m any c opi e s as y ou l ike at five sh i ll ings a t hou san d
We ee l
t hat w hat we shoul d di s tri b u te wo u ld n o t be Ju d a ism a n d
h ar d ly e ven th e m e ssag e of J u d aism : but o n ly s om e p rinted
w o rd s use ful words do u bt l ess and tr u e so far a s t h e y g o b u t
ye t m i sl e a di n g : a descri pt ion a cat a lo gu e an i nven t ory but
not th e sp ir i t t h e ex p eri ence t h e li fe
Y e t I wo uld n ot en d u p o n wh a t l o ok s l ike a n o te o f ne g a ti on
and re fusal I w ou ld say s om et h in g i n s pi te o f a ll a b ou t t h e
m essa ge % o r i t m ig h t be s uppo se d t ha t I m e ant t ha t even i f
th ere i s a m e ssa ge we ca nn o t convey i t a nd t h a t w e mu s t
al w ays be si l e n t I do n o t m e an t ha t
I do n o t m ea n t hat w e
must al way s be s i l en t i n w o rds sti ll l es s t hat w e m u st be si le nt
i n o ur liv es % o r a m e ssa ge c a n be sp re ad eve n w it hou t word s
% or do I m e a n th a t readin g i s u sele s s w h et h er f or o t h ers or fo r
our se lv es We m ust c erta in ly read a nd s o far as we hav e ti me
l et u s study b u t abo v e al l so f a r a s we ca n l et us l ive an d l et
us exper ienc e Or a ddi n g t h e o bject l e t us l i v e J ud ai s m l et us
e xpe ri ence i t An d w he n i t come s t o w o rds I t h ink I sh o ul d be
i n c li ned to say l e t us p er h a ps wh en o p po r tu n it y o ffers gi v e t o
a pa r t ic ul a r p erso n a pa r t i c ul a r me ssa ge Let us fro m o u r o w n
e xpe r i e nc e in hu m i li t y b ut s inceri ty l e a rn h ow to spe a k a
w o r d in i ts s easo n to h i m t hat i s wea ry
T hat pa r t o f t h e m es sa ge of J ud a ism wh i ch you hav e
e xp er i e nce d w hich you ha ve f e l t W
h ic h h a s h e l ped a n d i ns p ired
ou — t hat pa r t even as you envi s age a nd re al ise i t y o u are be s t
y
fitte d to ha n d o n May I us e by w ay of met aph or t h e s t ory of
% avi d an d t h ea rmo u r o f S a u l % T h e % in g gives t o % avid hi s h e l
met h i s s w o rd hi s c oa t of m ai l B u t not th us a rr ayed c a n % a v i d
set fo rt h t o fig h t wi t h G ol iat h
H e mu s t em p loy h i s o wn sim ple
weapons % h e m us t use hi s o w n e xp eri ence
I ca n not go w i t h
ex
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6
%
S o i t m ust
these he says to S aul fo r I have not proved them
be wi th the messa g e and our selves I n the Jewish me ssa g e
c oncerning God for instance we shou l d read i n any book or
pamphlet that H e is One that H e is j ust compassionate ho l y
that He hearkens to prayer that H e i s witho u t and within
transcendent and i mman e n t —and so on
Al l very true no
dou b t and all very g ood
But have you pr oved t h ese truths %
Th a t port ion of them whic h has come h ome to yon y o u ca n bes t
ha nd on to a n other I s there a doubtin g hea rt to whom per
c h an ce you who h a ve fe l t the po wer of prayer m ay speak of its
comfort %
Here is t h e me s sa g e for you
Is there someo ne t o
whom God seems far o ff whi le yo u have found H im near %
H ere is the message I s someone inclined to say H ow ca n I
l ove an invisi b le spirit % Yet I mi g ht love a God who on ce
b eca me incarnate in man a nd su ff ered for our sakes — then do
you who can and do love the % ather whose chi ldren we feel
o urselves to b e you who l ove H i m and feel H is lo v e speak o f yo u r
experience h um b ly b ut without shyness t h i s is the messag e
for you and t h is i s i ts ho u r Or are t here stricken so u ls for
whom t he evi l of the world i s too sore and pressing and ha rd
and have you found a way sti ll to beli eve i n divine ri g hteousness
and d ivine love i n S pite of evi l and su fle r i n g and an g uis h and
sin —here i s you r messa g e and here is you r % pportun ity Or
have you felt and do you feel the b ond of fellowship the lesson
the tie with the past ha ve yo u
an d the appea l of h i story
experienced the stren g th of sayin g Our God as wel l as my
God
T hat too is the messa g e : speak i t i n i ts season Or
have you like all of us sinned b ut have you also not l ike
al l of us alas made your repentance have you felt the joy o f
atonement or the consci ousness of for g iveness % have you b een
g iven stren g th to cr ush your sin or to make a very b urnt off ering
of your temptati on % H ere too i s a part of t h e messa g e and
per h a ps i n some quiet hour you m ay delive r i t Or are yo u a
worker in some g ood cause of charity or social service a nd ha ve
you found that this work is i llu mined by the fait h in an d the
love of God an d th a t the truth of God is co nfirmed an d
i llumined by this work have you found that human love needs
the stren gth of the di vi ne love and that d ivine love nee ds to flo w
%
forth into human l ove T h i s too i s the J ewish messa g e and o f
this too may bear your wi tnes s
T h ese are j ust examples and they can be easi ly added to
Bu t let us a lway s remem ber that more t ha n t h e words is the li fe
%
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7
and t hat you eve n i n yo u r h u mi l i t y ma y b e mo re tha n w ha t
yo u s a y : y o u w ho m an ot h er m ay es t ee m o r c a re f or o r be h e lp
ed b y co n scious l y o r u nconscio usly you ma y be t h e m es sa ge
I f yo u are o b se rve d by a not h er to wor k f or m a n
you r s el f
be ca use o f y o u r l ove fo r Go d yo u a re th e m e ssa ge
I f yo u
s uff er bra ve l y a n d g la d l y make a sacri fice : if you are h umb l e
an d se lfl ess —you a re t h e m es sa ge
I f by y ou r l i fe y o u s h ow
t h at t h e i nvisi bl e % at h er i s near y o u a n d h as h e l pe d you an d
t hat i n sp i te o f fai l ures an d l apses y ou see k to w alk as i n H i s
p re sen c e : y ou are t h e mes s age I f i t is g u e ss e d t hat t o y o u t h e
bo nd a ge of d u ty i s f reedom a n d that l i ber t y i s la w % t hat to y ou
o ut wa rd cerem oni al st rengt h en s i n w a r d fa i t h a nd that fait h
in sp i res an d g l or ifi es observa nce : y ou a re th e m essa ge
S p ea k a
word i n i ts sea son t o h i m t h a t w oul d as k a n d h ea r Th is m eans o f
sp read in g the m essa ge w il l come n o w a n d a g a i n and y ou should
B ut l i f e so lon g as lif e is w ith us
we l co m e i t w h en i t come s
m us t al w a ys be l ived and y ou r l ife i s th e be st m e ssa ge I t s
infl ue n ces pass fr o m so u l t o soul
Y ou r l ife m ay bea r f rui t
w h ic h you ca n never gu es s an d t h e full and fin a l v alu e o f w h ic h
yo u may n e v er kno w
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