Sermon for Rosh HaShanah Morning
by Rabbi Daniel Levin
Temple Beth El
Boca Raton, Florida
September 30, 2008 – 1 Tishri, 5769
Excerpt
We as a Jewish community can no longer tolerate racism and bigotry in our community. We can no longer tolerate judgments based on race, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation. It’s not enough just to know that racism is bad individually – we have to go further and reject it in our community. We need to become obsessed with values of ultimate importance, not with meaningless distinctions that are of no consequence.On the ballot in November is a nefarious and noxious proposal called Amendment 2. It proposes to amend Florida’s constitution to include the following phrase: “Inasmuch as the legal union of only one man and one woman as husband and wife, no other legal union that is treated as marriage or the substantial equivalent thereof shall be valid or recognized.”
This amendment, while creating a whole host of problems for domestic partners and unmarried men and women, seeks to enshrine in our state’s constitution prejudice and bigotry against gay men and lesbians. It would not simply legalize anti-gay bigotry, but would seek to promote it as a societal good.
Many would seek to use the Bible to authenticate this amendment. But a closer reading of the book of Leviticus shows that debauchery and promiscuity were what G-d sought to denigrate, not intimacy and love. When two people, regardless of the mix of gender, choose to build a home together based on love, intimacy, and fidelity, it should be their choice to do so, for it is to me, without question, as sacred a commitment as any marriage.
I am proud that last week, our congregation’s board of trustees voted unanimously to condemn Amendment 2 and to encourage members of our congregation to vote to defeat it. It violates everything that our synagogue stands for, that Judaism stands for. It tells us that marriage is about what’s on the outside, when really marriage is not the union of a man and a woman, but the union of two loving souls and kindred spirits.
G-d cares about that which is of ultimate value, not the temporary. G-d is not comprised of cars, clothes, houses, jewelry, money, status, or stuff. G-d is the ultimate expression of life, love, justice, compassion, wisdom, knowledge and peace. We read in the book of proverbs – “Ner Adonai Nishmat Adam – the light of God is the soul of humanity. (Proverbs 20:27)” And it is that light of God that lies in each of us that we ought to seek out, cherish and worship above all else.
We can watch Desperate Housewives and laugh because we know it’s just pretend and make-believe. But the real world in which we live demands that we eradicate senseless prejudice, that we speak up with those we love and let them know that in our community we cannot sanction bigotry, not when we know the history of our people’s suffering because of bigoted anti-Semitism. It was not long ago in Boca Raton that neighborhoods and even hospital staffs were not open to us simply because we were Jews. We know all too well as Jews what can happen when a society tolerates bigotry and prejudice.
Forty-five years ago, on the steps of the Lincoln memorial, stood the Reverend Martin Luther King who said in his famous speech, “I have a dream that one day, my children will be judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” On a day when G-d will judge us by that criteria, may we be inspired to work harder for the day when all will see only the light that lies in the heart of his neighbor, and find that light reflects back to us only love, compassion, understanding and peace.
We want to expand the chorus of voices and the quality of resources on this site. You are an essential part of this effort. Please submit your writings, sermons, and statements for possible inclusion on the website. By sharing your personal concern and opposition to Amendment 2 you will inspire your peers in ministry to do the same. Please e-mail us to share your thoughts.