Judaism is Made for Pluralism

By Mark Greenberg
KOACH Field Worker
Washington D.C.

As a KOACH Field Worker, I get the privilege of working with students at different campuses. One of the chief joys of this is seeing students realize that just because they identify one way, doesn't mean they can't incorporate other practices into their identification.

The best example is tefillot (services) at the KOACH Kallah. We have offered students egalitarian, traditional and meditation services so they can find a service that feels meaningful. This also affords students a chance to experience a service they normally wouldn't go to. It's because of Judaism's pluralism that we openly direct them to find a way they are comfortable with.

There is a midrash that I love. The story goes that in the World to Come, Rabbi Akiva is teaching in his House of Study. God places Moses in the back row and he doesn't recognize anything Rabbi Akiva is teaching. One would think that this would upset Moses; after all he did to lead the people through the desert and get them ready to enter Israel, he comes to find that one of the great minds in Jewish history is teaching something completely different then what he had handed the people at Sinai.

And he is upset. Until one student asks Rabbi Akiva what the source is for his words. Rabbi Akiva answers: It is the Torah given to Moses at Mount Sinai. With that, Moses is comforted. He understands that Rabbi Akiva is carrying on his sacred work, making the laws meaningful and accessible for his generation.

As our lives continue to change, so will our ways of exploring our religion. One of the greatest things about Judaism is that we are given the ability -- some would argue, the right -- to find new ways to practice. And once we find that new way, I hope that we accept it right alongside the other traditions we hold dear.

[Posted 05/18/07]