Taboo: Politics and Religion

I have been sparring with my Rabbi. Oh, I know you are picturing me with the gloves on, taunting him to take the first swing. Actually, this has been much more genteel, at least on the surface. It certainly seems like very few others ever question our religious leaders. I think in light of the events in the world we ought to do so. We need to know where they stand and not to pretend we don't when they are preaching their views from the pulpit.

I am considering whether or not I can continue as a Reform Jew. It was something I was raised with. While I know my Rabbi is a learned man in several ways, I am very disappointed to learn that he can not see the obvious, which is that by adopting a liberal political stance for all of the members of a religious sect, the Reform movement is exactly the same, or I would posit even worse than, their avowed enemy, "the Religious Right". Who on earth (or in Heaven for that matter) decided that the Rabbis and leaders of our sect of Judaism must press for a particular political platform? While I agree that individual Rabbis are entitled to their own opinions, why is it that they should determine for us what our political beliefs must be? Aren't these complex issues that may not have easy answers?

Instead of truly teaching and learning Torah, our entire being seems to have shifted into "Repairing the Earth" or Tikun Olam. Now this is certainly a noble cause, and practically unassailable. But I am afraid that it is truly the code for beginning to become involved in more political action. While they call it social action (what the heck is that?) in truth much of what each Temple is now involved in involves politics. And it is not just exhorting individuals to do this, but utilizing the funds and time of each Temple to do it. For example, the URJ now has adopted a platform that each temple should offer a course in Islam. The problem is that they are not doing an adequate job of teaching Judaism.

There is also the "RAC" which really is a political action committee which is a lobbying organization. And lest you think it is solely in place to push the issues important to us as Jews, it is everything but. See here. For example, they are seeking to make sure certain judges are not confirmed by the Senate (click here) because they feel that those judges might not be pro "separation of church from state". AM I THE ONLY ONE TO NOTE THE IRONY IN THIS????

My Rabbi says that we are a tent or a sukkah, and that under it all types of Jews can be sheltered. The mission statement says:
“The synagogue is a kehilah kedoshah– a sacred community. Like a sukkah, it is constructed of many different branches woven together: the young, the old, the rich and the poor, the married and the unmarried, single parents, grandparents, gays and heterosexuals, non-Jewish spouses. The broader the Sukkah’s reach, the more tightly its branches are woven, the stronger it stands.”

Everyone is welcome under the sukkah, unless of course, you have a more "conservative" point of view. Then you are "against social action" and can't possibly be a good reform Jew. Sometimes it is mighty lonely standing up for your principles.