Thoughts on Confirmation (12th grade)

I would like to begin this evening by telling this class how very proud I am of all of you. When I look at your biographies and their your of Jewish involvement, I cannot help but be hopeful as to the future of our people in this country. You have served as Madrichim, been to Israel on the March of the Living, served our people in Moldava, worked in New Orleans, were leaders in BBYO and spoken on Capitol Hill in Washington DC to our congressmen and senators on issues of importance to the Jewish people. You are an incredible group with an incredible amount of commitment to our people, Israel, our nation and humankind.

You have had many wonderful experiences outside of Temple Emanuel. These experiences have been extremely formative in helping to create your Jewish identities. However, these experiences however would never have occurred without the incessant nudging of Temple Emanuel’s rabbis. In addition, most of these experiences would not have occurred without the support, patience and encouragement of many others.

I would like to thank the leadership of Temple Emanuel for being so supportive in this effort to educate our young people. The Greensboro Jewish Federation has been supportive by providing Israel experience grants and grants to help our children attend the L’taken Social Justice seminars. The financial support of the Temple Emanuel community in helping to provide grants and scholarships for Jewish camping, L’taken and Israel experiences has been very generous. The teachers and tutors, from TEPS to the religious school, have all done wonderful work in instilling a magnificent pride in being Jewish in our children. The teachers on Sunday who have worked with our teens as they were Madrichim and the teachers who have taught them with such commitment deserve special mention.

The point here is that the success here with this class did not happen in a vacuum and the role that Temple Emanuel played is indeed significant. The most important thing that I want the eioght of you as confimrsand to know is that our commitment to you as a congregatipon and as a Jewish community is I would like to think iron clad.

However, the most important role was that of the parents of these wonderful young people and to them goes our biggest, “Todah Rabbah,” our biggest “Thank you.” Without your help and encouragement and without your communication of Jewish values in the home, everything that we wanted to do with these young people, we would not have been able to do. In addition, most everything that these confirmands have accomplished as Jews and as human beings would not have been accomplished.

To our confirmands we say once again how very proud we are of you!

The Torah tells us that the Jewish people were in Egypt for 430 years. The rabbi’s asked why during these 430 years the Jewish people did not assimilate into the walls. What was the secret of their survival? How did they, even in the midst of repression, assimilation and exile manage to keep their identity as Jews?

The Midrash gives us three reasons. The first reason is that they never forgot their Jewish names. They never forgot their identity and their heritage. Names are so very important as a part of our identity.

Recently, I met a woman by the name of Consuelo. She had grown up in a poor Hispanic barrio, five blocks on the American side of the Mexican border. Her family was one that was extremely proud of its Hispanic heritage. When she was 6 years old, she started first grade in an American school. By that time, she was already bilingual.

When she walked into the school, the teacher asked her, “What is your name?” she answered, “Consuelo.” The teacher said, “From now on your name is ‘Connie.’” Consuelo told the teacher, “Absolutely not! I am not Connie, I am Consuelo.” The teacher did not know what to do with such a petulant child and consequently sent her to the principal’s office. Poor little six year old Consuelo thought that she was being honored by being sent to the principal’s office. After ten minutes of sitting in a chair outside of the office, the door opened and the principal brought little Consuelo into the office. The principal said to her “Now tell me, what is wrong with Connie?” Consuelo proceeded to answer, “I don’t know what is wrong with Connie; I don’t even know her, do you know what’s wrong with Connie?”

Yes, my friends, names are important and you as graduates have built up incredible names and identities as Jews over the past four year. As you go to college, there will be more than ample opportunity for you to forget your names and your heritage.

There will be those who in subtle ways will encourage you to do so and to forget that you are Jews. Nevertheless, the secret to our survival, as well as the ultimate testimony to the value of the schooling that you have received is that you will always remember who you are. A proud committed Jew.

The second thing that ensured our survival in Egypt was that we never abandoned our distinctive style of Jewish dress. Most of us have a tallit. Some of you even have tefillin. Take them with you. There are other aspects of Jewish “dress” as well. These could include Shabbat candles, a Kiddush cup, a Tanach and other Jewish books. These are all aspects of Jewish dress that you need to take with you to college.

Not only should you take them to college, but you should use them while you are there. Let them be a reflection of who you are! Let them be a sign of who you are as a Jew, for they are aspects of Jewish dress.

The third thing that enabled us to survive the Egyptian repression and exile was the fact that we never forgot our holy tongue, the language of the Jew, the language of prayer and the voice of Torah. These things, together with the language of Jewish activism should be your language on campus next year. Take Jewish study courses. Participate in activities at Hillel. Being a Jew who speaks the Jewish language is more than being a person who can speak Hebrew. Speaking the Jewish language today means speaking out on behalf of Jewish values and interests. It means taking leadership within your campus Jewish community and working for greater involvement of Jews within that community.

It is this language that is also the language of our commitment to Israel. We need college students who are willing to be pro peace and pro security for Israel and the Middle East. The amount of Israel bashing on college campuses is indeed significant and much of it has been funded by Saudi oil money.

But in addition to that, we know that in America, the attachment of American Jews to Israel has fallen during the past two years. In 2002, the amount of Jews who felt very emotionally attached to Israel was 31%, this past year it had dropped from 31 to 26%. You indeed have a special role to play by using the Jewish language that you have learned here to strengthen the attachment of the American Jewish community to Israel,

In the book of Esther, when Esther is afraid to lift her voice to save the Jewish people, Mordecai tells her: “Do not imagine that you, of all the Jews, will escape with your life by being in the king’s palace. On the contrary, if you keep silent in this crisis, relief and deliverance will come to the Jews from another quarter, while you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows, perhaps you have attained a royal position for just such a crisis.” In essence, he is telling her that speaking out on behalf of the Jewish people is her fate. It is the reason that she was born and it is the reason that she has experienced the things that have happened to her.

When it comes to Israel in particular and for being Jewish in general, we need you to be like Esther. We need you to lift your voices. This could be why you were born in the first place! You have come here for this moment in our history, a moment when you will be called upon first to be voices for our people on college campuses and then to become committed Jews for the rest of your lives. If you do these things, you will bring great honor to Temple Eamnuel, your family and yourselves.

So, Mazel Tov and Yashar Koach, on your graduation! Become this generation’s Esther. Be like those Jews in Egypt more than 3000 years ago when you go to college. Don’t forget your name, don’t forget who you are. Take your Jewish dress with you and finally, make your language the language of prayer, study, and commitment to Judaism. Let Israel be part of your everyday existence! If you do this then you will bring blessings not only to yourself but also to Temple Emanuel. By doing this you will help to ensure a glorious future for the Jewish people here in the United States and everywhere.

The Ibo people of Nigeria say:

Not to know is bad
Not to want to know is worse
Not to hope is unthinkable
Not to care is unforgivable

However, I would like to change the last line so that the saying reads as follows:

Not to know is bad
Not to want to know is worse
Not to care is unthinkable
Not to act is unforgivable

So next year, it is my hope that you will indeed become a Jewish actor on your college campus. Your challenge it to take the teachings you have learned and shared together and to bring them to this moment. Know always that you will never be alone. You are loved by your parents, teachers and rabbis and we are only a cell phone call away. Most importantly however, realize that with all the challenges that you will face in college, you will truly never be alone because God will always be with you.

May God bless all of you with great success next year! May you be blessed with health, learning, meaning and peace!