Tu B'Shevat Seder - Congregation B'nai Tikvah

Page 2 HAKOL bnaitikvah.org February 2012 Sh’vat 8 - Adar 6 5772 Volume 33 issue 6A Message From Rabbi Robert WolkoffThe Supreme Court recently issued a ruling that hassweeping implications for questions of religiousfreedom. Keeping a long story short, what theCourt said was that when anti-discriminationlegislation bumps up against religious freedomissues, religious freedom wins.I won’t go into the details, or defend the Court’sdecision. I will point out, though, that the Court’sdecision was unanimous—and how often doesthat happen in these fractious times!! Why theunanimity? Because the Court understood exactlyhow precious the “free exercise” of religion is toboth the American past and the American future.The existence of a realm outside the bounds ofnormal political discourse cannot help but have ahumbling and restraining influence on our society.Simply put, the Court’s perspective goes tounderscore that the experts, the professionalpoliticians, the “authorities,” don’t know it all,despite their elitist pretentions. And, perhaps evenmore important, the Court’s perspective goesto underscore how truly crucial the free exercise ofreligion is. It is assumed to be an endless font ofinspiration that serves our nation well.So….we all know what happens when we don’t doenough exercise—and the exercise of our religionis at least as important as all those sit-ups andaerobics. All too often, we practice our Judaismwithout a sense of vitality and commitment. Ourtradition is treated as a matter of habit, a routinethat at best has some nostalgic resonance. Rarelydo we even acknowledge that the most profoundideas in the world concerning the value ofhumanity and the audacity of morality come fromthe wellspring of Torah. And rarer still do we liveour lives attempting to personally epitomize theTorah’s ideals.It is no coincidence that the Continental Congressdeclared, “… true religion and good morals arethe only solid foundations of public liberty andhappiness.”The founding fathers said it. G-d said it. Who elseneeds to say it before we get the message?Shalom,Rabbi Robert L. Wolkoff