Rabbi Wes Gardenswartz of Temple Emanuel in Newton delivered probably the strongest sermon I’ve ever heard Saturday. As the senior rabbi of one of the largest Conservative synagogues in the country, Gardenswartz’s words (delivered to several hundred people) conveyed his anger about the behavior of some Jewish attendees at the April 7 community forum about prejudice and discrimination.
UPDATE: Here’s the Boston Globe’s article about Rabbi Gardenswartz’s sermon.
I’m including a few excerpts here, but you’ll need to read his words through to the end to get the full message.
Gardenswartz called out the heckling of the African-American mother who was trying to share her story about her son’s experience with racism in the Newton schools:
“Not hearing an African American woman’s story of racism because we only have bandwidth to talk about anti-Semitism was a very bad moment for the Jewish community of Newton.
“When I heard about it, and read the press coverage, and saw the clip, I was saddened, and embarrassed, as a rabbi in Newton, as a Jew, and as a human being. I called both Mayor Warren and Superintendent Fleishman and apologized for conduct that is unworthy of us and inconsistent with our own ideals. I also tried to ascertain the identity of this woman so that I could apologize to her as well.”
Referring to an interpretation of a Torah portion, Gardenswartz spoke of Jewish priests needing two eyes to see others’ pain.
“…[we] need to see the person before us, and the pain they are in, in the broadest possible context. We cannot focus on one issue. We cannot focus only on our own issue. We must raise our gaze to take in the largest view.
That was the spiritual sin of the Jewish activists who heckled the African American mother. They were one-eyed priests. They could only see their own issue, anti-Semitism. But our Torah expects more from us.”
Calling the claims of anti-Semitic or anti-Israel bias in the NPS curriculum not “a real issue,” he said:
“…in 19 years at Temple Emanuel, where lots of our families attend the Newton Public Schools, I have never heard from a single parent or student in the Newton Public Schools that there is such a bias…Nineteen years. Lots of families. Zero complaints from parents. Zero complaints from students.
I applaud Rabbi Gardenswartz for delivering a forceful message about an unfortunate event.
Thank you for sharing this, and thank you to Rabbi Gardenswartz for his sermon.
Thank you for sharing this, and thank you to Rabbi Gardenswartz for his sermon.
I haven’t had the chance to read all of Rabbi Gardenswartz’s sermon but what I did read is a wonderful reminder and consistent with the outspoken voices for justice that has come from Newton Rabbi’s over the years. As I read his compelling commentary I recalled the powerful messages of Rabbi Samuel Chiel and Murray Rothman as they preached sermons that unified our community in the times when violence was breaking out around the country. Despite the event at City Hall I know that the behavior of a few does not speak for the entire Jewish community. We are so fortunate to have the inspiring voices of love and kindness being spoken and lived by Rabbii’s Gardeswartz, Leonard Gordon, Eric Gurvis and many others. I am thankful for their service to our community.
I haven’t had the chance to read all of Rabbi Gardenswartz’s sermon but what I did read is a wonderful reminder and consistent with the outspoken voices for justice that has come from Newton Rabbi’s over the years. As I read his compelling commentary I recalled the powerful messages of Rabbi Samuel Chiel and Murray Rothman as they preached sermons that unified our community in the times when violence was breaking out around the country. Despite the event at City Hall I know that the behavior of a few does not speak for the entire Jewish community. We are so fortunate to have the inspiring voices of love and kindness being spoken and lived by Rabbii’s Gardeswartz, Leonard Gordon, Eric Gurvis and many others. I am thankful for their service to our community.
What a powerful sermon! It’s so important for everyone to stand together against this intolerance and bullying, and there’s nothing like hearing this message delivered so eloquently by a leader in our community. I’m very proud to call Wes my rabbi (and Michelle, too!)
What a powerful sermon! It’s so important for everyone to stand together against this intolerance and bullying, and there’s nothing like hearing this message delivered so eloquently by a leader in our community. I’m very proud to call Wes my rabbi (and Michelle, too!)
Hear hear, thank you for posting this.
Hear hear, thank you for posting this.
…a very bad night for Jews in Newton?
Sorry Rabbi, these individuals represented themselves; not Jews of Newton, or anywhere else. That is what freedom is all about, to get to speak for yourself.
By apologizing, and linking all Jews, you actually help create a negative environment for Jews in general, as you perpetuate another myth about “all the Jews”, based on a few.
What ethnic or religious, or members of club can claim that all act as they should all the time. Is that a stain on the rest?
Why not a very bad night for every person in Newton? Why do the rest of the Jews take the blame for a few?
” we(Jews of Newton) only have bandwidth to talk about anti-semitism was a very bad moment for the Jewish community of Newton”.
I wasn’t there, but if I had to bet , there were some Jews in the audience who had sufficient “bandwidth” to discuss both. My guess is there were Jew in the room who disagreed with those interrupting; maybe even spoke out as well.
You apologized for us? You can’t apologize on behalf of those who were involved, unless they feel contrition, otherwise it is an empty gesture. You surely weren’t apologizing on my behalf, as I don’t support those individuals actions.
You want to add your voice to those who oppose what those individuals did, great, I stand with you, but apologizing on behalf of the Jews of Newton, is wrong( apologized for conduct unworthy of “us”); not to mention, you surely don’t speak for all of us.
Lumping large groups of people together based on the action of a few, is narrow mindedness usually found among those spreading prejudice.
It is entirely appropriate and expected for a spiritual leader to speak for and on behalf of his people/community.
And given that this was an event that has been widely reported and discussed across our city and our region — and as a Jew who was in the attendance that evening — I’m grateful that Rabbi Gardenswartz said what he did and the way that he said it.
…a very bad night for Jews in Newton?
Sorry Rabbi, these individuals represented themselves; not Jews of Newton, or anywhere else. That is what freedom is all about, to get to speak for yourself.
By apologizing, and linking all Jews, you actually help create a negative environment for Jews in general, as you perpetuate another myth about “all the Jews”, based on a few.
What ethnic or religious, or members of club can claim that all act as they should all the time. Is that a stain on the rest?
Why not a very bad night for every person in Newton? Why do the rest of the Jews take the blame for a few?
” we(Jews of Newton) only have bandwidth to talk about anti-semitism was a very bad moment for the Jewish community of Newton”.
I wasn’t there, but if I had to bet , there were some Jews in the audience who had sufficient “bandwidth” to discuss both. My guess is there were Jew in the room who disagreed with those interrupting; maybe even spoke out as well.
You apologized for us? You can’t apologize on behalf of those who were involved, unless they feel contrition, otherwise it is an empty gesture. You surely weren’t apologizing on my behalf, as I don’t support those individuals actions.
You want to add your voice to those who oppose what those individuals did, great, I stand with you, but apologizing on behalf of the Jews of Newton, is wrong( apologized for conduct unworthy of “us”); not to mention, you surely don’t speak for all of us.
Lumping large groups of people together based on the action of a few, is narrow mindedness usually found among those spreading prejudice.
It is entirely appropriate and expected for a spiritual leader to speak for and on behalf of his people/community.
And given that this was an event that has been widely reported and discussed across our city and our region — and as a Jew who was in the attendance that evening — I’m grateful that Rabbi Gardenswartz said what he did and the way that he said it.