Empowered Judaism: What Independent Minyanim Can Teach Us about Building Vibrant Jewish Communities

the secret is this: Jews are attracted to Judaism—the unadulterated, complex and nuanced, powerful Jewish tradition.

the power of Judaism is clear to those truly engaged in its complex struggles and searchings for truth and divinity. Instead of focusing on new ideas, the Jewish community would be better served by connecting to the original “big ideas” of our heritage: Torah, avodah, and gemilut hasadim,

God is sometimes “mighty” only as a reflection of God’s inaction. This is a subversive, but Rabbinically authentic, understanding of “great, mighty, and awesome” that acknowledges in some way the disconnect between the active God of Moses’s phrase and the hidden God in our current world.

meaning is not just an affirmation of our existing values. Rather, it is the belief that these texts can both challenge us and bring us closer to the divine will.

Those engaged in a life of study know that the consummate orientation to the Jewish tradition is one in which you will never know enough.

just as we engage in interpretation of Torah, so too can we hold the siddur in the same light.

The options are these: become an academic, a rabbi, or Orthodox.

The experience of prayer is greatly enhanced if the siddur is treated like so many other texts in Jewish heritage, as a starting point for interpretation rather than a surface statement of dogma.

The project of prayer, this blessing could say, is that of holding your doubt and grappling with it, but not letting that be a reason to drop out of relationship with God.