God Is One

An Open Letter to the Union of American Hebrew Congregations

by Steve Friedland

שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָֹה אֱלֹהֵֽנוּ יְהוָֹה אֶחַד:
Hear, Oh Israel: The Lord our God the Lord is One. —Deuteronomy 6:4

On December 2, 1995, the Marin Independent Journal published an Associated Press article reporting that the governing body of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (UAHC) recommended in a nonbinding resolution that Reform synagogues bar children of mixed-faith marriages from Hebrew school if their parents also give them schooling in another religion. Sadly, fear, intolerance and prejudice continue to reshape the Union of American Hebrew Congregations and many American Reform congregations. Have you forgotten that an earlier era of intolerance in American Jewish history gave rise to the Reform Movement's own beginnings?

Let me offer this meditation from Rabbi Bernard S. Raskas, published in Jewish Spirituality Ethics: Daily Meditations:

“God Is One.”
“The Jewish religion is solidly founded on the belief in the unity of God. The first commandment requires us to recognize God's sovereignty. ‘I am the Lord your God...You shall have no other gods before Me.’ Every בְּרָכָה berachah, blessing, begins with the traditional formula praising God as Ruler of the Universe. There is no Jewish God, no Christian God, no Moslem God, for God is above and beyond all theologies. There may be a Jewish, Christian, or Moslem approach, but these are merely ways to view God, to express feelings and thoughts. It is our privilege, indeed it is our right, to worship as we see fit. Tragically, tolerance has not always prevailed. We Jews were the first people in history to fight (and die) for freedom of worship. We must continue this fight to protect the vital principles that are part of our heritage — as Americans and as Jews.”

Today, as a Jew I am proud not to be affiliated with a Reform synagogue of intolerance but an independent Jewish congregation of tolerance where Jews and non-Jews celebrate freedom!

—from our January 1996 Newsletter

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