You can listen to my interview with Rabbi Aronson here.

1115 Del Webb Blvd East
Sun City Center, FL 33571
Telephone: 813-634-2590

Contact: President Bob Cobe and Rabbi Philip Aronson

Religion: Judaism

Denomination: Reform Judaism

Web Page: http://fl042.urj.net/

The History

Christianity, Islam, and Judaism - three major religions that each had their start with events in the Middle East, and the man known as Abraham. According to the beliefs, God spoke to Abraham, promising him prosperity and descendants that would outnumber the stars in the Heavens, as long as Abraham was faithful to God's commandments.

Later on, the prophet Moses codified these commandments in the books the Jewish faith calls "The Torah", meaning "learning". For Christians, this corresponds with the first 5 books of the Old Testament - Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. In these were the 10 Commandments, as well as other prescriptions for what to eat, how to dress, and so on.

Today, some still follow those original teachings in the Judaic faith as closely as possible are known as "Orthodox". During the early 1800's, members of the Jewish faith wanted some changes in the services - allowing for languages other than Hebrew to be allowed in services, relaxing the strict rules to members had more leeway in whether to accept all of the rules, or focus on the core rules such as the 10 Commandments. This group became known as Reform Judaism.

The Experience

I know - I have The Rules, which include notifying religions at least a week before I'm going to visit them.

I, um, didn't do that this time. I had left some messages, and decided just to stop by in person to set up the interview.

When I first came inside, I was greeted by a nice lady asking me who I was with. Once I explained that I wasn't with anyone and what I was there for, she set out to make sure I was taken care of.

Turns out I got there just as the service was going to start, so I decided to attend services then speak to Rabbi Aronson after the meeting to set up the appointment.

What I found interesting was the first question was "Is a member of your family here?" When I mentioned that I didn't have any family in attendance and why I was there, the attitude was "Oh, good! Please, let me do what I can to help you!"

What I soon noticed was the sense of family that pervaded the group. Everyone was always mentioned as the son or daughter or mother or father or other relative of every person in the room. No one was left just as "so and so", but "this is who they are, and this is who their family is."

I took a seat in the back of the room, watching as the rabbi strummed on a guitar and lead the congregation into the opening songs. The prayers were interesting, as often the prayers were sung in both Hebrew and English. At one point, the room turned to face the other direction, continue the prayer, then turn back.

Then came the unveiling of the Torah. In the front of the room there was a small section hidden behind a curtain that was referred to as "The Ark." Behind was a set of scrolls, carefully protected behind cloth with a small silver looking shield in front. The scrolls were taken down, and as they were brought about the room, the congregation would bow to the scrolls, sometimes reaching out to touch it with their prayer book. Walking behind it, the rabbi would shake the congregations hand, offering welcome.

Once the scrolls had been carried through the room, they were unwrapped from their cloth and laid out upon a large table. A prayer was read, and then the rabbi read the writing there - first in Hebrew, then in English, giving comments about what was being read.

What was interesting was right after the reading, the scolls were then held up for all to see. This I thought was actually rather important - that their holy books weren't hidden away, or something that only the learned were suppose to be versed in. But these were works that all of their members were suppose to know, to respect, to understand what was there.

After this, the rabbi then spent some time expounding what the passage read meant. In this case, it was a section of Leviticus that detailed what to do with a servant who came and left his masters service, and how they could stay with their master forever if they so chose.

By having an awl pounded into their ear. Ouch.

This week there was a guest speaker, a rather interesting gentleman who spoke about his time serving in Bosnia, and the challenges and tasks he faced there. Afterwards, there were additional prayers, including prayers on those who were sick, or those who had lost recently loved ones.

What I Found Beautiful

I already mentioned the feeling of family, but there was a notion of camaraderie, of acceptance. After the service I was invited to join them for some drinks and snacks, and while I was clearly a stranger in their midst, people were patient as they let me know what I was suppose to do (in this case, wait until the prayer was said over the wine. And nothing personal, but that was some nasty wine.).

The other thing I found keen was the intelligence there. People were encouraged to question, to ask why. Most encouraging, I actually heard a religious leader say "I don't know why this says this here." Usually in my religious questing, I've heard ministers state things as if what they said was 100% fact, when clearly it was either their interpretation, or something that perhaps they couldn't know.

Here, in the Jewish Center, I had the feeling that it was all right say "You know what? We don't know. Let's think about it, reason about it, consider it."

My interview with Rabbi Aronson was really a treat, and when the show airs this Sunday I hope you enjoy it as well.