During the Rosh haShanah morning service we read this prayer: (page 27) "Enlighten our eyes with Your Torah; make our hearts and minds cleave to Your mitzvot, uniting them to love and revere Your Name. And may we always be proud and unafraid to be Jewish in public." In this morning's prayer service it is differently translated as: (page 82) "Open our eyes to Your Torah; help our hearts cleave to Your mitzvot. Unite all our thoughts to love and revere You. Then shall we never be brought to shame."

    As is customary, we had a reader from the congregation rise to the bimah to read it. Unfortunately, the young girl who was to read it jumped the gun because of a miscommunication with the reader before her, so she did not get up to the podium fast enough. When I corrected the situation, the girl sat down behind me, embarrassed to have made a mistake.

    Now, she is only one of many in this congregation whose worst nightmares would be to make a glaring mistake while being Jewish in public, and it was ironic that she was set to read this exact verse: "May we always be proud and unafraid to be Jewish in public."

    When I saw how distraught she was, I sat next to her and helped her regain her composure and her bravery. Finally, when her turn came to stand at the podium, she read beautifully. The congregation, while not saying Yasher Koach, could be palpably sensed silently applauding her pluck. As she was turning to go back to her seat, smiling at having succeeded so well, I showed her what it was that she had read, and I told her how proud I was of her.

    She is an example of all those who join this congregation and have some bad experience of being Jewish to overcome. For some, they had a miserable religious school, or experienced it that way. Some had home lives that ill-prepared them for a life of being Jewish in public. Some were embarrassed when some self-important Jew put them down, knowingly or not, for not knowing some ritual, or some Hebrew or Yiddish term. Some were cowed into a life of being a crypto-Jew by a hostile neighborhood, school, or work environment.

    In the thirty years I have lead High Holy Day services, as a rabbinical student, at Hillel, and now here, I cannot tell you how many times someone has come up to me after a service to say that that they had found the service positive, and that it was the first service they had been to in 30, 40, 50, 60, and even 70 years because of some bad experience they had somewhere once upon a time. Oy! I am glad that they had a good experience, but what a profound sadness and waste of a lifetime that they could not have overcome their issues with Judaism and Jews earlier.

    Then there are the so many of us here who had no Jewish upbringing at all, and who feel both unprepared and a little inauthentic standing before everyone making public Jewish statements. It can be scary to be Jewish in public.

    The same goes for those of you who had to tell your boss that you would be at services here today, and not at work. For some this was easy. For some it was hard, especially if your boss is a Jew who is not taking the day off. That is always the hardest sell. And some of you were not able to get off for Rosh haShanah, and some were not even able to bring it up. But you are here today, on a work day, and, if you are not from Palo Alto, on a school day. Yasher Koach to you for the effort you made to be here, and for overcoming any reticence you had to bring it up to whomever you thought would not approve.

    But that little girl is not only an example of someone who had a bad experience being Jewish in public—she is also an example of someone who overcame it, got back up on the podium, and excelled. So many of our congregants have taken the opportunity to learn in our congregational classes and adult events, or to call me personally to ask for information. And from those experiences they have gained the ability to read Hebrew letters, chant from the Torah, or simply to understand the prayers they are saying today in a reasonable context. You now belong to a congregation with a rabbi, and the main role of a rabbi is to be a scholar and a teacher and to help the congregation and the congregants know what they are doing. So this is an advertisement to those of you who do not already know that I spend a good part of my time answering your questions that arise out of what you have heard or read somewhere. It is the part of my job that I have the most fun doing, for I get to learn with you.

    Enough of this commercial for adult education. There are bigger issues confronting how we are Jewish in public today. Let me deal with just three:

    First, how what Israel does affects how we hold ourselves up as Jews.

    Second, what effect a certain Jewish politician from Connecticut may have on how the non-Jewish world perceives us, as well as how we see ourselves.

    And, last but not least, what ever happened to genteel, liberal, tolerant-of-diversity Palo Alto?

    First, let us speak briefly about the violence in our ancestral homeland. Whether we feel the connection to Israel personally or we do not, we are still looked at through the eyes of the secular news agencies whenever there is violence or intransigence there. Well-meaning people see us as somehow perpetuating, abetting, or even perpetrating the evils that beset the area. Even though we are not necessarily any more involved than an Irish-American would be responsible for the bloodshed in Belfast, or an Italian-American would be for a Mafia hit, nonetheless, we all get ethnically profiled, to coin a phrase, for whatever Israel does.

    So what are we to do with this, and how does it affect our being Jewish in public? Let me first say, without taking a stand on whose peace plan might turn out better, that the reason for a peace plan is precisely to stop the killing. More than any other word besides G0d, we will say the word Peace during these High Holy Days, as well as on every Shabbat. We say Shalom over and over, yet we live in a world where shalom is distant. As we leave here today and reemerge into the work and school and neighborhood worlds we inhabit, how should we deal with Israel?

    First, we can pray for an end to the killing and the bloodshed, by whomever is doing it. We will have a chance to do that during the Yizkor service. Second, we can help set a sincere tone among our general contexts that we care first and foremost for peace. And then we can try to be informed so that we can help bring more light than heat on the issue.

    It helps to get a Jewish perspective on what happens in Israel, and that can only come from reading Jewish sources. If you have not paid your dues to make yourself a contributing part of the Jewish community here, by giving to the Jewish Community Federation, then it is likely that you are not getting the Jewish Bulletin of Northern California, which treats Jewish and Israeli issues in more depth, from the inside, and from the many sides of the internal Jewish debate. And if you are not getting that paper, you are probably not getting the Jerusalem Post, which is somewhat right wing politically, or the Jerusalem Report, which is somewhat left wing politically, from Israel.

    As Israelis and Arabs go through this difficult time, let us stand tall and, without recrimination and blind partisanship, stand for informed peace.

    Let me say that I heard this morning that a distant cousin of Joseph Lieberman was killed by a rock thrown at him while he was driving a car. If anyone wonders whether a rock can kill, now you know. A rock can kill. The fact that it was a distant relative of Lieberman's is only more ironic, and will cast more attention on this issue. Which leads me into talking about Lieberman.

    Second issue. If Lieberman is elected Vice President, his every Jewish action will be held up to each of us as an example of what a Jew does. Lieberman is a Jew who is proud and unafraid to be Jewish in public. They do not come any more so. It is interesting to think about the difference between him and, say, Dianne Feinstein. Had Gore picked her as a running mate, she would ruffle few to no Jewish feathers, for she does not set a Jewish example with her life. At least, she does not do so publicly. Nor have any of the other Jews during the Clinton administrations. For example, two of those "Jews," Albright and Cohen, are not even Jews, even though one has a Jewish body, and the other has a Jewish name. No problem there of someone setting a Jewish standard for public practice.

    Lieberman does. He is a synagogue-goer, can read Torah, keeps kosher, gets off the campaign river boat so as not to campaign on the Sabbath. He speaks out about his belief in G0d and his practice of religion so loudly he made Abraham Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League feel ashamed and worried, even though the professional talking heads in the news media felt that Lieberman had crossed no lines.

    Does Lieberman make you nervous thinking of how you might have to justify yourself to others on the basis of what he does and what you do not do? We can talk about that in the discussion group this afternoon which directly follows the service here in this room. Suffice it to say that Lieberman will make it harder for some and easier for others to be Jewish in public. For example, there have been letters to the local papers questioning why it is that Lieberman can walk to the Capitol on Shabbat carrying his briefcase because there is an Eruv there, but he would not be able to do so here.

    Which brings me to the last issue: what the heck happened to Palo Alto? For the first time in memory, citizens of the Palo Alto area may feel not so unafraid to be Jewish in public. Palo Alto has, for so long, been a wonderful community for Jews. Notwithstanding the nearly annual conflict of holy soccer versus the High Holy Days, the Palo Alto Schools are closed for Yom Kippur. Excuse me, they are closed ON Yom Kippur for something called a "local holiday." Whatever they call it, and why they do so, the fact remains that the schools are closed today, making synagogue attendance possible without conflict.

    Maybe they are closed because ZIP code 94306 has the highest proportion of Jews in the Bay Area of any ZIP code. I do not know the exact numbers, but my friends who are PA school administrators say that the Rosh haShanah attendance dip is about 30%. People have to be living in a cave not to have a nice Jewish co-worker, neighbor, or friend, and even, in many cases, a Jewish relative!

    In any case, the area around Palo Alto has a congregation of every denomination—In alphabetical order, we have 2 Conservative congregations, 1 Hassidic, 1 Orthodox—Ashkenazi, 1 Orthodox—Sfardi, 1 Reconstructionist, 1 Reform, and we at Etz Chayim who are presently independent. All together that represents over 3,000 affiliated households.

    Palo Alto has a Jewish Book Store, a Jewish Family & Children's Service branch, a Jewish Community Relations Council, 2 Jewish Day Schools—1 orthodox and 1 non-denominational that go up through middle school, with a high school about to open, a secular Jewish Sunday school, and a Jewish Community Center. Not to mention a Hillel Foundation, and many other Jewish organizations, minyans, havurot, youth groups, and clubs.

    As for being Jewish in public, I have to say that even though I wear my kippah around town all the time, I never get a hostile look. I may get an interested stare, as one might wearing a turban, which are also prevalent in our town, but the few comments I have gotten are: "Hey, nice kippah!"

    And during one student's bar mitzvah studies, while studying about wearing tzitzit, I asked him if he were game to wear them to school inside his shirt, with the tzitzit hanging out, as a traditional Jew does. He did, and when I asked him how it went and what comments he received, he said no one mentioned it. By and large we can have Jewish celebrations downtown for Chanukah on Lytton Plaza, and a Jewish Fair on California street and no one bats an eyelash. We can be safely Jewish here in public.

    So what happened when all the rabbis of Palo Alto backed a traditional proposal to erect an Eruv around the city? Every slimy Jew-hater emerged from under the rocks from which they had been hiding and emerged into the City Council Chambers and into the local papers. The controversy over the JCC being taken over for a new middle school only exacerbated the problem, giving vent to a new breed of both non-Jewish slurs and ignorant Jewish self-deprecation. Here are three examples:

    The first is by Jim Burch, a city council member: " Quote: It is my belief that when a law is viewed as in error given new data—or being no longer relevant-or creating unnecessary hardship, then those affected by such a law can and should seek relief or redress from that law. But, in my opinion, that relief should be sought from the creators or mediators of that law and not from any other jurisdiction . . . Therefore, I urge you to seek relief from your own appointed authorities, those who now administer and sustain this law."

    That at least had some reason behind it, but you can bet he would not ask a Christian authority to change Christianity, nor a Hindi to change Hinduism, nor a Muslim to change Islam, nor any other religion to go change itself. I know because I had a long conversation with Burch about this. What he wants is for traditional Judaism to become a liberal Christianity. That's just not going to happen.

    Here is another one, with no redeeming value nor rational overtones from the Palo Alto Weekly (8/9/00), by a man named Jeff Coykendall: " Quote: Should a small group of people who expect to bamboozle their deity with divine twine and line be allowed such power? . . . (And) if a dog lifts its leg on a utility pole in Palo Alto, then a gang banger tags the pole . . . whose turf does it become?"

    One last example. This was in the Palo Alto Daily News (9/6/00) by a man named Mark Johnson: " Quote: Every day I read stories in your paper about the Jewish community in Palo Alto besieging our city government with demand to get involved in their private religious issues . . . Let me be one of the first members of the heretofore silent majority to ask them to please sit down and shut up. We're tired of hearing their relentless whining. The last time I heard, the Jewish temple in this area is very well financed. They shouldn't be demanding or begging aid from our city government. They should keep their religious affairs out of our city government affairs. . . . And if they just can't, all Jewish members of our city council should be forced to abstain from any voting or input on the grounds of conflict of interest."

    Not all the letters to the editor have been unsupportive, however, and I want to call your attention to the letter that appeared in last Wednesday's Palo Alto Weekly, authored and distributed by Reverend Jeff Vamos, of the 1^st Presbyterian church, where our congregation worships (or will, when their renovation is done!). The letter, subtitled "An appeal for tolerance and generosity of spirit in our public discourse," decries the fact that "although the JCC issue concerns the Jewish and non-Jewish residents of Palo Alto alike, some citizens have made very hurtful comments in letters and speeches as a part of the public discourse about this issue, which heightens sensitivities on all sides of the debate . . . "some hurtful and divisive remarks have been made, and as religious leaders we call our community to work with one another with respect, treating every member and group with dignity. Intolerance has no place in the faiths we practice, and we hope that it will have no place in the hearts of the people of this community."

    This letter represents the spirit of Palo Alto that we all thought was there, but of late despaired of hearing again.

    Still, I am bringing this to your attention today because the issues that generated these outbursts have not ended. The Eruv will be brought up to the city government again, but in another way. The JCC has not yet relocated. And we are looking to find a home for our congregation. As soon as we do we will be NIMBY'd—not in my backyard-ed—and some of the comments we will receive will be unsavory and only barely veiled to cover their ill-at-ease-ness with having Jewz in the 'Hood. Having been a part of the Day School's and JCC use permit hearings on an annual basis, I can tell you that we will hear this guff, and it will sting.

    So, what do we do? Hide our heads and say, "Scuse us, we were only foolin'. We don't need no Ay-roov, no JCC, and no Etz Chayim?"

    I have read letters in the local papers from JCC members who say they are embarrassed to be JCC members since the JCC is such an anti-public school organization, and ought to just disappear so as to let the School District have its site without a replacement in sight.

    What will you do? What will you say the next time you are asked about Israel, about Lieberman, about the JCC or the Eruv, or about the site we will, G0d willing, find for our congregational home? What will you do if you are asked to come up here to read a prayer before the congregation, or to lead or participate in one with friends and family at home? What will you do?

    The prayer we read today says this: " Open our eyes to Your Torah; help our hearts cleave to Your mitzvot. Unite all our thoughts to love and revere You. Then shall we never be brought to shame." This makes it sound as if living a rich Jewish life will invoke Divine protection so that we will never be ashamed. That is why I retranslated it for our Shabbat morning prayerbook, which version we read on Rosh haShanah, to say: " Enlighten our eyes with Your Torah; make our hearts and minds cleave to Your mitzvot, uniting them to love and revere Your Name. And may we always be proud and unafraid to be Jewish in public."

    I, and, I believe, you, do not believe that Divine protection will flow from our many acts of ritual enrichment. In fact, the opposite could occur. Some of us are already too soured on our Jewish life, or feel too new and unprepared to rise before our peers to read in public. Some of us are not confident enough of our knowledge to answer a boss, a coworker, or even a friend as to why we are here in this service today. Some of us would prefer not to be noticed or asked.

    And many of us with no noticeable Jewish traits in name or face will be able to avoid being noticed, especially if we also make sure not to reveal any noticeable Jewish traits in our actions.

    For if we do we will reveal ourselves to be Jews, and then we will be held up to other role models, as well as becoming role models to ourselves.

I    f you look back to the bottom of page 79 and the top of page 80, you will see an accurately translated prayer that focuses on exactly this issue. It appears in both Yom Kippur and Rosh haShanah services, as well as the Weekday early morning service. I have included it in every morning service I have put together because I found it helped me focus on the difficulty of being a Jew in public. Let me conclude this talk with excerpt from three of the prayer's paragraphs:

    "May we feel at home with Y0ur Torah and cling to Y0ur commandments. Keep us far from wicked and corrupt companions.

    Strengthen our desire to do good deeds; teach us humility, that we may serve YOU. May we find grace, love, and compassion in Y0ur sight and in the sight of all who look upon us, this day and every day.

    May it be Y0ur will, Ad0nai, my G0d and G0d of my ancestors, to protect me this day and every day from insolence in others and from arrogance in myself. Save me from vicious people, from bad neighbors, and from corrupt companions.

    Save me from harsh judgments; spare me from ruthless people—whether they are Jews or not.

    We should always revere G0d, in private as in public. We should acknowledge the truth and practice it in thought as in deed."

    In short, since we are going to be Jewish role models, let us be good ones, so that we may always be proud and unafraid to be Jewish in public.

    And let us let a brave, enthusiastic, little child lead us.

    Amen.