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From the Rabbi’s Study Chanukah serves to ignite in us the motivation for rededication and renewed commitment to the vitality of our people and our future. With all the wonderful things which are now bringing renewed interest, prominence, activity, meaning, and pride to ACI, we must surely be inspired to a continuous rededication (Chanukah!) to self, to family and friends, to community, to our heritage and destiny. As the winter months are upon us, the doldrums may set in, and the harsh cold and grey of the season can weigh heavily. Yet good cheer and optimism can surely prevail if we choose dedicated and productive outlooks and approaches. For example, one can go through life either as a pilgrim, or as a tourist. This notion – which was a topic of discussion during my fellowship year at CLAL a number of years ago – is an important one. Tourists visit and leave, they view things as outsiders, they see sights, but have no stake in what they leave behind. Pilgrims come home, they are involved, they have insights, they are committed and have a stake in that of which they are an integral part. Tourists come merely to see the past and float through the present, while pilgrims are dedicated to embracing the past, living the present, and building the future. In the case of Jewish life in America, one can be a tourist – a visitor – in Jewish life, or one can be a pilgrim: one who is integrally committed and involved with what is a deep and significant component of their lives. The over-used (or too-often abused) phrase of Mordecai M. Kaplan, “living in two civilizations” (American and Jewish) is rendered trite and even vacuous when it is not truly lived up to. “Living” in two civilizations means just that – “living” in them – being committed, involved, obligated, knowledgeable, proud, dedicated, and active in an ongoing, lasting, and ever-meaningful way. During these winter months, let us ponder and consider all this. Let us all be pilgrims, rendering the phrase “living in two civilizations” a meaningful one, one that offers us great hope and promise for our future. Rabbi Pearl Rabbi Jonathan Pearl, Ph.D.
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