Rabbi Marc E. Berkson
Rabbi Marc E. Berkson and has been with us since 1999 and is only the congregation's sixth senior rabbi since the merger of Emanu-El and B'ne Jeshurun in 1927. Active in a wide range of local and regional Jewish, inter-religious, and human relations programs and organizations, Rabbi Berkson brings his love of teaching and his community-building skills to Emanu-El B'ne Jeshurun. A native of Chicago and a graduate of Beloit College in Beloit, Wisconsin, Rabbi Berkson was ordained by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati in 1978. Following ordination, Rabbi Berkson served as rabbi of Temple Judea Mizpah in Skokie, IL. He is an avid bicyclist and railroad buff. The Rabbi and his wife, Debbie Carter Berkson, have three children, Abigail, Jesse and Michal who is married to Jonny. Contact the Rabbi at rabbi@ceebj.org.
From the Rabbi
Annually, in Newport, Rhode Island, Kahal Kadosh Yeshuat Yisrael, today known as the Touro Synagogue, the following letter is read aloud in a public ceremony. Written by President George Washington to the Hebrew congregation in Newport in response to a letter from Moses Seixas, our country's first President used many of Seixas' words and expressions. There is a reason for the annual reading; in fact, the words ring even more clearly and appropriately in the midst of a most troubling debate currently playing out in the public sphere. Wrote President Washington in part:
"The citizens of the United States of America have a right to applaud themselves for having given to mankind examples of an enlarged and liberal policy-a policy worthy of imitation. All possess alike liberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship."
It is now no more that toleration is spoken of as if it were the indulgence of one class of people that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent natural rights. For, happily, the
Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves
as good citizens in giving it on all occasions their effectual support. It would be inconsistent with the frankness of my character not to avow that I am pleased with your favorable opinion of my administration and fervent wishes for my felicity.
May the children of the stock of Abraham who dwell in this land continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other inhabitants-while every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig tree and there shall be none to make him afraid.
No longer is tolerance spoken of as if it were the indulgence of one class of people that another enjoy the exercise of their inherent natural rights. Needless to say, President Washington was already clearly aware of the Bill of Rights introduced by James Madison to the First United States Congress the previous year. Ratified by the States in 1791, the first words of the First Amendment put forth both the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause of Religion. The words can be no clearer: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." Toleration was something we Jews had been blessed with on and off in our history; far too many other times, we Jews were cursed with discrimination and persecution and far worse. Yet this was truly a New World. And the words of George Washington to the Jews of Newport confirmed in our Constitution the following year should place no doubt about the right of Muslims to build a building containing a mosque near Ground Zero. In fact, we Americans should welcome it.
As these days of Elul bring us closer to God, let them also bring us closer to one another. And may the words with which George Washington closed his letter provide the words of my greeting to each of you as we approach Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, "may the Father of all mercies scatter light, and not darkness, upon our paths, and make us all in our several vocations useful here, and in His own due time and way everlastingly happy." Debbie, Jesse, Abigail, Michal and Jonny join me in wishing all of you a good and sweet year.
Let me also take this opportunity to extend my deepest thanks to Jill Doornek, our Silverstein Family Summer Rabbinic Intern. Rabbi Doornek joined us in June, July, and August to take on a number of rabbinic duties while I was away at camp and on vacation. A wonderful teacher and speaker, Jill also helped to bring us closer together through social networking. We wish her and her fiancé, John Crimmings, all the best as they return to New York. Jill will again be a student at the Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion and will be serving on staff at Congregation Shaaray Tefila in Manhattan. She invites you to stay in touch.
I am also delighted to welcome Marilyn Kraar back to our congregation as our Director of Lifelong Learning.
Rabbi Marc Berkson