Dear Friends,
About twenty years ago, Robert Putnam, a Harvard Professor of Public Policy, wrote about the collapse of American civic life. In his book tellingly titled “Bowling Alone,” Putnam noted how Americans were no longer joining clubs, teams, and religious and communal organizations in nearly the same numbers had they had been in the past. As a result, he posited that the trust and cooperation that came from the social capital that people accrued by associating with one another in such groups might lead to social polarization and political extremism, which could threaten the fabric of American democracy.
Unfortunately, Putnam’s worst fears are coming true. Americans have become increasingly divided from one another in every way. We share little common ground, even with people with whom we share common values. Covid exacerbated our self-isolation compromising the viability of many public institutions. But, as noted by Farah Stockman in a recent “Opinion” column in The New York Times, even before Covid, “the rise of cellphones and social media created a sense of ‘placelessness’ that robs people of the rootedness that human beings need to flourish, and lessens their motivation to live purposeful lives of social engagement.” And so there are fewer members in fraternal organizations like the Rotary, Lions, and Kiwanis Clubs, less participation in PTAs and in Scouting, and fewer volunteers in every sector of our society.
Religious institutions. have not been spared significant declines in membership. ‘Bowling alone’ has found its analog in ‘praying alone.’ Why do you need to join a schule to talk to God, one could ask. Well, you don’t, of course, but that’s not all that synagogues are about, as we at RSNS know. While some of us do come together for Shabbat and Holidays to ‘pray,’ many more of us gather to sing and to dance, to study – texts and films – and to argue, and to make sun-butter and jelly sandwiches and to give blood. We engage in affinity groups to deal with personal issues and life transitions, and we turn to one another for medical advice, and for plumbers, electricians, caterers, and drivers. We cross generations by ‘getting together’ to adopt first and second-generation Holocaust survivors and to share high school and elder perspectives on life, and we traverse thousands of miles to talk about and advocate for the State of Israel.
As a Jew and as an American, I can’t recall a time when I have found myself so at odds with world around me. While I have been bolstered by personal values that inform a faith that still gives me hope in these contentious times, it is our congregation that keeps me going day to day. It is to you that I turn for stability and support. In the course of the past half-century, RSNS has given me a sense of ‘place’ and a purpose. I know from what you have told me, that you share that sense of place with me. Each one of us is a thread in the tapestry of our community. Each of us is necessary to sustain what in the eyes of Robert Putnam is in today’s America a utopian community. Since our congregation is greater than the sum of our parts, we become all the better with everyone who joins it, just as we are diminished by anyone who leaves. So thank you for helping RSNS to be the exception to the rule in a world adrift.
As we anticipate the beginning of a New Year with the month of Elul, let us rejoice that we have one another as a safe port.
With appreciation and warmest regards,
Rabbi Lee
