Public Engagement in the Torah

I was recently reminded at synagogue that the concept of public participation and engagement is an ancient one. These remarks, recently shared by Rabbi Laurie Zimmerman at Congregation Sh'aarei Sh'mayim in Madison, but originally crafted by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi of Great Britain in 2005, get at the importance of participation as a full spiritual exercise that awakens a community to its shared responsibilities together:

(It is time for Britons to pitch their tabernacleCREDO - THE TIMES - MARCH 2005)
It is time for Britons to pitch their tabernacle
THERE has been much debate in recent months about Britain as a multicultural society. The head of the Commission for Racial Equality has argued that we have gone too far. We need now to reaffirm a national identity -inclusive of all groups, to be sure, but British, not just a cacophony of different voices. He is right.
Our once monochrome society has been hugely enriched by Britain's new religious and ethnic minorities: Hindu, Sikh, Muslim, Buddhist, Jain, Zoroastrian and Baha'i. Most of them want nothing more than to integrate into British society.
That is why they came here. But what are they supposed to integrate into? A culture of moral relativism and disrespect for traditions of all kinds? How are they to admire Britain's institutions -politicians, Parliament, the Royal Family, the established Church -when they see them treated with disdain by the British media? How can you love a society that has fallen out of love with itself?
My parents wanted to be British. They wanted us to absorb British values and make them our own. Jews sought to contribute to British society -and they did. That did not mean they wanted no longer to be Jewish. Quite the contrary. Indeed, the greatness of Britain in those days was that it was not an either/or choice.
Already in 1884 The Times published a leader in praise of the great Victorian-Jewish philanthropist Sir Moses Montefiore. It ended by noting that he had shown that "fervent Judaism and patriotic citizenship are absolutely compatible with one another".
Victorian Britain, seen today as a bastion of high-minded hypocrisy, was actually open to outsiders. Those who know who they are, welcome the stranger. Those who don't, become insular and insecure. "Love your neighbour as yourself" presupposes that you love yourself. If you don't, you won't love others either.
The Bible is eloquent on the subject -36 times the Mosaic books command us to love the stranger. At the same time, Moses endlessly instructs his people never to forget their history. That is what we do on Passover and in all our prayers. We endlessly remind ourselves of who we are and why. Identity is like a home. If you feel safe, you offer hospitality to others. If you are afraid, you keep the doors locked. Only a confident society is an inclusive society.
Moses was faced with a problem not unlike ours. How do you turn a group of people -in his case, liberated slaves -into a nation with a collective identity? His answer -God's answer -was dazzling in its brilliance. You get them to build something together. What they built was the Tabernacle, a portable sanctuary.
Normally when we read this story (told in the book of Exodus) we think of its religious dimension: how you build a home for God. But it also has a political dimension. It is about how you create a sense of national belonging. The best way of making people feel "I belong" is to enlist them in a shared project so they can say: "I helped build this".
The Tabernacle is a symbol of society, made out of the contributions of many individuals. What they gave was unimportant; that they gave was essential. Society is what we build together -and the more different types of people there are, the more complex and beautiful will be the structure we create. A national culture can grow without losing its identity, just as an ancient building -Windsor Castle, for example -can be enlarged by additions made in different ages, different styles. It changes, but stays the same. It is always Windsor Castle -not a supermarket or an office block.
The important thing is that we build together. A nation is made by contributions, not claims; active citizenship, not rights; what we give, not what we demand.
Britain can become a country in which many ethnic minorities feel at home - without making Middle England feel that they no longer recognise the place where they were born. A national identity can be made out of the contributions of many cultures, many faiths. What matters is that together we build something none of us could make alone.

As these Rabbis observe, the important thing is that we build together -- this is the essence of public engagement: Sure, there may be times that solutions can be reached more efficiently and less expensively in the near term by more unilateral, closed processes. But the act of building together creates a legitimate sense of ownership and relationship to the creation that enhances its sustainability and squarely invests each 'builder' as a stakeholder in the ultimate success of the venture. This is an important point that many in public agencies and institutions don't appreciate... by holding their power close to the vest, by making it less than transparent, we hoard that power to our own detriment.

It is also essential to integrate the lesson that the only safe society is an inclusive society, and that through this safety and inclusiveness we become confident in a legitimate manner. We tend to invest in so-called 'security' in this society, pushing others into positions of desperation as we grasp to the illusion of power. Only by engaging with the 'other' can we better appreciate who we are and what we all have in common. Then, through such hospitality, we can invite others to share the joyous burden of building community institutions and 'tabernacles' together.

While I hadn't expected to leave services with a Blog entry, I was pleasantly surprised... I hope you find it worth the read!

Harry

WASB puts Community Engagement on the Web

The Wisconsin Association of School Boards has created a spot on its web site for its members to gather resources on community engagement. Included is a link to an article published in the Minnesota School Board Association's magazine that is sent to all of its members.

MSBA article on Community Engagement Preconference