Rav Shai's Torah on the Grow

I once gave a guest sermon in which I mentioned something critical about the behavior of an Israeli soldier. The regular rabbi of the group explained to me that people come to shul to be in a safe space and that my criticism made some folks uncomfortable.

Comfort is overrated in American culture. It’s not a Jewish value. We imagine that God accepts us where we are, but only if we strive not to stay there. Jewish culture is not one of complacency. 

In the heart of the daily prayer service, we ask for a series of blessings. The very first request is for knowledge, understanding, and intelligence. It’s not a request for a higher IQ or better SAT scores. The meaning of the request isn’t obvious until you get to the next request which is about teshuva/turning toward the divine will. The prior request, our first request, is to understand where we have strayed from God’s will so that we can reorient ourselves. Our very first request, then, is to become uncomfortable with where we are.

Synagogues should be safe spaces where Jews can engage in the battle of ideas in the communal effort to clarify how best to pursue God’s will. That battle necessitates that positions be challenged and, as a result, minds might be changed. The process may not be comfortable, but it is the price of admission for Jewish culture. Comfort and safety overlap but are not the same thing. Confusing the two risks losing the sanctity of a safe battle ground.