Coming together as community in the face of terror
Why does classical Jewish Law require a minyan, a minimum number of people, for the recitation of certain parts of our services?
The technical reason is found in this week’s Torah portion, Emor. In it, God instructs, “I will be sanctified among the Israelite people.” The Rabbis derive from this (it is a rabbinic rule) that any expression of God’s sanctity, such as the kedushah in the Amidah or the recitation of Kaddish, needs to take place within a community. It then defines this, through close reading of Torah, as a minimum of 10 people.
It is not that we can’t create sacred space in smaller groups. We know that this is possible – and different communities within our Movement approach the question of minyan in different ways. In the Talmud we even learn that the divine presence rests on one person on their own who is engaged with Torah.
But the insight of minyan is that there is something profoundly different, something important, something sacred about being in community. We need to be with each other. Even God, in the imagination of the rabbis, needs people around, to be part of community. The rabbis imagine God turning up for shul and being upset on finding that others are not there to provide God with support.
So, declaring God’s sanctity needs us to be in relationship with others. So too, does providing comfort, supporting people in mourning, celebrating moments of joy. All of these ask us to be there for each other. Classically, this presence requires real physical proximity, though we have also learned over the last few years that we can be there for each other using technology if we allow ourselves to be truly present for each other.
After a week like the one just ended, there might be a temptation to hide from the world, to stay under the bedclothes. But the idea of minyan is not just a technical law derived from this week’s portion – it is an insight into human need.
For Jewish life to continue we need to find ways despite everything that is happening to be present for each other. To make the effort to provide our presence – either physical or online – because this is what makes our prayers possible.
Being in community with each other is what gives us the strength to carry on, the ability to find comfort, to mourn and celebrate together. The ability to create sacred space.
At times like this, our commitment is to continue to be together to lift each other up.
- Rabbi Josh Levy is Co-Lead of The Movement for Progressive Judaism