Addressing Antisemitism: The Temple Shaaray Tefila Confirmation Program

Education is one of the most important ways to stand up to antisemitism, and the education provided through the Temple Shaaray Tefila Confirmation program is an important example.

The Confirmation ceremony came to the fore in the earliest days of Reform Judaism in Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. Affirming the importance of Jewish education beyond B’nai Mitzvah, our movement’s founders provided continuing and more serious Jewish study through the teen years, and established a Confirmation ceremony to celebrate those educational achievements. Confirmation study continues today in many of our congregations.

Here, at Temple Shaaray Tefila, our rabbinic intern, Ranata Shlobin, and I lead regular Sunday classes with our teens, where each of our students conducts an individual research project on a Jewish topic of their choosing, and the study of the history antisemitism is included. Our Confirmands are learning that in:

• Constantinople, in 553 CE, Emperor Justinian prohibited the construction of synagogues and outlawed the interpretation of the Torah
• The First Crusade in 1096 unleashed a torrent of attacks on Jews, including robbery and murder
• Paris, in 1244, the governing and religious authorities of France collaborated to oversee the collection and public burning of cartloads of handwritten Talmud manuscripts
• Paris, again, in 1806, Emperor Napoleon convened Jewish notables to publicly question their loyalty to the French government.

By the time our youth reach high school, they have the maturity and general history education to see these painful experiences in their proper background and apply lessons learned to today. Ultimately, our teens see the consistency of antisemtism through the centuries, place current events in a proper historic context, and, critically, recognize that they are making a stand for Judaism and against antisemitism by coming to Temple, learning, and leading a Confirmation service.

While it is not for a while, I hope you can join us for the Confirmation service, Friday, May 15 at 7:00 PM. And, if you know a teen who wants to attend Confirmation, please have them contact me. We meet most Sundays at 11:30 and I would be happy to help them make up lost time and take part in the Confirmation service.

Happy Hannukah!
Rabbi Dennis Ross