Mr. Weiss is a carpet salesman in Pittsburgh. I suspect that he spends each of his workdays observing people in his store as they look at all the carpets that are available. And, as he watches them, he may hear them say that they like this one or that one. He may hear them say that this color is great or this one is not bad. He may even hear them say, “Yuck!”
Some people may opt for one particular carpet on their first visit. Others may come back a few times. Some may just be browsing. Others will feel as though the store is either too expensive or that it has nothing they really like, or, perhaps, they did not like the way they were treated by the staff.
Keeping this in mind, it was not surprising to me that Mr. Weiss wrote an article called, “Confessions of a Synagogue-Hopper,” telling the story of how he enjoys hopping from one Temple to another. He even became a member of a few of them.
But, it would be a mistake for you to assume that because a congregation is Reform, Conservative or Orthodox that you know what their service will be like.
And I have a bit of a problem with Synagogue Hopping. You see, I looked up the word “Hop” and one of the first things I saw in the synonyms was “to bounce.” Hopping from one Temple to another is like bouncing. You will hop around and look for all the ups and downs of the Temple, instead of growing to feel like family and focusing on what you need to change within yourself and how you need to grow and mature, and build a relationship with G-d. You will spend your time analyzing what the Temple is doing right or wrong from your vantage point.
Another synonym for “Hop” is “Hurdle” and, if you hop from one house of worship to another, you may well put hurdles between you and G-d and those hurdles may become harder and harder to leap over. (Perhaps, that is where the expression “a leap of faith” comes from).
The next synonym I saw was “Trip” and, if you spend all your time hopping from one house of worship to another, you just might get yourself all tripped up and, sadly, that could lead to a big fall.
There is one more synonym I saw that I want to share with you “Skip.” If someone is a regular at my Temple and one Shabbat I do not see them in the pews, I know to check up on them. But if someone does not attend regularly, it will be pretty hard to notice that they are not there. And, if you hop from Temple to Temple, it can become very easy to skip whenever you do not feel the urge to attend.
Oddly enough, the antonyms for “hop” are “to allow” or “to permit.” If you hop from one Temple to another, then you are not permitting yourself to become truly at home with the other members of the Congregational Family and you are not allowing yourself to have the full experience of becoming fully familiar with the service and how it can lead to a greater connection with others and with G-d.
So, instead of being a Synagogue- Hopper, why not consider becoming a “Synagogue-Hoper!” Experience all the ups and downs of your life with your Temple Family and with G-d by your side.
Let me close with a wonderful story of hope. There was a king who sentenced a man of his realm to death. The poor soul told the king that if he let him live, he could teach the king’s horse to fly, but the king would have to postpone his execution for one year.
Another man who was also condemned to death, asked him, “Why delay the inevitable?” and he replied, “It is not inevitable. The king might die, I might die, the horse might die. Then again, I might just teach the horse to fly. The odds are four to one in my favor.”
Do yourself a favor. Come to Shul filled with hope and we just might teach you how to fly!
Shalom my friends,
Rabbi Craig H. Ezring
Rabbi Ezring is the Spiritual Leader of Temple Beth Israel of Deerfield Beach (201 S. Military Tr., Deerfield Beach, FL 33442). Regular Shabbat services are open to everyone on Saturday mornings from 9 to 11:30 a.m.
