Rabbi's Blog

Judaism Large and Small - Rosh Hashanah Morning, 5786 - 2025, Rabbi Julie Hilton Danan at Seaside Jewish Community, Rehoboth Beach

 “Friday the Rabbi Slept Late.”

No, that’s not the title of my forthcoming memoir of rabbinic insomnia. It’s the first of a bestselling mystery series by Harry Kemelman, in which a fictional rabbi named David Small who becomes an amateur detective. Anyone else remember those books?

In each book, Rabbi Small’s congregation tries to oust him about once a year, until a combination of his sterling character and sleuthing skills save the day—and his job—once again. Fortunately for Rabbi Small, his keen Talmudic mind enables him to solve the many murder mysteries that seem to plague his charming small coastal town in Massachusetts. 

The series, popular from the 1960’s through the 1990’s, was even made into a TV series. In one episode, a group of rabbis are discussing the difficulties of finding the right story to start a sermon. Rabbi Small mentions a colleague who takes the opposite approach: when he hears a really good story, he builds a sermon around it.  So today, I’m taking that advice.

Rereading those books recently reminded me how far Judaism has come in my lifetime. But more importantly, the saga of the fictional Rabbi Small made me ponder: am I thinking too small when it comes to Judaism?

  But first, we have come a long way, baby, indeed. When Friday the Rabbi Slept Late, was published only were there no women rabbis, and no Bat Mitzvahs in Rabbi Small’s Conservative synagogue, but only men were counted in the minyan, women weren’t on the synagogue board of directors, and in fact women couldn’t even vote in the synagogue elections. Finally, in the later books, the temple Brotherhood takes turns with the Sisterhood in serving cookies at the Oneg Shabbat. Progress!

Rabbi Small is a bit of a disappointment to represent our profession. He is depicted as principled and scholarly, but not exactly inspiring. In his view, a rabbi’s role is to be a judge, a teacher of Torah, and a scholar, but he hasn’t tuned in to the flexibility and spiritual power of Jewish tradition.

But much as I was put off by the fictional Rabbi Small, I’ll admit that I was also intrigued—and maybe more than a little wistful—for his old school version of Judaism. The books paint a compelling picture that we could call, “Judaism Small.” Not “small” as in unimportant, but small as in close-up. It’s the treasured intimate Judaism of the rabbinic Sages, that for two millennia has centered on our personal lives, our homes and our synagogues.

But on the other end of the spectrum is a contrasting vision of what I’ll call “Judaism Large,” the Judaism of the prophets, shaping not just private lives but public society. This is the Judaism that has inspired civil rights activism, social justice, environmental stewardship, and Tikkun Olam, repairing the world.

Our Sages taught that there is no small mitzvah, that each person we touch is a whole world. Our prophets declared that ritual is meaningless unless accompanied by social justice. Both voices are in our High Holiday liturgy, and both are urgently needed in this historical moment.

In my mind, Judaism Small and Judaism Large are actually connected and complementary. Each mitzvah we do can be observed in its “small” and “large” dimensions. Let me give just a few examples:

• Hospitality (Hachnassat Orchim): Judaism Small: Invite someone new to your holiday table. Judaism Large: support the work of HIAS, a veteran Jewish organization aiding refugees and immigrants in 15 countries including our own, based on the Torah’s most repeated (but too often neglected) mitzvah: to love and welcome the stranger and foreigner because we were strangers in the land of Egypt.
• Tzedakah.  Judaism Small: Pick up a bag, fill it with food and bring it to the food pantry collection on Yom Kippur. Judaism Large: Tzedakah is from a meaning root word meaning justice. Get involved with organizations like American Jewish World Service, working to end poverty and promote human rights around the globe, and T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, which supports Torah ideals of human dignity, equality, and justice in America, Israel, and the Palestinian territories.
• Shabbat and Stewardship: Judaism Small: Light candles, come to services, or take a soul stroll in nature. Judaism Large: channel that love of creation into environmental action—like joining our seaside members in the upcoming “Reverse Tashlich” beach cleanup, part of an international initiative from Tikkun Hayam, a Jewish ocean conservation group. Join our Green Team for their involvement in Adamah, the Jewish environmental alliance.

And we cannot forget Israel: Zionism was the first great project of Judaism Large in the modern era; bringing the often-beleaguered Jewish people from synagogue and study hall back into nationhood and self-determination in our ancestral homeland. For decades, modern Zionism connected diaspora Jews to a transcendent narrative, representing the promise of a safe haven and cultural heart for the Jewish people.

But no matter your outlook on Israel, it’s undeniable that Zionism today is in crisis.

Personally, I am heartbroken for all the terrible suffering endured by both Israelis and Palestinians in the current war and throughout the decades. I don’t want Israel to be further isolated or to watch future generations continue to suffer a never-ending cycle of violence and enmity.

That’s why for me, Judaism Small means educating people about the history and diversity of Israel while praying for people on both sides of the conflict. And Judaism Large includes supporting civil society groups in Israel that are working for democracy, equality, and human rights: such as the aforementioned T'ruah and the New Israel Fund, which strengthens grassroots democracy movements; the Shalom Hartman Institute, which fosters pluralistic Jewish learning and dialogue; Lissan (who we meet earlier in the year), or Hand in Hand, a network Jewish-Arab schools where children learn together in Hebrew and Arabic.

So here is my proposal for the New Year 5786:

If your Jewish life leans “small” – Mazal Tov! This year, stretch a bit toward the large and you may find that action gives you great hope. Support a justice organization (the ones I mentioned and more will be linked in my blog), come to a Tikkun Olam Shabbat to get inspired to action, or volunteer with our Social Justice/Tikkun Olam committee.

On the other hand, if you see Judaism mainly through the lens of big ideals, Judaism Large, Yasher Koach! This year, stretch toward the small as well. It will nourish your heart and soul for the work that you do. Host a potluck Shabbat dinner with friends, come to an adult education program or book group, volunteer with our Chessed and Community Service committee to support fellow congregants and our local community.

Let me end with a story: To challenge her students, a teacher cut up a picture of the earth from a magazine, making a very difficult puzzle. To her surprise, the children were able to put it together quickly. When she asked how, they responded, “There was a picture of a person’s face on the other side, and when we put the person together, the world became whole.”  

As we say in Jewish Renewal, Tikkun Olam (world repair) must be connected to Tikkun Halev (healing our hearts). This Rosh Hashanah, may we treasure all the ways that “Small” and personal Judaism can make our daily lives and congregational bonds rich and meaningful. And at the same time, may we broaden our gaze and connect with “Judaism Large,” a great world tradition with a crucial role to play in Tikkun Olam. And ultimately, like the children in the story, may we each be blessed to find the connection between the small and the large, the particular and the universal, between healing ourselves and repairing the world.  

Image of children painting a bright world: © Yann Forget / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0,