Community: No Easy Answers

Modern Jewish tradition tells us that the most important punctuation symbol is the question mark. Americans can relate to this teaching as well. We’re good at questioning authority. We take pleasure in pushing Humpty Dumpty off that proverbial wall and seeing if we can put him back together again.

But does this propensity to “rebel wisely” help or hinder those leaders charged with strengthening our communities? And what wisdom does our Judeo-Christian tradition offer us in responding to this situation?

Consider one of the most troubling stories in the Bible: the binding of Isaac. What parent would willingly sacrifice their child as a test of faith? What deity would ask that of a father? If there was ever a moment for defiance, this would be it.

The Test (or Akaida as it is called in Hebrew) is a story that haunts me. I have heard many thinkers interpret the story in numerous ways, but the disconnect between Abraham’s apparent blind faith and his love for his son always remains.

But what if the Angel’s cliffhanger command to Abraham “do not harm the boy” is also rebuke to him for not having figured it out on his own? And if God’s test is as much one of faith as it is one of courage, while we may give Abraham high score on the former, how would we grade the latter?

As I work for an organization building community, the lessons above are certainly weighty. We’re witnessing profound changes in terms of demographics, family migration patterns and the ways that individuals identify themselves. In short, people everywhere are questioning where they belong, and more often than not the prescriptive answers they’re getting from traditional sources don’t cut it for them.

Community building organizations must listen carefully to the questions being asked out there and also be prepared to ask themselves that most fundamental question: what purpose does our existence play in the life of the people we serve? This may be our collective test in the 21st century. Fully answering those questions will undoubtedly take courage, but if they're good ones, hopefully we can put our faith in them.