Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch is known as the father of modern Orthodox Judaism. In my opinion, his greatest contribution to our tradition is his statement that “the calendar is the catechism of the Jewish People.” The word “catechism” is usually used as a summary of Christian religious doctrines but can be those of other religions as well.

So what did Rabbi Hirsch mean?

Our beliefs are an intrinsic part of our sacred days. As a fruitful example is the Sabbath. Shabbat, especially via the kiddush, reminds us that we focus on creation and the Divine role of the Creator. As Reform Jews we generally do not espouse “creation theology.” Evolution is our perspective. Six days of work and the seventh day of rest is not literal, yet there is meaning to creation and our human role as stewards of that which God created.

We are reminded as well of our exodus from Egypt. Recall that in the Ten Commandments, the first one is not in the form of “shall” or “shall not.” Yet implicit in the commandment is belief in God because God took us out from slavery. It’s not just “You must believe in Me”; in fact it isn’t anything near that in our “catechism.” It is, however, “This is what I DID for you…” The proof, as it were, is in the pudding.

All our sacred days – our holidays, our holydays and our festivals – have reasons for celebration that aren’t only religious, they are often agricultural or historical. But Rabbi Hirsch points out that if we CELEBRATE those days (and not just theoretically acknowledge them) we’ll also be more aware of what we believe.

As I wrote last week, we are able to live a more Jewishly-identifiable life if we commemorate OUR special days just as we do Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July, and we’ll know when they occur if we obtain for ourselves a Jewish calendar.

Be well!