What makes someone Jewish?  Is it a yarmulke on their head? Who their parents are?  Whether they eat gefilte fish or had a Bat Mitzvah?  Or is being Jewish a way of thinking and behaving with a deep knowledge of the Torah and its lessons and values?  Is being Jewish something we are or something we do?

I would argue that Judaism is something we feel and something we do and that they are mutually exclusive.

By that I mean, that we cannot pray thrice daily and at the same time ignore the plight of others nor can we choose to only work in soup kitchens and ignore the laws of kosher because we are engaged in good deeds. In Judaism we need to participate in the ceremonial and the spiritual - the prayers of the heart and of the hand to maximize the message and essence of Judaism.

A few weeks ago I had the blessing of meeting a sweet, innocent and adorable, 18 month old baby boy named, Ezra. He is in desperate need of a bone marrow transplant. As I painlessly had my cheek swabbed I saw his mother and father doting on Ezra and playing and singing with him, as all loving parents would. Dori and I asked what we could do to help them. They answered earnestly, find more possible donors and keep Ezra in your prayers. We are doing both.

This Sunday, from 9:15 AM until 1:00 PM, Temple Emanu-El will be hosting a bone marrow drive for Ezra. We ask that you take 10 minutes out of your morning and swab your cheek for Ezra. Perhaps you will be his match, perhaps a match for another person in need somewhere else in the world. You can only help by joining the registry and stopping for a few minutes to help.

Being Jewish is more than a feeling and more than our lineage and greater than our Torah knowledge. It taking said knowledge and applying it. It is realizing that the yarmulke on our heads remind us of a greater role to the world. It is a call to action.

Please join me in expressing your Jewish-ness this Sunday when we swab our cheek for Ezra - and for others in need - and include him in our prayers and our deeds.

Shabbat Shalom.

David