Community Development  Chancellor's Parashah Commentary
Parashat Ki Tissa 5762 Shabbat Parah Exodus 30:11 - 34:35 March
2, 2002     18 Adar 5762  Ismar Schorsch is the chancellor of
The Jewish Theological Seminary.  Writing in the week of my
father's yahrzeit, I am drawn to reflect again on some of the
spiritual heirlooms he left behind. One of my favorites is the
piquant term "soulless piety" which he coined to describe an all
too common phenomenon that results when ritual observance loses
its emotional charge and we find ourselves just going through
the motions. Judaism is a religion predicated on behavior rather
than belief; compliance outranks spontaneity in its scale of
values. Ritual acts mark the rhythm of our daily lives. But what
are we to do when we find our inner state and outer actions out
of sync? Soulless piety is what remains when ritual has become
utterly routinized. From an external perspective we are
complying, but deep down we are disengaged and unsatisfied. We
know that "Words without tho