October 2, 2004
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Reform and repair Rabbi believes his branch of Judaism has a unique mission
BILL TAMMEUS

This is the second in an occasional series of conversations with clergy and other religious leaders that will try to help readers understand the joys and frustrations of this work.Did you know from an early age that you wanted to be a rabbi?
Yes. I never wanted to be anything but a rabbi. Furthermore, every time the lottery gets up to a decent number - $50 million - I will play $5. ... The $5 buys me the right to fantasize what I would do if I won. And the fact is I wouldn't do anything different. Has some kind of wanderlust taken you from your native Brazil to Cincinnati to Virginia to Pennsylvania to Kansas City?And 44 countries in between, but who's counting? Everybody needs to have a hobby. I have a few. One of them is travel. ... I once went to Pakistan just to visit a Jewish cemetery. I have more money than sense.

The name Cukierkorn doesn't sound Brazilian, and I understand your family includes a major European rabbinic line from Hassidic Judaism. How did your family end up in Brazil?
Actually I came from a rabbinic family. My ancestors were all rabbis. My grandfather came to Brazil in 1929. Why did he choose Brazil? He had a brother-in-law there. My mother's side is more interesting. Her grandfather was one of the founders of the Jewish community in Uruguay. He came to Uruguay in 1930 when my grandmother was 5 years old. My (maternal) grandfather came to South America in 1939. He left on the last boat that was allowed to leave Poland. .. He met my grandmother in Uruguay, and they married. My grandfather on my mother's side was wealthy. But Judaism was so important for him that when my uncle was 16 years old, he came home one day and somehow (my grandfather) found out that he had a girlfriend, but she wasn't Jewish. In one month's time from that talk they had sold everything and were living in Israel. This was in 1972. They have been living there ever since - miserable. But why did he do this? He says, "You know, I did not survive the Holocaust for you to marry a gentile girl and for me to have gentile grandchildren."

One of your passions has been to find lost and dispersed Jewish communities. The term Crypto-Judaism is often used, "crypto" meaning hidden. Why is that important to you? When I was growing up in Brazil, the Jewish community (of Sao Paulo) was only about 80,000. People were close, and we all knew each other. It was common that people worked in our home as servants. They would watch my mother light candles on Friday night and say, "In my village, we light candles on Friday night." Or they'd say, "Oh, in my village, we kill chickens like that." I was always curious about this. It was worth exploring. To do that, you needed someone who could speak English, Portuguese and know Judaism. I did. I'm the world's leading expert on Brazilian Crypto-Jews. That and seven bucks will get you a movie ticket.You also do conversions of people in Spain. Why? I tell people, don't worry about being Jewish, just worry about being a good person. But people say, "No, we want to be Jewish."

What is your approach to traditional religious rules?
Reform Judaism says that the tradition has a voice but not a veto. Sometimes I tell my congregants, "I explain to you what the tradition is, I give you the choice." I would never introduce a Jew to a non-Jew (for dating purposes). My daughter is 6 years old, and deep down I hope she marries a Jewish boy. But if she brings me a boy who is not Jewish, then I have no choice. My job is to perpetuate the Jewish people, and you (do that) better if Jews marry Jews.

What do you like most about ministry?
Oh, the chance to have an impact positively on people's lives. Jacques can do nothing like that because Jacques wouldn't be allowed to be in their lives. But Rabbi Cukierkorn can. How often do you say to yourself, "I just experienced that"? Often. Also because I do lots of stuff over the Internet. My congregants sometimes take me for granted because wherever I am in the world, my cell phone works and they can call me.

How do you balance family life with the demands of leading a congregation?
First of all, I have a very forgiving wife. I purposefully chose to serve a smaller community. I was offered larger communities. I have a good reputation; beats me why. I went to a smaller temple because I didn't want to become so involved in just the sheer numbers of weddings and funerals and baby-namings

Why has your temple limited its membership to 300 families?
It's in the bylaws to allow for an optimum relationship of the congregants among themselves. Whatever we do for people, we don't have rules, we only have exceptions. So if they come to me and say, "I want to have a bar mitzvah, but I want to have it at 8 o'clock in the morning" - whatever they want. It's about serving them. I'm the one rabbi in town who performs interfaith marriages (for nonmembers). I'm the one rabbi in town who performs (them) with a (Christian) minister. We have to show people acceptance. I don't want to say anything bad about the other rabbis. They do what they think is right. Beth Shalom (the synagogue at 95th and Wornall) is moving, too. So we're going to end up being the only Missouri-side (synagogue). NRT (New Reform Temple) is not moving. That's a clear commitment. We're not buying a satellite building. My temple fulfills a unique role. I'm clearly on the farthest left of this community. So I talk for me, not the religious community or the rabbinate or even for the Reform rabbinate.

Should Christians and Jews do more to understand each other?
I think so. A great education for me has been to get to know a Catholic priest, who is a very dear friend. And things that I used to have negative prejudices about - like, "How can they be celibate?" - you get to talking to the guy, and I still don't agree, but the pope hasn't asked for my opinion on the subject. You know, I don't believe in Jesus. I'm not going to believe in Jesus. I wonder how can he believe in Jesus, but I respect his right to believe in Jesus. And he may think about me, "How can he not believe in Jesus?" I am against religious tolerance. Tolerance means I hate Bill but I put up with him. It's a very low standard. Right. What I aim at is understanding.

What is it about Reform Judaism, with its emphasis on tikkun olam, or repairing the world, that leads you to find your religious home there?
First of all, this will cause trouble with everyone else in town, but Reform Judaism is Judaism. The only way to be a Jew is to be a Reform Jew. Reform Judaism has always adapted itself to the times. Other forms become dinosaurs.

What do people in other branches of Judaism say when you say that to them?
Oh, they're not very happy. They can do whatever they want. Whereas they tend to be concerned with the survival of the Jewish people, I am concerned with the creative survival of the Jewish people. Survival for survival's sake is not enough. How can we survive and yet remain meaningful? Reform Judaism does not believe in a Messiah, the person that's yet to come. We believe we can bring about a Messianic era. Does a belief in a Messianic age fly in the face of human experience? Is a Messianic age one in which humans are seen as perfectible? I don't know. I mean, the Talmud says that even when the Messiah comes, people will still be eating and drinking and going to the bathroom. The idea of the Messianic age is to think about the age that we are bringing about versus a Messiah who is coming. It talks about the fact that we can perfect ourselves and perfect our world.

Your temple's statement of principles says social and civic responsibilities are religious obligations. What does that mean?
Judaism is not looking religious; it's how you act. This synagogue is far more understated than any synagogue in town. People come here for the real reasons. They want to raise their kids well. When I talk about the family and family issues and ethical values, you can see people are on the edge of their seats.

You've recently become a board member of the Kansas City Interfaith Council, replacing (Conservative) Rabbi Danny Horwitz, who moved to Houston. Why?
I did it because Danny asked me. Having said that, however, I feel that because of my openness and my nature, I will be able to represent the Jewish community well.

Your temple's religious school says it puts more emphasis on ethics than on ritual. Does that reflect your approach?
Absolutely. I try to spend more time with my kids explaining what charity really means. Every class collects money. But sometime during the year they have to decide what to do with that money. And it's a substantial sum. Every month we try to have a social action activity. When kids have a bar mitzvah or bat mitzvah I make them give 10 percent of the money they get to charity. They have to research which one and make a speech about it.

That said, what's the value of religious ritual?
Well, Reform Judaism says - used to say; now it's changing - that you do the ritual if you find it to be edifying. I don't think I have to opt, but if I had to opt between ritual and ethics, I'll stay with ethics. Embedded in Jewish history is the experience of persecution and evil.

How do you help people understand evil?
First of all, God created everything in the world, including the evil. There're a random number of people who are going to have cancer. If we both drink from the same glass of water and there's bacteria, why does one person get encephalitis and the other one doesn't? It's part of the universe. Things are random, and what God does is help us get through problems, or we as people of faith help others get through it. Jews have been an easy target because there is something bizarre about Jews in that they refuse to die. You squeeze them here, and they reappear there. I also think that if people had more information they'd realize that when push comes to shove, Jews are just like you. Or mostly just like you.

You just said God creates both the good and the evil. It comes from the Prophet Isaiah.Well, some would say people, not God, are responsible for the evil. Right. Nothing would exist in the world without God. Yes, we originate the evil. But then say a lion eats a child. God made the lion as well. God creates the world, and whereas God could act in the world - and I do believe God acts in the world, and I do believe in miracles - in general things run by themselves on autopilot.

What is your least favorite - or most frustrating - part of ministry?
I think when people "priestinize" me (laughs at his made-up word) when they say, "Rabbi, pray for me." I say, "You pray for yourself." Or, "I'll pray with you." Or, "Rabbi, raise my kids Jewish for me." I'm not sure I can raise my own kids Jewish. How can I raise theirs? I think the negative side for my family is my constantly being on call.

When you need a pastor, a teacher, a counselor, a rabbi, what do you do?
I call (Rabbi) Mark Levin (of Beth Torah, a Reform congregation in Overland Park). I call the rabbi I grew up with. I call my teachers in rabbinical school. I call my brother, who's a rabbi also (in Mississippi). I have a guru in Santa Fe who's a writer.

Do you ever get to the point that you just have to get away from this work?
No, I love being a rabbi.You hear about clergy who experience burnout. I've never felt that. It doesn't happen to me. I worry more when nobody's calling me.

How can you tell you're succeeding in ministry?
First, in general, I have to be true to myself. The second is if, after interaction with you, people feel more likely to bring Judaism into their lives. It takes a while to know if you're successful.

What's the most important thing you've learned doing ministry?
You need to meet people where they are and listen to them.

Is there one thing you've always wanted to say in a sermon that you haven't for one reason or another?
Oh, no. When you're Jacques Cukierkorn, you say whatever you have to say. But sometimes you have to be political.

To reach Bill Tammeus, call (816) 234-4437, or send e-mail to tammeus@kcstar.com. PhotosJILL TOYOSHIBA/The Kansas City Star