Summer is ending and soon it will be Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the time when most rabbis address their largest audiences. What will they say to us as we reflect on such a distressing year — one in which, to name only a few of the current crises, hostages are still languishing in Hamas captivity, Gazans are starving, antisemitism is growing and authoritarianism is spreading at home? How can our rabbis help us find meaning in a time that increasingly feels like chaos? How can they help us respond to the tragedies we see around us, both here and in Israel? What wisdom from our tradition will they offer to help us understand this past year and to act in the upcoming one? 

These are some of the questions we want our rabbis to address. But synagogue leaders must engage in cheshbon hanefesh, “spiritual accounting,” and ask ourselves different questions. 

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Are we keeping our rabbis from being the moral and spiritual leaders we so desperately need? Are we inhibiting them from channeling the voice of the prophets, so particularly strong on the High Holidays, so we can be stirred to deep reflection and meaningful deeds in the year to come?  

T’ruah recently convened 80 rabbis to support and strengthen their ability to serve as moral leaders. Many of the rabbis confided that they wanted to speak with a clear and strong moral voice but felt constrained by their communities. Many of them expressed frustration, and even fear for their jobs, if they spoke out. 

As a Conservative congregational rabbi at a large suburban shul recently told me: “I don’t like saying things from the bima that I don’t believe. I also don’t like to say things from the bima that would get me fired. So I never say anything from the bima about Israel.” 

This is a major problem — not just for rabbis, but for all of us.

If we want our synagogues to be more than just afterthoughts — useful for lifecycle moments but not places where we engage in thoughtful contemplation of how to live our lives — then we need to give our rabbis encouragement, freedom and support. 

So what can synagogue leaders do to ensure that our rabbis can provide the moral and spiritual leadership that so many of us long for, that makes our synagogues vibrant and relevant to contemporary Jewish life? 

Here are a few ways to start:

Don’t hide behind the claim that synagogues aren’t “political” spaces. Applying the wisdom of Judaism to the moral issues of the day is not political. It is the Torah of how to live a Jewish life.

Make sure your synagogue has a clear written policy ensuring freedom of the bima. A “freedom of the pulpit” clause names the right of clergy to preach as they see fit and interpret Jewish text and tradition in the context of contemporary events without fear of termination.

Communicate with your board and your members to make sure they understand that policy and that it doesn’t mean that they have to agree with what the rabbi says, only listen to it — and if they do disagree, to do so respectfully.

When you do appreciate what your rabbi says from the bima, tell them. Too often rabbis only hear from those who are angry. Remember that a small group of people complaining loudly, especially if they are donors, can feel much larger than it is.

We need rabbis to be courageous moral leaders right now. Let’s make sure we are not standing in their way.

Sara Litt is a former board chair of Congregation B’nai Jeshurun in New York City and immediate past co-chair of T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights.