A Menorah on the Courthouse Lawn?

A Menorah on the Courthouse Lawn?
Rabbi Michael Ragozin, Congregation Sha'are Shalom, Leesburg, VA
Originally appeared: February 2009 synagogue bulletin
Current month's bulletin available at www.sha-areshalom.org

Sometimes what I believe is not what I feel. Take this year’s display of a menorah on the courthouse lawn, for example. I believe that religious symbols belong in religious institutions and private places, not in the public square. However, the display of a Nativity scene (crèche), menorah, and Sikh flag on the lawn of the county courthouse at the corner of King Street and Market Street was a beautiful expression of interfaith co-existence. What’s more important, my convictions or my experience?

Many of you have seen the crèche in years past. This year, the individuals responsible for the crèche approached Beth Chaverim in Ashburn about participating in the winter display. Subsequently, an individual at Beth Chaverim, active in interfaith work, approached members of the interfaith group, Loudoun Bridges, about joining in the winter display. Ultimately, a five-foot menorah and Sikh flag were displayed with the crèche.

Passing the intersection of King and Market streets during Hanukkah, I felt a sense of pride seeing our people represented in the public square. Moreover, the inclusion of the Sikh community was transformative: it brought forth the interfaith nature of the display in a way that I have not appreciated in previous winter displays when only Christian and Jewish symbols are present. Though I did not attend the dedication ceremony, I have heard positive responses to this year’s winter display. Next year the Muslim community may also participate.

However, are not separation of church and state and religious freedom cornerstones of our democracy, ensuring that all people feel welcome and that they will be treated fairly? Through their placement on the courthouse lawn, these symbols become associated with the court, which is charged with upholding and preserving equality under the law. Isn’t it more appropriate in a country, which is built on diversity and religious freedom, to keep religious symbols in private spaces: places of worship, homes, and businesses?

I have framed this issue as one of belief and conviction versus feeling and experience. Nevertheless, we also can consider this issue solely in terms of belief. Perhaps more than anything else, Judaism values and implores us to strive for justice and peace. Are justice and peace, or the perception of them, compromised by the display of religious symbols on the courthouse lawn? Or does the interfaith nature of this year’s display, which signals religious tolerance, acceptance and unity, promote justice and peace in Loudoun County? The incongruity between my belief that religious symbols do not belong in the public square and the beauty of this year’s interfaith display creates a dilemma for me. If invited, should Sha’are Shalom participate next year?

There are additional complexities to this dilemma. Should we consider the importance, function, and visual power of the specific religious symbols in the display? Would we feel differently if the display were in a different location? What if other groups join the winter display? Finally, is our response affected by the probability that this year’s display will exist next year, with or without our blessing and participation?

Whether you saw this year’s display or are reading about it for the first time, I’d like to know how you feel. What are your thoughts on this issue? Let’s talk about it.

Peace and blessing,

Rabbi Michael