I was looking over my old sermons from the past while my youngest daughter Hadas was with me in the office. She noticed that I used to base a lot of my old sermons on popular culture - television shows, movies, and songs. It was a very different time in my life. However, Hadas suggested that I start doing the same thing again. So, I dedicate this sermon to her and a song that I have heard many, many, many times in the past few months in my home.

In the hit musical "Wicked", based upon the story of the Wizard of Oz, the young good witch, Glinda, explains to the young wicked witch. Elfaba, what life is all about. Glinda attempts to do an extreme makeover of Elfaba. Well, it's very hard to do an extreme makeover on someone who has green skin. Glinda sings in a happy, cheery voice that borders on the obnoxious - but it is a terrific song, "Popular. You're going to be popular. I'll show you what shoes to wear, how to fix your hair. Everything that really counts. To be popular, I'll help you be popular. You'll hang with the right cohorts; you'll be good at sports, all the slang you've got to know. Think of celebrated heads of states or especially great communicators - did they have brains or knowledge? Don't make me laugh. They were popular. Please, it's all about popular. It's not about aptitude, it's the way you're viewed, so it's very shrewd to be, very, very popular like me."

I think the one thing that all of us realize, gathered here on this holiest of nights is Indianapolis, this night of Kol Nidrei, that it isn't very popular to be Jewish in Indiana. The Jewish Federation tells us that there have always been and always will be about ten to twelve thousand Jews in the metropolitan Indianapolis area. Except for the Northside of the city, most people in Indianapolis have never met someone Jewish and have no idea what Judaism is about. One of my most memorable meetings occurred when I was attending a conference on the spirituality of aging in Columbus, Indiana. I sit on the planning committee, so my name was announced at the beginning of the program. During the recess, a young woman came up to me - she is from Brownstown, Indiana (Does anyone here know where Brownstown is?) and shouted, "A rabbi! I've never met a real, live Jew before. Can I touch you - I never, ever touched a Jew before." I don't think she got my joke, but I lowered my head and replied, "And look - I don't have any horns either." Well, this woman went home and told her family what she said upon meeting me. Her family told her she should apologize and since that time, we have become friends. Carol invited me to the dedication of the Lutheran High School in Seymour, Indiana. There must have been over one thousand Missouri Synod Lutherans in the room - and me with my dark mustache and yarmulke. I felt like Elfaba, the green witch of Oz, not very popular and in need of a makeover.

However, Jewish identity has always been about feeling different and being different - there is no way in getting around it. So, living in Indiana, really provides us with the classic Jewish experience - that we are a tiny minority that will never be popular. I know that for some of us it is still a challenge explaining to our employers why we need to be off from work tomorrow on Yom Kippur. I remember many years ago when another teacher made a comment to Ilene about taking off from school. "I don't take off from school on Polish holidays." "Well," Ilene replied. "If you want to fast all day tomorrow and sit in services as well, you are more than welcome to join me."

We, as Jews, have a unique way of looking at the world. We believe in the possibility of teshuvah, of spiritual renewal, of mending our relationships with G-d, our families, and our community. The beautiful morning prayer states, "O Lord, the soul you have given me is pure." Today, on Yom Kippur we shall confess our wrongdoings together in the moving chants of Ashamnu and Al Het. Each and every one of us stands personally in his or her private relationship with G-d and can begin the New Year refreshed and renewed. We don't need a rabbi to help us, we don't need a cantor to lead us - each and everyone of us stands equally before God. This is the power of teshuvah - the shaarei teshuvah, the gates of repentance, are open to all.

Many of you know that I teach introduction to Bible at Butler University. I require my students to write personal reflections on the Biblical texts that we read in class. One of my students once wrote about her personal sense of sinfulness. She felt overwhelmed with her sins. I thought to myself - what terrible thing could have a nineteen-year-old girl from small-town Indiana have done. Maybe she stole a piece of gum from the grocery store? Maybe she copied off of another student's paper during a quiz? But to be overwhelmed with one's sense of sinfulness at nineteen is a bit incomprehensible to me.

However, we, as Jews, have this special night of Kol Nidrei. The most solemn promises that we make to G-d are forgiven. The legal formula of the Kol Nidrei prayer absolves us of these pledges. In the words of the haunting chant of Kol Nidrei, they are shvikin, shvitin, bteilin umvootalin, la shririn v'la kayamin. Our solemn vows shall be void and of no effect. We shall be absolved of them and released from them. Judaism realizes that none of us is perfect and that G-d does not expect perfection from us - that is the nature of our humanity. Even the greatest of the prophets, Moshe Rabbenu, was not perfect. He struck the rock of the wilderness instead of speaking to it. However, although we cannot be perfect, we can change, grow, and develop. This is what G-d expects from us - to live a life of teshuvah - of renewal. We can become better people than we were. We can develop a new outlook on life. We can response to people in a different way.

The story is told about Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan, the founder of Reconstructionism, who taught at the Jewish Theological Seminary for many years, before he left that institution. He would explain the Torah portion each Monday as a sermon. On Wednesday, a senior student would present his version of the same material. Once a student took down word for word what Dr. Kaplan had said on Monday. When it came to the student's turn to explain the passage on Wednesday, he repeated Dr. Kaplan's Monday interpretation word for word. At the end of the presentation, Dr. Kaplan said, "That's a terrible explanation." The student complained, "But, Professor, that's exactly what you said on Monday." Kaplan replied, Young man, I have grown since then. Judaism's important word is not "sin" - "het" but renewal - "teshuvah".

Judaism profoundly teaches that we have the power to make our own choices in life and that we are responsible for what we do. The power of the stories of the Torah lies in that they demonstrate the tragic implications of our wrong choice. My Butler University students emphasize the absolute power of G-d while underestimating the importance of human initiative in the unfolding of events. My students tell me, "G-d knew beforehand that Eve was going to eat of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge." I respond that the thrust of the story is that Eve made a conscious decision to taste of the fruit. My students claim, "G-d must have manipulated the magicians of Egypt so they could perform the first of the ten plagues - the rivers transformed into blood and the frogs that engulfed the land." My response is that the Torah believes in the power of magic, albeit that the power is sometimes not for the benefit of humanity. Judaism teaches that humans have the ability to transform the world, that we are partners with G-d, in shaping the future. Judaism emphasizes that the future of the world depends upon each of us doing his or her fair share to transform it.

A story is told about a tailor who worked very hard but never succeeded. He turned to the rabbi and asked, "Rabbi, why is it that I work hard, do everything right, and yet have never been able to make an adequate living?" The rabbi answered, "Mr. Tailor, your problem is that you must make G-d your partner, You must work closely with G-d - with faith and trust in Him. Make G-d your partner." Five years later, the rabbi was walking down the street, and saw his friend the tailor, this time driving a fancy, expensive Rolls Royce, with a chauffer, obviously extremely successful. The rabbi asked, "How has such success come to you, Mr. Tailor?" The tailor explained, "You see, Rabbi, I took your advice. I made G-d my partner, and now I am very rich and successful. In fact, there foes one of my thousands of delivery trucks driving by right now." The rabbi looked on the truck and saw a sign that read, "Lord and Taylor." All of us have the ability to transform the world in which we live. The Jewish religious perspective has faith in humanity to reach great heights of spiritual achievement.

Judaism is not particularly popular because of its demands as a way of life. It is an all embracing religious discipline that covers some of our very mundane habits - the way we spend our time, what we eat, and how we behave. The very definition of kedusha - of holiness in the Torah - is distinction. Judaism separates permitted foods from prohibited ones. This is the meaning of "kashrut". I remember when I taught the dietary laws in a lesson on Leviticus. One of my students wrote back to me. "I never knew there were prohibitions on eating pig in the Bible. I grew up on a pig farm in Indiana." I responded to him, "I grew up in New York City. I actually never knew there were really people who grew up on pig farms." I guess it's fairly popular to grow up on a pig farm when you're from Indiana.

Judaism separates many days out of the calendar and defines them as holy. In fact, we have four more holy days in October for Sukkot, Shmeni Atzeret, and Simchat Torah. Your attendance at any of these services would be greatly appreciated. Judaism calls for the dedication of the Shabbat as a day of rest - to set aside a palace in time. However, it has been the very distinctiveness of Judaism that has allowed it to survive throughout the millennia. Judaism has always said, "No", to so many ideas - to paganism, to religious dualism, and to the Trinitarian faith of Christianity. It is not very popular to say, "No". However, Judaism has survived in its distinctiveness because of its ability to say, "No."

The great writer Cynthia Ozick phrases this brilliantly. "The child of a friend of mine was taken to the Egyptian galleries of the museum. In a glass case stood the figure of a cat resplendent in the perfection of its artfulness - long necked, gracile, cryptic, authoritative, beautiful, spiritual. "I understand," said the child, "how they wanted to bow down to the cat, I feel the same." And then she said a Hebrew word - asur - forbidden - the great hallowed No which tumbles down the centuries from Sinai, the No that can rise up only out of the abundant celebrations and blessings of Yes, Yes, Yes, the shower of Yeses that praise fragrant oils, and wine, and sex, and scholars, and thunder, and new clothes, fnd falling stars, and washing your hands before eating." There are many things that our tradition uplifts as holy. There are many things it says "Yes" to. However, there are many times it says,"No." The Jewish way of life makes us different. It is not popular to be different, but it is holy.

Jews are certainly not popular because of their devotion to a tiny little piece of real estate in the Middle East, a country one-third the size of the State of Indiana. The land of Israel resonates with meaning for us as part of the covenantal relationship between G-d and our people. Our beloved city of Jerusalem is mentioned about seven hundred times in the Bible. Israel is our yearning, our striving, our tikvah, our hope. You would think that no one else would care about this little tiny piece of real estate. However, Israel is the most unpopular country in the world. This Tuesday, the New York Times ran an article that was viewed as positive - that Israel is beginning to be accepted as a so-called normal country at the United Nations. What this means is that Israel might have a chance at becoming part of the Security Council in the year 2018. Israel finally was accepted into a sub-group of countries at the United Nations a few years ago, which permits her to seek a seat on the Security Council. Israel is part of the group known as Western Europe and Others. Well, since Israel is not in Western Europe - she is an Other. Israel was one of the first countries in the world to offer assistance to Pakistan in the wake of the horrific earthquake that has killed some 20,000 individuals. Pakistan's reply was that under no circumstances would she be willing to accept any assistance from Israel. Now, doesn't that make a lot of sense to you? Pakistan recently had a private meeting with Israel in which the country began to explore the possibility of having some type of dialogue with Israel. However, the bottom line is that Israel is unpopular and that even far-off Pakistan cannot have open relationships with Israel. Kuwait recently had a similar meeting with Israel. Kuwait made the same conclusion as Pakistan - it cannot extend diplomatic recognition to Israel. However, ironically, it was Palestinians who approved of the attack upon Kuwait by Iraq during the Persian Gulf War. Israel was neutral during this horrible period even though Iraq had launched scud missiles against her people. Kuwait herself expelled several hundred thousand Palestinians during the Persian Gulf War. But Israel is guilty because she exists.

Maybe there are some other reasons why Israel is so unpopular - maybe it is a simple case of jealousy at Israel's incredible success. In honor of Israel's fifty-seventh birthday, fifty-seven achievements of Israel were cited: Here is a minyan of achievement:

Motorola in Israel developed the cell phone
Microsoft in Israel developed Windows NT and XP.
Voice mail technology began in Israel
Israel has more scientific papers produced per capita than any other country
Israel has more than 3,000 high tech and start-up companies
Teva is the world's largest generic pharmaceutical firm
Weitzmann Institute of Science developed the cherry tomato.
Israel has more museums per capita than any country in the world.
Rummicube from Israel is the third highest selling board game in the world.
An Israeli scientist has discovered the cause and the cure for bad breath.

Most importantly, Israel yearns for peace with its neighbors more than any country in the world. Unfortunately, peace is not very popular in the neighborhood in which Israel lives.

For a lot of people, like the witch in Wicked - It's all about popular. It's all about how you're viewed. It's shrewd to be popular. But our tradition, our faith, and our people were never about popular. They were a dedicated and devoted minority to a radical idea - one God of justice and truth who had made a relationship with a small and tiny people. This faith gave them strength even when the entire world turned away from caring if this tiny people would survive. This faith created a beautiful way of life that addressed every aspect of human existence - to make living an art, the art of holiness. This faith gave rise to a incredibly dynamic and creative country, the State of Israel, and the most successful revival of ancient language in history - the rebirth of Hebrew. This faith renews us on this very special night of Kol Nidrei - when the rest of Indiana is eating, watching television, and doing homework. For us as Jews - it's not about popular, it's about being one of a kind. On this special night of Kol Nidrei, let us all join in this special honor of being part of the destiny of Israel.