I was a new mother

在 2004 年的春天，

and a young rabbi

我成為一位新手媽媽，

in the spring of 2004

也成為一位年輕的拉比，

and the world was in shambles.

而當時全球正處於動盪不安的局勢。

Maybe you remember.

各位可能還記得，

Every day, we heard devastating reports from the war in Iraq.

我們每天都會聽到 伊拉克戰爭的災難報導，

There were waves of terror rolling across the globe.

以及全球一波又一波的恐怖攻擊。

It seemed like humanity was spinning out of control.

似乎人性已經失去了控制。

I remember the night that I read

我仍記得那天晚上

about the series of coordinated bombings

當我讀到在馬德里的地鐵系統

in the subway system in Madrid,

發生的連環爆炸案時，

and I got up and I walked over to the crib

我起床走向

where my six-month-old baby girl

六個月大寶貝女兒的嬰兒床邊，

lay sleeping sweetly,

當時她睡的很香甜，

and I heard the rhythm of her breath,

聽著她呼吸的節奏……

and I felt this sense of urgency coursing through my body.

身上感受到的卻是一股急迫感。

We were living through a time of tectonic shifts in ideologies,

我們當時生活在 意識形態的結構轉變期，

in politics, in religion, in populations.

無論是在政治、宗教還是人口方面。

Everything felt so precarious.

每件事感覺都那麼的不穩定。

And I remember thinking,

我記得當時在想，

"My God, what kind of world did we bring this child into?

「我的天啊！我們把這孩子 帶到什麼樣的世界啊？」

And what was I as a mother and a religious leader

「而身為一位母親與宗教領袖的我，

willing to do about it?

願意貢獻出些什麼呢？」

Of course, I knew it was clear

當然，我知道，

that religion would be a principle battlefield

宗教是這個快速變化的

in this rapidly changing landscape,

國際情勢裡的主戰場，

and it was already clear

大家都明白，

that religion was a significant part of the problem.

宗教就是問題的重要部分。

The question for me was,

而我的疑問是：

could religion also be part of the solution?

宗教有沒有可能也是 解決問題的辦法之一？

Now, throughout history,

綜觀歷史，

people have committed horrible crimes and atrocities

人們以宗教之名

in the name of religion.

犯下了很多恐怖的暴力事蹟。

And as we entered the 21st century,

而當我們來到了 21 世紀，

it was very clear that religious extremism was once again on the rise.

宗教極端主義又開始盛行了。

Our studies now show

我們的研究顯示，

that over the course of the past 15, 20 years,

在過去的 15~20 年，

hostilities and religion-related violence

與敵對及信仰有關的暴力事件

have been on the increase all over the world.

在全球各地都有增加的趨勢。

But we don't even need the studies to prove it,

我們甚至不需要研究報告 就能證明這一切，

because I ask you, how many of us are surprised today

因為我來問一下就知道， 我們當中有多少人會感到驚訝，

when we hear the stories of a bombing or a shooting,

當我們聽到某起 炸彈攻擊或槍擊事件，

when we later find out that the last word that was uttered

那些惡徒在扣下板機 或引爆炸彈之前，

before the trigger is pulled or the bomb is detonated

呼喊上帝之名？

is the name of God?

現今這樣的訊息 已經吸引不了人們的關注了：

It barely raises an eyebrow today

當我們聽到一個人

when we learn that yet another person

藉著殺害上帝子民的性命

has decided to show his love of God

來展現他對上帝的愛戴。

by taking the lives of God's children.

在美國，宗教極端主義者

In America, religious extremism

看起來像是一個反對墮胎的 白種極端基督教徒，

looks like a white, antiabortion Christian extremist

走進科羅拉多州 溫泉市的計劃生育診所

walking into Planned Parenthood in Colorado Springs

謀殺了三個人。

and murdering three people.

也像是一對夫妻

It also looks like a couple

受了伊斯蘭國的鼓動

inspired by the Islamic State

走進聖貝納迪諾的 辦公部門派對中殺掉 14 個人。

walking into an office party in San Bernardino and killing 14.

即使與信仰有關的極端主義 沒有導致暴力事件，

And even when religion-related extremism does not lead to violence,

但也經常成為政治操弄的議題工具，

it is still used as a political wedge issue,

憤世嫉俗地誘導民眾去合理化 女性的從屬地位、

cynically leading people to justify the subordination of women,

汙名化同性戀、雙性戀與跨性別者，

the stigmatization of LGBT people,

鼓吹種族歧視、伊斯蘭恐懼症、 反猶太主義。

racism, Islamophobia and anti-Semitism.

這些議題值得我們這些關心宗教、

This ought to concern deeply

關心信仰未來發展的人

those of us who care about the future of religion

做深度地探討。

and the future of faith.

我們可以稱這些現象為：

We need to call this what it is:

信仰上的大失敗。

a great failure of religion.

問題是，這並不是目前宗教 所面臨的唯一挑戰。

But the thing is, this isn't even the only challenge that religion faces today.

與此同時，

At the very same time

我們更需要宗教能成為一股 對抗極端主義的堅強力量，

that we need religion to be a strong force against extremism,

雖然它目前正遭受著 第二波毀滅的趨勢，

it is suffering from a second pernicious trend,

我稱之為「宗教例行化」。

what I call religious routine-ism.

這也是我們的機構和領導人

This is when our institutions and our leaders

被困在一個很草率、制式化、

are stuck in a paradigm that is rote and perfunctory,

缺乏生命力、沒有願景、

devoid of life, devoid of vision

沒有靈魂的典型框架中。

and devoid of soul.

讓我來解釋一下我為什麽這樣說。

Let me explain what I mean like this.

身為一位拉比，最開心的事就是，

One of the great blessings of being a rabbi

站在結婚禮棚下，為一對新婚夫妻

is standing under the chuppah, under the wedding canopy, with a couple,

做結婚的公證，

and helping them proclaim publicly

聖潔他們彼此之間的愛。

and make holy the love that they found for one another.

但我現在想請各位

I want to ask you now, though,

就你個人經驗

to think maybe from your own experience

或者就想像一下，

or maybe just imagine it

下列兩組在感情的強列程度上 有多大的差距，

about the difference between the intensity of the experience

一組是站在結婚禮棚下剛結婚的，

under the wedding canopy,

另一組是結婚 6、7 周年的。

and maybe the experience of the sixth or seventh anniversary.

（笑聲）

(Laughter)

如果你夠幸運， 可以慶祝第 16、17 年的紀念日，

And if you're lucky enough to make it 16 or 17 years,

如果你跟大多數人一樣，

if you're like most people, you probably wake up in the morning

早上醒來，發現自己 忘記預定了最愛的餐廳，

realizing that you forgot to make a reservation at your favorite restaurant

忘記了祝福的卡片，

and you forgot so much as a card,

然後你只希望或祈禱 你的另一半也忘了這件事。

and then you just hope and pray that your partner also forgot.

傳統宗教的儀式與慣例

Well, religious ritual and rites

基本上是為了 迎合周年紀念日而設計、

were essentially designed to serve the function of the anniversary,

為了成為一個器皿， 能使我們堅守住

to be a container in which we would hold on to the remnants

那神聖、具天啟、

of that sacred, revelatory encounter

創造了宗教的遺風習俗而設計。

that birthed the religion in the first place.

問題是，經過了幾世紀後，

The problem is that after a few centuries,

日曆上仍有紀念日，

the date remains on the calendar,

但愛慕之情已然消逝。

but the love affair is long dead.

這時我們才發現自己 陷入在一種永無止境、

That's when we find ourselves in endless, mindless repetitions

毫無意義的惡性循環中，

of words that don't mean anything to us,

起立和坐下， 僅是因為有人要我們這麼做，

rising and being seated because someone has asked us to,

小心地固守著那

holding onto jealously guarded doctrine

完全與當今現實環境 脫節了的謹慎教條，

that's completely and wildly out of step with our contemporary reality,

深陷在敷衍、老舊的儀式中，

engaging in perfunctory practice

只因為長久以來，大家都這麼做。

simply because that's the way things have always been done.

在美國，宗教正逐漸式微。

Religion is waning in the United States.

世界各地的教會、猶太教會、清真寺

Across the board, churches and synagogues and mosques

都在抱怨，

are all complaining

要維持新世代年輕人

about how hard it is to maintain relevance

對宗教的興趣有多麼困難，

for a generation of young people who seem completely uninterested,

因為這些年輕人不僅對代表 傳統核心價值的宗教團體不感興趣，

not only in the institutions that stand at the heart of our traditions

也對宗教本身不感興趣。

but even in religion itself.

但這些教會裡的人需要明白的是，

And what they need to understand

當今這世代有一群人，

is that there is today a generation of people

他們厭惡宗教極端主義的殘暴，

who are as disgusted by the violence of religious extremism

就如同他們排斥

as they are turned off

一成不變的宗教例行儀式一樣。

by the lifelessness of religious routine-ism.

當然這些事仍有轉機。

Of course there is a bright spot to this story.

鑒於這兩種同時出現在 宗教史上的災難趨勢，

Given the crisis of these two concurrent trends in religious life,

大約 12~13 年前，我決定開始

about 12 or 13 years ago, I set out to try to determine

尋找方法重新恢復

if there was any way

我所屬的猶太教的傳統核心，

that I could reclaim the heart of my own Jewish tradition,

協助它在這個動蕩的世界上

to help make it meaningful and purposeful again

重新找回意義。

in a world on fire.

我開始在想，

I started to wonder,

要是我們可以利用 我們這一代偉大的思想，

what if we could harness some of the great minds of our generation

並以一個大膽、健全、 具豐富想像力的角度

and think in a bold and robust and imaginative way again

去思考世代更迭過的 宗教生活會是怎樣的模式？

about what the next iteration of religious life would look like?

我們沒有錢、沒有地方、沒有計劃，

Now, we had no money, no space, no game plan,

但是我們有電子郵件。

but we did have email.

於是我的朋友瑪莉薩和我

So my friend Melissa and I sat down and we wrote an email

開始發一些電郵 給我們的朋友和同事。

which we sent out to a few friends and colleagues.

基本內容就是：

It basically said this:

「在你要放棄你的信仰之前，

"Before you bail on religion,

何不讓我們在禮拜五晚上 小聚一下呢，

why don't we come together this Friday night

看看我們還能為猶太的 文化遺產做些什麽？」

and see what we might make of our own Jewish inheritance?"

我們原本以為頂多 20 個人會出席，

We hoped maybe 20 people would show up.

結果來了 135 個人。

It turned out 135 people came.

有憤世嫉俗的人、 有尋找生命意義的人，

They were cynics and seekers,

還有無神論者及拉比們。

atheists and rabbis.

很多人都說，那晚是他們有生以來，

Many people said that night that it was the first time

第一次度過這麼有意義的宗教體驗。

that they had a meaningful religious experience in their entire lives.

所以我去做了一般人在這情況下

And so I set out to do the only rational thing

都會做的合理事情：

that someone would do in such a circumstance:

我辭掉了工作， 嘗試去建立這個大膽、

I quit my job and tried to build this audacious dream,

重新改造過、重新思考過的 宗教生活夢想，

a reinvented, rethought religious life

我們稱這個計劃為《IKAR》

which we called "IKAR,"

它是「本質精華或 事物之核心」的意思。

which means "the essence" or "the heart of the matter."

《IKAR》在當今宗教局勢中

Now, IKAR is not alone

並不孤單。

out there in the religious landscape today.

有很多的猶太教、基督教、 穆斯林教和天主教領袖，

There are Jewish and Christian and Muslim and Catholic religious leaders,

順道一提， 他們之中有很多都是女性，

many of them women, by the way,

都開始重新定義傳統宗教的 核心價值意義了，

who have set out to reclaim the heart of our traditions,

他們相信是時候讓宗教 成為問題的解決方案之一了。

who firmly believe that now is the time for religion to be part of the solution.

我們要回到神聖的傳統，

We are going back into our sacred traditions

並認知所有我們的傳統

and recognizing that all of our traditions

有包含合理化 暴力和極端主義的素材、

contain the raw material to justify violence and extremism,

也有包含發揚憐憫、

and also contain the raw material to justify compassion,

共存、仁慈的素材——

coexistence and kindness --

所以當他人從我們的文章中 讀出憎恨與復仇時，

that when others choose to read our texts as directives for hate and vengeance,

我們可以選擇從同樣的文章中讀出

we can choose to read those same texts

愛和寬容的指導方針。

as directives for love and for forgiveness.

我發現

I have found now

多元化的宗教團體， 如東西兩岸的猶太教獨立小教會，

in communities as varied as Jewish indie start-ups on the coasts

比如女性的清真寺、

to a woman's mosque,

比如紐約和北卡羅來納的黑人教會、

to black churches in New York and in North Carolina,

比如滿載著修女的神聖巴士，

to a holy bus loaded with nuns

她們在這個國家傳遞著 正義與和平的訊息，

that traverses this country with a message of justice and peace,

都有著同樣的宗教價值觀，

that there is a shared religious ethos

在國內正以宗教復興的態勢崛起。

that is now emerging in the form of revitalized religion in this country.

雖然這些獨立機構彼此之間的

And while the theologies and the practices vary very much

宗教理論與慣例相當不同，

between these independent communities,

我們還是可以 看到其中的一些共同點。

what we can see are some common, consistent threads between them.

接著我就跟大家分享這四個共同點。

I'm going to share with you four of those commitments now.

第一個是覺醒。

The first is wakefulness.

我們生活在一個年代，

We live in a time today

一個可以透過史無前例的方式

in which we have unprecedented access

獲知發生在世界各個角落的

to information about every global tragedy

悲劇的年代。

that happens on every corner of this Earth.

有二千萬人，在 12 小時內得知

Within 12 hours, 20 million people

艾蘭·庫迪小朋友的身軀

saw that image of Aylan Kurdi's little body

在土耳其的海岸邊 被海浪無情的沖刷。

washed up on the Turkish shore.

我們也都看到了這張相片，

We all saw this picture.

一位五歲男童，

We saw this picture of a five-year-old child

在阿勒坡被人從 已成廢墟的家中救出來。

pulled out of the rubble of his building in Aleppo.

而每當我們看到類似的景象，

And once we see these images,

我們都會有所行動。

we are called to a certain kind of action.

在我的傳統裡有這麼一個 旅人走在路上的故事，

My tradition tells a story of a traveler who is walking down a road

有一天他看到了一間 漂亮的房子失火了，

when he sees a beautiful house on fire,

他說：「為什麼 這麼漂亮的房子失火，

and he says, "How can it be that something so beautiful would burn,

卻都沒有人看到或甚至關心？」

and nobody seems to even care?"

同樣的，我們的世界也正在失火，

So too we learn that our world is on fire,

我們應當敞開心扉，擦亮眼睛，

and it is our job to keep our hearts and our eyes open,

並認知這其實這是我們的責任，

and to recognize that it's our responsibility

我們要協助滅火，

to help put out the flames.

這件事的確很困難，

This is extremely difficult to do.

因為心理學家告訴我們，人們越是 了解造成這世界支離破碎的原因，

Psychologists tell us that the more we learn about what's broken in our world,

就越會漠不關心。

the less likely we are to do anything.

這就是所謂的心理麻木現象。

It's called psychic numbing.

我們在某個時點，關閉了心門。

We just shut down at a certain point.

然而，各宗教的領袖們似乎忘記了，

Well, somewhere along the way, our religious leaders forgot

帶領人們離開舒適圈、

that it's our job to make people uncomfortable.

讓人們覺醒是我們的責任，

It's our job to wake people up,

把他們從冷默的深淵裡拉出來，

to pull them out of their apathy

去感受改變的痛苦，

and into the anguish,

去堅決要求我們 做原本不想做的事情，

and to insist that we do what we don't want to do

去看我們選擇忽視的人事物。

and see what we do not want to see.

因為我們知道社會的改變 永遠只發生在——

Because we know that social change only happens --

（掌聲）

(Applause)

我們清醒地意識到需要改變的時候。

when we are awake enough to see that the house is on fire.

第二個原則是希望，

The second principle is hope,

我想說一下「希望」這件事，

and I want to say this about hope.

希望不是天真，

Hope is not naive,

也不是什麽麻醉劑。

and hope is not an opiate.

「希望」可能是對抗悲觀的政治和

Hope may be the single greatest act of defiance

絕望的文化

against a politics of pessimism

唯一的最佳武器。

and against a culture of despair.

因為希望能帶我們

Because what hope does for us

走出那個

is it lifts us out of the container

把我們與外在世界隔絕的 「容器」牢籠。

that holds us and constrains us from the outside,

並且希望告訴了我們， 「你可以再次豁達地夢想與思考，

and says, "You can dream and think expansively again.

它們是控制不了你的。」

That they cannot control in you."

今年夏天，在芝加哥南部

I saw hope made manifest in an African-American church

我看到希望已經在 美國非裔的教堂裡顯現，

in the South Side of Chicago this summer,

我帶著

where I brought my little girl,

13 歲的女兒，

who is now 13

現在比我要高一點點，

and a few inches taller than me,

去聽我朋友 歐提斯‧傌司牧師講道。

to hear my friend Rev. Otis Moss preach.

今年夏天，從一月到七月

That summer, there had already been 3,000 people shot

在芝加哥大約 已經有 3000 人被槍殺。

between January and July in Chicago.

我們去教堂聽傌司牧師講道，

We went into that church and heard Rev. Moss preach,

結束後，

and after he did,

100 個優雅堅強的合唱團女成員

this choir of gorgeous women, 100 women strong,

站起來開始合唱。

stood up and began to sing.