ROSH HASHANAH 1ST DAY 5782
Devorah, cranky because her husband was coming home late again, left a note, which said, “I’ve had enough of you and I’m leaving you. Don’t bother coming after me.” Then she hid under the bed to see his reaction.
After a short while, her husband Moshe comes home; she hears him in the kitchen and then sees him walk towards the bedroom dresser and pick up the note.
After a few minutes, he wrote something on it before picking up the phone and calling someone. “She’s finally gone...yeah I know, about time, I’m coming to see you, put on that...French nightie. I love you...can’t wait to see you...we’ll do all those naughty things you like.”
He hung up, grabbed his keys and left. She heard the car drive off, then came out from under the bed seething with rage and with tears in her eyes. She grabbed the note to see what he wrote. “I can see your feet. We’re out of milk and eggs; I’ll be back in 10 minutes!”
Devorah was so afraid of losing her husband, but her fear was all in her mind. [look in the Bulletin for text] Rebbe Nachman taught: Kol haolam kulo gesher tzar m’od (The whole world is a very narrow bridge [sometimes it gets so narrow that we don’t know if we can go on]), v’ha-ikar lo l’facheyd klal, (but the main thing is to never be afraid). Singing a teaching, is a profound way of searing that teaching into our hearts. This has been a year filled with fear, so let’s sing this teaching of Rebbe Nachman together so its message of hope fills our hearts: Kol haolam kulo gesher tzar m’od’ v’ha-ikar lo l’facheyd klal.
1st and foremost, let me tell you how thrilled I am to see all of you! The truth of the matter is, with your masks on, I hardly recognize any of you! But I am grateful for the fact that you still recognize me!
Let me ask you, with everything that’s going on in the world now, are you scared? In Rabbinical school, I had a weekly required class called Supplemental Rabbinics. In one session, a well-known pulpit Rabbi asked: “You’re sitting in your office at shul, and someone knocks on the door. He says, I’m sorry to come unannounced but I just came from the doctor, and I really need to talk. He sits down on your couch and tells you: ‘I’ve just been told that I have 6 months to live!’ How do you respond?”
I raised my hand saying, “I would tell him that while the news is devastating, 6 months still gives you time to get your affairs in order, make arrangements for your family and utilize and appreciate every single day.”
My classmates nodded. I was feeling very proud of myself. And then the teacher said: “I’ve been giving this lecture for years and that’s the worst answer I’ve ever gotten! You’re not his accountant! You’re his Rabbi. The correct response when someone tells you they have 6 months to live is: ‘Are you scared?’ because that’s why they’re coming to their Rabbi. They’re scared; they don’t know what’s going to happen to their family. They’re scared of how they’ll be remembered. They’re scared of what getting sick and dying will feel like. And they’re scared of the unknown.”
I’ve spent many weeks trying to figure out what it is I should say to you today—on this Rosh Hashana of all years, a year when I am seeing so many of you for the 1st time in since last Rosh Hashanah or longer…a year where the words we will recite soon at the Unetana Tokef prayer—Umi Bamageyfa (who will die by plague)—has been ringing in everyone’s ears, actually since March 13th 2020...that fateful day when our shuls, schools and businesses all shut down. Today we’re worried about our families, our country, our world.
Are we scared? Of course we’re scared. This morning we woke up to a world we would never have recognized just a year and a half ago. After a respite where things appeared to be getting back to some sort of “normal,” the Delta variant has hit us with a vengeance. According to Sunday’s Atlanta Journal Constitution, a 1/3 of our hospital beds are now again taken with Covid patients—exceeding last January’s peek. Every hospital is now full to the point of overflowing. My friends, ours is a world with more doubts than certainties. It’s a world that’s left us all feeling isolated, alone, distant from our friends and our loved ones—a world that’s left us scared.
On Rosh Hashanah we read the story of the Akeyda, the binding of Isaac. Every year I try to share with you a different way of looking at it. The simple reading of the text tells us that Abraham is instructed (Gen. 22:1-2) to sacrifice his son Isaac as a burnt offering. Can we imagine the turmoil raging through Abraham’s veins? A parent’s 1st responsibility is to protect their children. The drama is incredible. Where will Abraham’s allegiance lie, will it be with his child or with his Gd? When Gd calls Abraham, he answers Heneyni, which means, “I am here to do what I can for you.” Later when Isaac calls, Abraham also answers Hineyni…because he’s torn between his 2 allegiances.
The next verse tells us something truly amazing: Vayashkeym Avraham baboker (Abraham got up early in the morning) to fulfill Gd’s command. Among other things, this tells us that Abraham was able to sleep that night. How could he sleep when in the morning he will say farewell to his only child that he waited and prayed for 100 years?? Considering all the promises that Gd made that He would make his seed a great nation, that his children will be as numerous as the stars in the sky, how could he sleep?
Let me ask you, if your child is scheduled to have and MRI tomorrow because he has some pain and there’s a 1% chance that it’s cancer, could you sleep? No, you’ll stay up praying, reciting Psalms and pacing the floors! So how could Abraham sleep? In fact, he got up early, saddled his own donkey and did all the preparations by himself even though he had servants. Rabbi Michael Munk suggests: “One can only marvel at his complete trust in Gd which allowed him to remain calm and serene and sleep, despite the knowledge that he would set out the next morning to slaughter his beloved son.”
As they journey up the mountain, we read the only dialogue the Torah ever records between Abraham and Isaac. Isaac says to Abraham, “Father!” And he answered, Hineni v’ni, “I am here my son.” And Isaac said, “Here are the firestone and the wood; but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?” Abraham can no longer hide from Isaac what he’s about to do. So he responds: “Gd will show us, my son.”
Now what kind of answer is that? Is he just trying to keep the charade going longer? It doesn’t seem that way. Isaac will soon find out anyway. What is Abraham telling Isaac? Or for that matter, what is he telling us? He’s saying, “My son, Gd is going to have to show us the lamb...because I have absolutely no idea what Gd’s plan is for all of this. I have no clue, if I offer Gd my son, how will my children become as the stars in the sky as Gd promised? Nevertheless, I have faith that Gd will fit together all the pieces of this puzzle.
And then the verse concludes: Vayeylchshneyhem yachdav (And then the 2 of them went together). What we are reading, put simply, is the most basic definition of what faith is. Faith is not the belief that everything will work out well. Faith is not the belief that Gd will send a miracle to save you. We’ve all been through times when we prayed for a miracle and the miracle didn’t come. Sometimes it does, but often the answer is no. So, then what is Faith?
King David said it with those famous words from Psalm 23: “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of darkness, I will not be afraid because you are with me.” David doesn’t say, “I will not be afraid because You will protect me.” He says, “My fears are alleviated because I know You Gd are with me and You’re making the decisions.”
That, in truth, is what Rosh Hashana is all about. Put in a more traditional idiom, Rosh Hashanah calls upon us to coronate Gd as our King. We say in our prayers: Hashem Melech, Hashem Malach, Hashem yimloch l’olam vaed (Gd is King, Gd was King and Gd will be King forever). We repeat this over and over again along with other verses about making Gd our King because this is the secret antidote and vaccine to fear. If you have faith that Gd is your King Who runs the world and knows best, you don’t have to be scared.
Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik explains that Rosh Hashanah is the time I decide who will be the King in my life. What does that mean for us? Listen carefully. Among other things it means, Rosh Hashanah is the time for me to decide who will rule me? Will I allow my addictions to rule me? Will I allow my depression or anxiety to rule me? Will I allow my stress to rule me? Will I allow my insecurities to rule me? Will I allow my fears to rule me?
I may have depression and insecurities, aniety and fears…I may have an addiction…but will it own me, or will I own it? Who is the king in my life? To coronate Gd on Rosh Hashanah means that I declare, as we do in the Aleynu prayer we will soon recite: Ki haMalchut shelcha hi (You Gd are the King). It means that the part of me that is a piece of Gd—my neshama, my soul, which is not lazy, sad, depressed, paralyzed or traumatized—can now rule me.
My friends, never in our lives have we experienced such profound upheaval as we have with the Coronavirus. This year more than ever, we must have the courage to coronate Gd…and that means that despite the uncertainty, the fear, the anxiety…despite the fact that our lives have been shaken in one or more ways—whether with illness, financial loss, or loss of loved ones…we must proclaim that Gd is our King. And when we do so, then my addiction will not define me. My depression will not define me. My illness will not define me. My financial loss will not define me. I am so much more than all of that. What does define me? I am an image of Gd. Gd is my King and, therefore, He is with me. He has my back!
As I am fond of telling you every year, Yom Kippur is for confessing our sins and asking for forgiveness. Rosh Hashanah, on the other hand, is for us to consider who we could be, and what we can accomplish in the coming year. With that in mind, I ask you to do this year’s Rosh Hashanah exercise with me:
Close your eyes for just a moment. Take a couple of deep breaths…What are you worrying about right now? What are your fears? See them in front of you…Face them squarely as you proclaim, Hashem is my King. Say it with me: Hashem is my King. Once more: Hashem is my King. Again, Hashem is my King…Now allow your worries and fears to become bathed in Gd’s light. See yourself in this New Year bathed in a new light—the light that comes from Gd your King that you have just coronated, the light that tells you that Gd has your back and that He is always with you. See yourself healthier, happier, more prosperous and filled with purpose. Keep your eyes closed for one more moment.
To deal with whatever residual fears and worries that persist, I recommend we follow Rebbetzin Chana Heller’s advice—that we turn our fears and worries into prayer. Prayers like: “Gd please help us recover our losses. Gd please heal me. Gd please take care of my mom—help her to be surrounded by caretakers who are kind, and caring. Gd help our country unite in compassion to eradicate hate.” Whatever your fears and worries are, now take a brief moment to ask your King for help in this New Year. Say with me, Hashem help me! [repeat 3 times] Open your eyes.
My friends, Rosh Hashanah beckons you to allow your true selves to come out—your finer self, your smarter self, your talented self—unencumbered by doubt, fear and anxiety. You do that by making Gd your King! Find ways to develop a more intimate personal relationship with your King this year. Be your King’s hands in making this a better world through charity, kindness and working for good causes. Perhaps you can study each week’s Torah portion with commentary before coming to shul, asking yourself, what message does the Torah have for me this week? Perhaps you can take on a new mitzvah that you’ve never done before like putting on tefillin and saying Shema every weekday morning…or saying a bracha before eating anything, showing some appreciation to Gd for your food. Dedicate 15 minutes each day just to talk with Gd. Whatever you choose, find ways to develop a closer intimate personal relationship with your King this year.
Realize the power of your holy soul, as a piece of Gd. And if you do, you’ll be unstoppable…No fear will be able to paralyze you…No anxiety and no addiction will be able to rule over you. You’ll not be a VICTIM anymore. You’ll not be trapped by pettiness and smallness, by things that hold you back. Rather, you’ll now be opened up to the new opportunities of this New Year and you can take on any challenge.
Sing: Kol haolam kulo gesher tzar m’od (The whole world is a very narrow bridge), v’ha-ikar lo l’facheyd klal, (but the main thing is to never be afraid). Kol haolam kulo gesher tzar m’od’ v’ha-ikar lo l’facheyd klal.
Hashiveynu Hashem Elecha v’nashuva (Help us, O Lrd, to come back to You, and we shall return). Chadeysh yameynu k’kedem (Renew our days like they were before)…Not exactly the same for we will never be quite the same, but renew our days without the threat of fear and disease.
May Hashem grant us all in the New Year health, happiness, prosperity and loving relationships. And may He write us all in the Book of Life. Amen!
