June 14, 2013
Tonight is a special occasion. Today we honor those who have reached a milestone in their lives. We are grateful for their presence in our lives and look forward to their return, yet we also wish them good luck in all their endeavors. I ask ___ and ___ to come forward, to receive a token of our admiration. Whether in their room at home, a dorm room, or a room in their future homes, may these mezuzot provide a reminder of their heritage, may they be a sign on the doorpost of their hearts, that they keep our traditions dear, and hold them in their hearts. Thank you for being here tonight, and I pray that we will see you regularly in the future. Whether at OCC or Cornell, I pray that Hillel becomes a second home for you, that your Yiddishe Neshama, your Jewish soul, will guide your choices and your actions today and each day forward. You may be seated.
Today is Flag Day, a little known holiday. Two hundred and thirty-six years ago, on June 14, 1777, the Second Continental Congress adopted our current flag. While not an official national holiday, it is renewed regularly by presidential proclamation, reminding us to think about our blessed status as Americans, to think about the symbols that bind us together. Whether on the national stage or the Jewish one, we have symbols that remind us of our values. The flag reminds us of liberty, of freedom, of democracy, of the ideals of 13 separate colonies that did not always get along, yet chose to band together, declare independence and create a free country. The flag reminds us not just of the gifts of our American heritage, but of our obligations, taxes, voting, sometimes even military service. In our Jewish tradition, we have many symbols, from tallit and tefillin to Torahs, yads, mezuzot, Seder plates, or Hanukkah candles. Each of these symbols reminds us of our commandments and obligations. The mezuzot that we include today are not just pretty cases. Within them is a handwritten parchment, including the words of the Shema. We are commanded to love Gd with all our bodies, minds and souls, with our hearts, our lives, our might, and our resources. We are commanded to remember Gd’s commitment to us and declare our commitment to Gd. We declare Gd’s oneness, Gd’s singularity, and remember this when we lie down and when we rise up, when we sit in our homes and when we walk along the road. By putting a mezuzah on our doorposts, we have a physical reminder of our spiritual commitment, of our Jewish heritage, but also of our Jewish present and our future.
Tomorrow morning, we will read Parshat Chukat. We read about Israel’s journey in the wilderness and the challenges of water availability, culminating with Moses striking the rock. (While we have not worried so much about water in our recent rains, the availability of potable water worldwide is a major challenge!) Most powerfully, this parsha includes the death of Aaron.
Chapter 20:23 At Mount Hor, on the boundary of the land of Edom, the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 24 "Let Aaron be gathered to his kin: he is not to enter the land that I have assigned to the Israelite people, because you disobeyed my command about the waters of Meribah. 25 Take Aaron and his son Eleazar and bring them up on Mount Hor. 26 Strip Aaron of his vestments and put them on his son Eleazar. There Aaron shall be gathered unto the dead."
27 Moses did as the Lord had commanded. They ascended Mount Hor in the sight of the whole community. 28 Moses stripped Aaron of his vestments and put them on his son Eleazar, and Aaron died there on the summit of the mountain. When Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain, 29 the whole community knew that Aaron had breathed his last. All the house of Israel bewailed Aaron thirty days. http://www.jtsa.edu/PreBuilt/ParashahArchives/jpstext/hukkat.shtml
While incredibly powerful to see the ENTIRE house of Israel mourning together, more interesting to me is the moment before. Gd commands Moses to take off Aaron’s priestly garb and place it on his son. Before Aaron can die, he must pass on his legacy to his son. While sending a child off to college is hopefully not as final, it is a transitional moment, a time when we think about our values and what comes next in our children’s lives. In college, young adults have opportunities and temptations with far less supervision, yet parents must trust that the values they instilled will make for responsible choices--or at least that poor choices have limited long-term consequences! With the advent of facebook photo sharing, parents and future employers can see many of their children’s choices--whether they want to or not! When Aaron gave his son his priestly garments, he was giving him the responsibility to care for the entire nation of Israel, to offer atonement on their behalf. He had instilled in Eleazar his values and had to trust that Eleazar would use those values. In the same way, we are faced with such choices today.
For me, this is a special weekend. For the first time Father’s Day is not about buying a card or a tie for my dad, but a little bit about me! Yet I see it as a reflective time. What kind of father do I want to be? What examples do I use from my own father and grandfathers, or my father-in-law? How about uncles and brothers-in-law, rabbis, teachers, friends? How do I co-parent with my wife? When do I make decisions on my own and when do I consult with her? How will I be prepared in 18 years to send my daughter off to school?
Clearly these questions will not be asked nor answered all at once, but I pray that in the coming years, I follow the best examples of the ones I love. I pray that I will teach my children how to make responsible choices AND when it is safe and acceptable to be silly or goofy or simply let loose. I pray that all of our collective children grow to be healthy, responsible adults, who value the gift of a Jewish life, and use their Jewish souls to make good choices. Shabbat Shalom!
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