Rabbi Weintraub
Congregation Agudas Israel
Rosh Hashanah Day 1
September 25, 2014
Boker Tov, good morning!
When I was ordained from the Jewish Theological Seminary, given semicha and declared a “Rabbi, Preacher and Teacher” of Israel, I was asked to put in the program a verse that was my inspiration. From Hallel, from the 118th Psalm, Rebecca helped me choose verse 24.
כד זֶה-הַיּוֹם, עָשָׂה Adonai, נָגִילָה וְנִשְׂמְחָה בוֹ.
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24 This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.
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Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch comments on this verse and notes the parallel of the vocal, outward joy, and the quiet, inner joy. He says this verse looks forward to Gd bringing “about this day when Israel, redeemed, returns to its Divine sanctuary crowned by universal recognition.”
To me, this verse is about possibilities. It is a reminder that EVERY single day is a gift. Talking to people at all stages of life, we hear this thought expressed again and again. When we have little children, we are told “don’t blink”, it goes by in a moment. As we get older, we are told “be grateful for every moment”, since we do not know what will happen to us next. While the specific phrases differ, we are told over and over to celebrate our lives, to be happy with our gifts. We are told to spend time with our families, that “No one ever says on their deathbed, I wish I spent more time at work.”
This verse is a philosophy of life. It is a declaration of hope. It is a command that we stop and reflect, not just on Rosh Hashanah, but on every day. This one verse from Psalms can bring us such joy, such hope, if we only consider it. We do not have to wait until we found our soulmate to enjoy life. We do not have to wait until our children are born to enjoy life. We do not need to wait until our children are grown to enjoy life. We do not need to wait until retirement to enjoy life. We can celebrate our lives RIGHT now, today. Through the mitzvot, through the commandments, through our love of Gd, Torah and the people Israel, we can find holiness, love, hope, today.
Not long after I met my wife, I remember hearing her rabbi, Mark Greenspan, of the Oceanside Jewish Center, share a powerful story in a sermon.
An American investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.
The Mexican replied, “only a little while. The American then asked why didn’t he stay out longer and catch more fish? The Mexican said he had enough to support his family’s immediate needs. The American then asked, “but what do you do with the rest of your time?”
The Mexican fisherman said, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siestas with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine, and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life.” The American scoffed, “I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat, you could buy several boats, eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing, and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually New York City, where you will run your expanding enterprise.”
The Mexican fisherman asked, “But, how long will this all take?”
To which the American replied, “15 – 20 years.”
“But what then?” Asked the Mexican.
The American laughed and said, “That’s the best part. When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions!”
“Millions – then what?”
The American said, “Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siestas with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos.”
Our rabbis teach the same lesson in Pirkei Avot, Chapter 4.
ד,א בן זומא אומר. . . איזה הוא עשיר--השמח בחלקו, שנאמר "יגיע כפיך, כי תאכל; אשריך, וטוב לך" (תהילים קכח,ב)
Who is rich? One who is satisfied with his lot. As is written (Psalms 128:2): "If you eat of the toil of your hands, fortunate are you, and good is to you"; "fortunate are you" in this world, "and good is to you" in the World to Come.
Today we stand and sit and stand and sit in a new building, a new room, a new home--a new addition to our home. It is a time of great joy. We have much to celebrate TODAY. Yet, I also ask you today for your patience. Our chairs sit on a new gym floor, yet getting into this room was a little complicated. In a powerful testament to the cyclical nature of life, there is something beautiful and poetic about being in a brand new room, in our longtime home, sitting on a mixture of owned and rental chairs on Rosh Hashanah. This room returns us to a memory of Rosh Hashanah almost forty-five years ago. At that time we ALSO were in a brand new sanctuary, Rosh Hashanah was celebrated on folding chairs, sitting on a concrete floor, without a bimah. This year we got the floor and the bimah--next year we will be back in that brand new sanctuary. Then we dreamed of a future, with two congregations coming together, building for the next years. Today, we dream of a future, with two congregations and the JCC, working cooperatively together. We share space and dreams, yet recognize that our congregations have different visions, different ideals, different philosophies. By creating Kol Yisrael, by working together, we ARE building a vibrant future for Newburgh, while holding fast to our principles. Working together when we can, we recognize the holiness in every Jew, building a unified community. At the same time, by keeping our identities, by recognizing the uniqueness of our own traditions, we are able to celebrate the gift of today.
Towards the end of the classic movie the Wizard of Oz, Judy Garland clicks her ruby slippers together and says, “There is no place like home.” A moment later she finds herself home, back in black and white, waking up to find her family around her. While not all of us have had quite the same experience of a traumatic experience followed by a triumphant return to family and friends, we all have come home from a business trip or even a vacation, sat down on the couch and thanked Gd for arriving safely home.
There is no place like home. For many of us, this community, this shul is a home. Some of you were raised here. Some of you have found yourselves here because of jobs, spouses, or other opportunities.
At this moment we are feeling a little sense of anxiety. We are in our home, yet not in our home. We are in our building, but we share it. We find ourselves dreaming for the future, yet living in the present.
כד זֶה-הַיּוֹם, עָשָׂה Adonai, נָגִילָה וְנִשְׂמְחָה בוֹ.
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24 This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.
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says that we cannot wait until the building is complete to rejoice. We cannot wait until every dollar is raised, every space furnished. We must celebrate now. We must thank those who have made donations of all sizes to build a home for the entire Newburgh Jewish community.
We all recognize that through our cooperative efforts, working with our partners in Kol Yisrael, we can inspire many more people to celebrate their Jewish lives. We can help them recognize the joy that is found in every “today”. By working together, yet recognizing our own independence, we find great holiness, today.
While we have had upheaval through this construction, it is nothing compared to the upheaval that are our Israeli brethren have dealt with this summer. Hamas terrorists sent rockets and missiles into people’s living rooms, killing innocent children and adults. After thousands upon thousands of rockets rained down, Israel responded judiciously. While the American or European response would have been exclusively airstrikes, resulting in enormous civilian casualties, Israel chose a targeted response. They sent soldiers to clear homes of terrorists one by one. They destroyed more than thirty terror tunnels, which were built for the express purpose of guerilla attacks, attempts to kidnap and torture Israeli civilians and soldiers. When there were inevitably civilian casualties, as there are in all wars, the numbers were nowhere near as bleak as portrayed in the media. For weeks, the Associated Press, the New York Times, and other foreign media accepted as fact the death tolls from Hamas spokespeople. This was the equivalent of asking Goebbels the German/Nazi death toll during World War Two. In attempt for sympathy, all casualties were declared civilian. It was not until near the end of the conflict when the Israeli papers and New York Times shared an analysis of those killed in the war, showing that the majority of Gazans killed by Israel were soldiers!
The conflict began when Hamas kidnapped and killed three young Jewish boys. Yet, even amidst their own personal tragedies, those parents spoke positively of the prospect of permanent and lasting peace. They did not support those who wanted only revenge. They said that they would have continued joy after their own heartbreak. Only yesterday, the original kidnappers died while resisting arrest, putting a sad but just coda on a difficult summer.
How do we rejoice amidst this sorrow? How do we find the good amidst this violent news? Throughout the world, we saw anti-Semitism rear its ugly head. Yet amidst that, we found Jewish unity in ways we have not seen in years. From right wing to left, Reform to (some) ultra-Orthodox, Israel found new sources of support among Jews. Around the world, we saw how very important the State of Israel is to our OWN health and wellbeing. After horrific anti-Semitic protests, in recent weeks, we saw huge protests against anti-Semitism. The German Prime Minister repeatedly condemned anti-Semitism. While European governments condemned Israel during the Gaza campaign, other than Hamas supporters Qatar and Turkey, the rest of the Muslim world was silent, offering no vocal support to Hamas or against Israel. I do not expect a complete paradigm shift, but in the Middle East, as Elijah teaches us, the still, small voice, the sound of silence is very, very powerful.
I am grateful for Israel. I know that if there was ever a danger for Jews to live here, there is a place I can go. If Gd-forbid, pogroms began in NY, we have a safe place, a home to which we can return. Looking at our history, that was not always the case. We can look around this room and see people who are the descendants of survivors, people who left everything, who lost everything, yet were resilient enough to make new lives here. In Israel, the same is true. In the War of Independence, there were survivors who came from the camps, went through the British camps, and then fought and died for the State of Israel.
Just a couple weeks ago, I went to Washington DC. Joining more than 250 rabbis in person and another 100 over webcasts, I studied with AIPAC. I heard from powerful speakers who care deeply about the rights of Jews and Israelis. They reminded me that no one complains about the right of English-people to have England. No one complains about Saudi Arabia’s right to be an exclusively Muslim country--yet around the world, people have trouble with the idea. I heard from Einat Wilf, a former Labor party Knesset member. She spoke of the challenges of dialogue in the Middle East--of supposedly moderate Palestinians who still wish for the death and destruction of Jews. She offered a compelling argument why a declaration that Israel is a Jewish State is a helpful test to see if other nations truly believe in peace. Yet amidst a challenging day, I heard stories of hope, of optimism, of peace, if not today, in the future. I heard from the “Green Prince”, the “Son of Hamas”, Mosab Hassan Yousef, the son of a Hamas founder and leader Sheikh Hassan Yousef. From 1997 to 2007, he worked undercover for the Shin Bet, one of Israel's security services. He helped to foil hundreds of terror attacks, protecting the lives of thousands of people. He did this because he thought murder was wrong, that killing and torturing indiscriminately was not a way to bring independence to his people. At the end of the day, I walked away with a little more hope. Even in Israel, there is much to celebrate today. Whether the success of the American-supported Iron Dome anti-missile system or the resilience of Israelis, we saw the possibility of hope. We saw that the technological and medical advances in Israel are absolutely phenomenal--something we can celebrate today.
Looking around this room, there is much to be done. We have work to do in our own community and around the world. We have funds to raise to furnish and beautify our home. We have funds to raise to protect Israel. We have letters to write, emails to send, to our Congressmen and women. Our president, our Senate, even our own NY State Assembly need continual reminders that Israel is THE only true democracy and ally of the United States in the Middle East. While Hamas and its neighbors see torture as acceptable, show no respect for the rights of women, gays and lesbians, and care not to support education; Israel does. In all of those domains, Israel needs work, too, yet it is making great strides. For that, the Masorti/Conservative Movement in Israel needs your help! Israel is a work in progress, it needs our help to be welcoming to ALL Jews, to ensure that we have a voice, that we can pray together at the Kotel!
At the end of the day, the biggest way to support Israel is to visit. I will be going in January to a conference on pastoral care, continuing to improve myself as a rabbi, while restoring my soul simply by walking around Jerusalem. Several of you travelled with me to Israel last summer. I think it is time for us to plan our next trip. Call me, email me, let me know. Rejoice in the day that Gd has made. Do not wait until the perfect time, but rather start planning now!
In our own community, building Kol Yisrael is essential to our future as Conservative Jews in Newburgh. Tomorrow, I will further discuss my philosophy of Conservative Judaism. I will teach about how I am inspired through our traditions, how I find holiness in every single day, how I celebrate every single day, using the tools, the mitzvot, the opportunities in our holy Jewish religion. Rosh Hashanah is called in the Talmud a yoma arichta, a long day. It is not called that because of how long the services are or how long the rabbi speaks. Rather it is because although every other day of the year is twenty-four hours, Rosh Hashanah is forty-eight. That extra twenty-four hours is an opportunity for continued self-reflection, for awareness of ourselves, our GD and our relationships. As such, I invite you to join us again tomorrow, when I will share my own beliefs, inspiring you to consider what you stand for, what your believe in and how you might find more meaning, inspiration and hope in life!
In the moments to come, we will begin the very special Rosh Hashanah Musaf service. Thinking about the values of teshuvah, tefillah and tzedakah, commonly translated as repentance, prayer and charity, we will see that they are so much more than that. In the words of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, we will discover that “By returning to one's innermost self (teshuvah), by attaching oneself to G-d (tefillah) and by distributing one's possessions with righteousness (tzedakah), one turns the promise of Rosh Hashanah into the abundant fulfillment of Yom Kippur: A year of sweetness and plenty.”
כד זֶה-הַיּוֹם, עָשָׂה Adonai, נָגִילָה וְנִשְׂמְחָה בוֹ.
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24 This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.
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L'Shanah Tovah Tikatevu, May you be written for a good year.
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