Rabbi Philip Weintraub
Yom Kippur Yizkor
10/12/16
“If you choose good, the world is more than willing to help you out,” said a character on a silly sitcom this August.
TV marketers have discovered that people my age are rather nostalgic, although to be fair, I’m not sure that is entirely related to my demographic! When I was a child, ABC had a long running show called Boy Meets World, about a rather awkward kid (Cory), his best friend (Shawn), eventual girlfriend and then wife (Topanga) growing up in the suburbs of Philadelphia. Disney recently restarted the show as Girl Meets World, centering it around the life of Cory and Topanga’s daughter and her group of friends. While the show is mostly saccharinely sweet and frequently inane, it has such positive values, discusses important issues in simple ways, and thus keeps me watching.
A few weeks ago they had an episode about a classroom debate--the nature of humanity--are people inherently good or evil. The idealistic and upbeat main character was forced to confront the evil in the world, in the daily news, and in life. When she discovers her little brother had cleaned up a small section of beach, she responded uncharacteristically darkly--”why would you do that? What good did you do?” Her mom reminded her children of the classic story of the little boy and the starfish:
The little boy at the beach grabbing the poor sand-stranded starfish and hurling them back into the sea. The old man who asks the boy, “Do you really think you’re making any difference?” The boy, bright-eyed and righteous, who holds aloft one of his rescued starfish, delivers the line, “It makes a difference to this one!”, and throws it into the water.
Don’t worry, by the end of the episode, the protagonist, through the help of her friends, rediscovered her overwhelmingly good nature and positive spirits. If only all of our conflicts could be resolved in 23 minutes! Thinking more about the story within the story, the story of the starfish, I discovered that even a little throw-away uplifting story has its critics. They argue that the little boy should try to figure out WHY the starfish are dying on the beach--or even if the starfish have agency to make their own decisions and the kid is stopping their life choices--the internet can be a dark place! On an educator blog, I found a rewritten version--the drowning baby version--which when it was published two years ago was far less offensive than in the light of the refugee crises we see in Europe and the thousands that have drowned in the Mediterranean.
The kid’s grown up now, and he’s reading a book beside a gently gurgling river. Suddenly a drowning baby floats by. True to his nature, the Samaritan jumps in and saves the child. But pretty soon, another drowning baby floats past. He saves that one too. And the next. And the next. And the next.
A few hours later, his chest heaving, his arms exhausted, a cold dread settles over the man. He has realized the inevitable: There will come a time when I’m too tired to save even one more drowning child. That’s the point at which he looks upstream and sees someone throwing the babies in.
This version of the story asks us to get to the root of the problem. Not just how do we solve the immediate needs--which are no less urgent--but how do we ensure that we discover the big picture--to see if we can do something to stop the problem from the start. The challenges arise when we are not able to do change the instigating factor, when we know the problem, but are stuck with piecemeal solutions.
Looking around the world right now, Aleppo, the city which produced and kept for millenia the Aleppo Codex, a very early Jewish Bible manuscript, is under siege. The evil Assad fights to restore it to Syrian control with Russian assistance, yet “good” rebels and ISIS fight, as well. There is no good solution--yet the fighting in Syria has displaced millions of people, killed hundreds of thousands, and leaves many struggling to escape and find refuge anywhere but there. We know the problem, Assad’s corrupt government kept stability through oppression. It was the devil we knew--but it cannot retain the entire country. We can arm rebels, create no-fly zones, but until there is some peace, the flow of blood and refugees will continue. What can we do here? I have no more answers than I did last night. After the service, this afternoon, join me and Rabbi Freedman to discuss Jewish texts on refugees, on welcoming the stranger--and hear stories of our own people who found their way to these shores--allowing us to be here today!
Returning to my silly sitcom, Corey, the dad and teacher on the new show, said “How you treat the world affects how the world teaches you” and later “If you choose good, the world is more than willing to help you out.”
Last night I spoke about what we value, what reminds us to do good, our responsibility in this world. But what are we? Who are we? What is our life? These questions are asked in the daily liturgy and emphasized at Neilah this evening.
רִבּוֹן כָּל הָעוֹלָמִים, לֹא עַל צִדְקוֹתֵֽינוּ אֲנַֽחְנוּ מַפִּילִים תַּחֲנוּנֵֽינוּ לְפָנֶֽיךָ, כִּי עַל רַחֲמֶֽיךָ הָרַבִּים.
מָה אֲנַֽחְנוּ, מֶה חַיֵּֽינוּ, מֶה חַסְדֵּֽנוּ, מַה צִּדְקוֹתֵֽינוּ, מַה יְּשׁוּעָתֵֽנוּ, מַה כֹּחֵֽנוּ, מַה גְּבוּרָתֵֽנוּ. מַה נֹּאמַר לְפָנֶֽיךָ, יְיָ אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ וֵאלֹהֵי אֲבוֹתֵֽינוּ, הֲלֹא כָּל הַגִּבּוֹרִים כְּאַֽיִן לְפָנֶֽיךָ, וְאַנְשֵׁי הַשֵּׁם כְּלֹא הָיוּ, וַחֲכָמִים כִּבְלִי מַדָּע, וּנְבוֹנִים כִּבְלִי הַשְׂכֵּל. כִּי רֹב מַעֲשֵׂיהֶם תֹּֽהוּ, וִימֵי חַיֵּיהֶם הֶֽבֶל לְפָנֶֽיךָ, וּמוֹתַר הָאָדָם מִן הַבְּהֵמָה אָֽיִן, כִּי הַכֹּל הָֽבֶל.
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Sovereign of all worlds! Not because of our righteous acts do we lay our supplications before thee, but because of thine abundant mercies.
What are we? What is our life? What is our piety? What our righteousness?
What our helpfulness? What our strength? What our might? What shall we say before thee, O Lord our God and God of our fathers? Are not all the mighty men as nought before thee, the men of renown as though they had not been, the wise as if without knowledge, and the men of understanding as if without discernment? For most of their works are void, and the days of their lives are vanity before thee, and the pre-eminence of man over the beast is nought, for all is vanity.
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אֲבָל אֲנַֽחְנוּ עַמְּךָ, בְּנֵי בְרִיתֶֽךָ, בְּנֵי אַבְרָהָם אֹהַבְךָ שֶׁנִּשְׁבַּֽעְתָּ לּוֹ בְּהַר הַמּוֹרִיָּה, זֶֽרַע יִצְחָק יְחִידוֹ, שֶׁנֶּעֱקַד עַל גַּבֵּי הַמִּזְבֵּֽחַ, עֲדַת יַעֲקֹב בִּנְךָ בְּכוֹרֶֽךָ, שֶׁמֵּאַהֲבָתְךָ שֶׁאָהַֽבְתָּ אוֹתוֹ, וּמִשִּׂמְחָתְךָ שֶׁשָּׂמַֽחְתָּ בּוֹ, קָרָֽאתָ אֶת שְׁמוֹ יִשְׂרָאֵל וִישֻׁרוּן. לְפִיכָךְ אֲנַֽחְנוּ חַיָּבִים לְהוֹדוֹת לְךָ, וּלְשַׁבֵּחֲךָ, וּלְפָאֶרְךָ, וּלְבָרֵךְ וּלְקַדֵּשׁ וְלָתֵת שֶֽׁבַח וְהוֹדָיָה לִשְׁמֶֽךָ. אַשְׁרֵֽינוּ, מַה טּוֹב חֶלְקֵֽנוּ, וּמַה נָּעִים גּוֹרָלֵֽנוּ, וּמַה יָּפָה יְרֻשָּׁתֵֽנוּ. אַשְׁרֵֽינוּ, שֶׁאֲנַֽחְנוּ מַשְׁכִּימִים וּמַעֲרִיבִים, עֶֽרֶב וָבֹֽקֶר,
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Nevertheless we are thy people, the children of thy covenant, the children of Abraham, thy friend, to whom thou didst swear on Mount Moriah; the seed of Isaac, his only son, who was bound upon the altar the congregation of Jacob, thy first barn son, whose name thou didst call Israel and Jeshurun by reason of the love wherewith thou didst love him, and the joy wherewith thou didst rejoice in him.
It is, therefore, our duty to thank, praise and glorify thee, to bless, to sanctify and to offer praise and thanksgiving unto thy name. Happy are we! how goodly is our portion, and how pleasant is our lot, and how beautiful our heritage! Happy are we who, early and late, morning and evening, twice every day,
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וְאוֹמְרִים פַּעֲמַֽיִם בְּכָל יוֹם
שְׁמַע ׀ יִשְׂרָאֵל, יְיָ ׀ אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ, יְיָ ׀ אֶחָד
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declare:
Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is One. Blessed be His name, whose glorious kingdom is forever and ever.
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This prayer takes us down to the depths and brings us up again. It says we are NOTHING before the Holy One, but says we are EVERYTHING. From this Rabbi Simcha Bunim of Peschischa goes follows teaches a lesson I remind myself of regularly:
Everyone must have two pockets, with a note in each pocket, so that he or she can reach into the one or the other, depending on the need. When feeling lowly and depressed, discouraged or disconsolate, one should reach into the right pocket, and, there, find the words: "For my sake was the world created."
But when feeling high and mighty one should reach into the left pocket, and find the words: "I am but dust and ashes
The challenge with the pockets is knowing which one we need to look into! It is the challenge of the starfish and of the babies. We can do our part or we can be overwhelmed with the futility of the world. If we think too highly or lowly of ourselves we become completely ineffectual. Yet if we can somehow find the balance, the happy medium, we can raise our community to incredible heights.
This past year I have sat in on some phone calls with the United Synagogue’s Inclusion Initiative--sponsored by the Ruderman Foundation. The focus is on the inclusion of people with disabilities--but of radically rethinking what we mean by inclusion. It is not just fixing the handicap ramp or making sure anyone can have an aliyah, that anyone can get on the bimah--although those are essential steps. Rather, it is a reminder that we need to make sure people are truly welcomed, their voices heard.
As I have participated in some of these conversations, I have thought about inclusion in the community in general. We have so much work to do--with interfaith families, with people with less visible disabilities, with people with children, with those without children, with empty nesters, older folks and even those magical young families. Inclusion should not just be for a special group, but an understanding that ALL can be a part of our community. Do we want our community to be one with low barriers or high ones?
Mah anachnu? Mah hayenu?
Who are we? What is our life?
Our liturgy teaches us of the sacred relationships that we form through our traditions. Yes, we have clear expectations through the mitzvot. Yet we are not always ready for those expectations. They seem dated or not for us. So many of us or our children are simply not involved in our Jewish lives anymore. This is a failure of the American Jewish establishment, of synagogues, of rabbis and teachers. We have failed to teach the joy, the inspiration, the sacred mystery that is faith and Judaism.
On a certain level, we all know that “If you choose good, the world is more than willing to help you out,” said that character. Great good can be done by atheists and Christians and secular individuals. And yet, I invite you to discover the sacred in that great mystery that is your OWN tradition.
Last week, a beloved board member lost his mother. He sat shiva here and during the minyan, this room was as full as it is today. We are willing to come out to support our friends, but are we willing to support the community as a whole? Without each other, without all of you, none of this is possible! Our tradition reminds us of the importance of coming together at those moments. We have rituals for EVERY major life cycle. Why? What is so special about those moments?
They are the moments that stick with us. The holidays, the life cycles, Shabbat, they bring us together. When we are together, we laugh and we cry, we celebrate and we mourn. They are moments of STRONG emotion. And the guilt when we cannot make it work--well that’s a piece of the package.
In the weeks to come, I want you to do good. I want you to hear for the response from God and/or the Universe. I want you to do the right thing because it is the right thing, but I also want you to do it because it is the JEWISH way.
Without a political overtone, one of the responsibilities of citizenship is voting--whether in our synagogue elections or the national and local ones. If you live in NY, the deadline for voter registration is this Friday, October 14. Remind your children, your grandchildren or even yourself. We all have opinions about the election and we all can agree that it is an important one!
Mah anachunu? What are we? We are servants of God. We are part of a sacred community. We are the ones who look after one another, who support one another, and know that the world can be better--if only we do our part. Come dance with us for Simchat Torah! Light the Hanukkah candles with us this winter. Learn Torah together with me or anyone else! Be proud to be Jewish and share that joy with all who know you! “If you choose good, the world is more than willing to help you out.”
