The Pope and I

Shana tova!  I can still say that until Hoshana Rabba, which is the official end of the penitential season (unless you’re Chasidic and extend it until the last day of Chanukah).  May you have a happy, healthy, sweet, successful, and peaceful year ahead.

I just returned from “A Witness to Peace: A Multi-Religious Gathering with Pope Francis” at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum.  It was an impressive gathering of religious leaders from many different faiths.  The rabbi and cantor of Park Avenue Synagogue participated in the program, which included a moving El Maleh Rachamim prayer in memory of those killed on 9/11.  (I had great seats as you can see from the pictures below.)  

Pope Francis did not make any bold pronouncements.  He just simply encouraged everyone to join together to work and pray for peace.  That’s it.  It was a quiet yet powerful experience of many different people from different religions who normally have plenty of disagreements coming together in that room for one moment committed to one goal.

On the subway ride back uptown, I was standing next to someone holding the program of the event.  We each noticed where we were both coming from, and we started sharing reactions to the experience.  We agreed that it was a wonderful moment of unity.  We both wondered why it could seem so simple in that room at that moment. but that the feeling can’t last.

  

                     

Maybe by acknowledging this feeling, we can work to make the feeling last.

People ask me if I am glad that High Holidays are over.  I understand the question.  This is the season when rabbis work the hardest, the pressure is highest, and often feels the craziest.  At the same time, I often reply that I wish the High Holidays would last all year.  This is the time of year when Jews are most interested in what I have to say!  I wish I could reel them in like this year round.

There is another reason I am not glad the holidays are over.  I miss that special "High Holiday feeling" when it's gone. 

While breaking the fast after Yom Kippur, I caught myself thinking: “One hour ago, I was leading the Neilah service for 350 people.  We were all praying and singing together, and the room was rocking with spiritual feeling, positive energy, and good feeling.  Now, I am chewing on a bagel…”

Now, I know it can’t be Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur all year round.  Even I could not handle it.  But there needs to be a way to capture some of that passion and commitment and harness it to last all year long.  I think the answer is the holiday of Sukkot.  To give you just a little something to think about, it includes all sorts of religious symbols, and messages, and observances, and sermon topics.  It allows us to lower the intensity a bit while still being very significantly engaged in Jewish living for another 9 days.

I love this time of the year.  I am looking forward to what’s left of the holiday season and to trying to keep a little bit of the High Holidays with me for the rest of the year.  Which aspects of the High Holidays do you want to hold on to?

Let’s make the feelings last.