Should We Say Shanah Tovah?

Is there anything Jewish about New Year’s on January 1?  Our initial reaction is no.  We have our New Year’s on Rosh Hashanah.  At the same time, there are a few ways that January 1 can relate to us as Jews. 

Novy God is the Russian phrase for "New Year" and also refers to the Russian celebration of New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.  There were no religious holidays recognized under Communism, so Novy God was the only national festive day Russians celebrated that wasn’t about the Revolution.  It was a day off and an opportunity to relax with family and have too much to eat and drink.

What’s Jewish about this?  (Besides the eating and drinking…😊)

Matti Friedman, noted Israeli author, recently addressed the impact that Soviet immigration has had on Israel 30 years later.  He writes:
 

Much about the cultural trajectory of the Russian aliyah in Israel - from nowhere, to the margins, toward the center - is contained in a story about Santa hats and mayonnaise.  This is the saga of Novy God, a New Year’s celebration beloved in the Russian-speaking world but unknown to the general public here until a few years ago.  “We didn’t have the 17,000 holidays that Israelis have,” as Alex Rif put it. “We celebrated birthdays and Novy God.”  For years, Novy God was celebrated behind closed doors.  This was in part because it involves not only optional Santa hats but a mandatory evergreen which looks, to Jewish eyes, suspiciously like a Christmas tree.

In the last several years, Novy God has started to get a higher profile in Israel as Soviet Jews (or their children) celebrate it as a sign of their cultural identity even as they have become Israeli.

What about those of us not in Israel?  Anything Jewish about New Year’s?

There are a number of Chasidic anecdotes that play up the significance of January 1.  It is said that Rebbe Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev would wish people a happy new year on January 1.  Likewise, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the late Lubavitcher Rebbe, once wished a Chassid a happy new year on January 1.  The Rebbe told his surprised follower that he was following the tradition of Rebbe Levi Yitzchak.  Another Chasidic master, the Ba’al Ha-Yeshuos, would bless people with a good year.  He would lightheartedly add that when God contrasts the non-Jewish celebration of New Year’s with the Jewish commitment to Rosh Hashanah, it would bring us extra merit.

My understanding of the Chasidic acknowledgement of January 1 as noteworthy and even spiritually significant is that the date has come to represent moving forward. 

There is nothing more Jewish than taking advantage of opportunities to acknowledge and encourage progress.  Especially during a time when we have been faced with so many challenges, we need to celebrate every chance we have to declare that we’re still standing and committed to moving forward.

So, remember to write 2021 on those checks (for those who still write checks), maybe try some of those Russian Novy God delicacies (they often involve salted fish, borscht, and mayonnaise), and, above all, let’s wish each other “Shanah Tovah!” for the opportunity to keep moving forward. 

Moving Day & Enlistment Day

Let’s just say Wednesday was busy.

 

Lots of boxes and Meira’s legs in uniform

On the Upper East Side of Manhattan, we (actually movers) moved out of our apartment of 14 years.  After 17 years in New York City, we’re en route to Atlantic Beach.

 

Across the Atlantic, our oldest, Meira, enlisted in the IDF. 

 

Both events are full of anxiety, pride, and excitement tinged with sadness. Saying farewell to a familiar place and a community we love.  Recognizing that our child is all grown up and now a solider defending the Jewish Homeland. 

 

This is an appropriate week for journey and facing unknown, new realities.  I think I can say that I have a taste of what Yaakov felt as he leads the Children of Israel to Egypt.

 

Yaakov also had to pack all his possessions.  He had wagons and not trucks, but I imagine there was similar chaos and emotion involved in the move.  That’s why God reassured Yaakov (Bereishit 46:3-4):

 

וַיֹּאמֶר אָנֹכִי הָאֵ-ל אֱ-לֹהֵי אָבִיךָ אַל־תִּירָא מֵרְדָה מִצְרַיְמָה כִּי־לְגוֹי גָּדוֹל אֲשִׂימְךָ שָׁם׃ אָנֹכִי אֵרֵד עִמְּךָ מִצְרַיְמָה וְאָנֹכִי אַעַלְךָ גַם־עָלֹה...

 

And God said, “I am God, the God of your father. Fear not to go down to Egypt, for I will make you there into a great nation. I Myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I Myself will bring you back…”

 

A family move or a personal milestone does not compare with the national journey of the Jewish people.  At the same time, I am bolstered by the idea that God is along for the ride.  Our momentous experiences are important to us.  They are also sacred.  Wherever we go and whatever we do, God’s message to Yaakov can steady our nerves as we encounter change and a new reality.

 

Al tirah – Don’t fear!  It is hard not to be afraid at all, but it helps to know that we all undertake new journeys in the footsteps of all those who came before us.

 

Making Chanukah Last

 

 

There is something beautiful about the last night of Chanukah.  All the candles are lit.  It feels like the Festival of Light has reached its potential.  The full menorahs challenge us to strive to reach ours.

In Chasidic thought, there is the idea of “Zot Chanukah – Zot v’od acheret.”  This has been Chanukah, but there is more of to come.  As Chanukah ends, there is a directive that all that we celebrated for the past 8 days continue in some form beyond the holiday.

Chanukah must make an impression. 

Snow angel I made yesterday in Central Park

As Chanukah concludes, we hold fast to the memories.  At the same time, Chanukah should change us.

The Chasidic master Rebbe Shlomo of Karlin (1740-1792) had a personal custom to light with wax candles on Chanukah.  He felt that when the wax drips and the liquid hardens, an imprint is made that lasts well beyond the eight days of Chanukah, whereas oil simply burns and nothing of it remains.  Wax candles symbolize the lesson that Chanukah must make a lasting impression on the soul.

One year he was unable to acquire the wax candles, and he used oil instead.  It happened that, one night, the menorah tipped over, and a small fire started that was quickly extinguished.  It did, however, leave a dark burn mark on the wall.  Reb Shlomo was actually pleased with this development since, once again, Chanukah had left its mark.

How will this Chanukah leave its mark on us?  What did we learn?  Which additional insight will shed light on the coming months?  Which gift we gave or got will remind us to be kind, to be attentive, or to be more supportive of others?

Chanukah is ending.  How will the light shine on?

Ten Seconds of Gratitude

I am not shy about loving Thanksgiving!  There is something powerful in having a day reinforce the power and importance of gratitude, which is a core value of Judaism.

Many of us are familiar with Fred Rogers.  I admit I loved watching Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood and even had one of those sweaters that he wore.  The man was a tzaddik, someone who positively impacted so many through his being our neighbor. 

In 1997, Fred Rogers received a Lifetime Achievement Emmy.  In his acceptance speech – which lasted just over a minute and a half, he provided a powerful model of gratitude and how easy and impactful it can be to spend just 10 seconds being thankful.  Here are his words:

Thank you.  Thank you.  Oh it’s a beautiful night in this neighborhood.  So many people have helped me to come to this night.  Some of you are here, some are far away, some are even in Heaven.

All of us have special ones who have loved us into being.  Would you just take, along with me, ten seconds to think of the people who have helped you become who you are.  Those who have cared about you and wanted what was best for you in life.  Ten seconds of silence. I’ll watch the time.

[10 Sec Pause]

Whomever you’ve been thinking about, how pleased they must be to know the difference you feel they’ve made. You know they’re the kind of people television does well to offer our world.  Special thanks to my family and friends, and to my co-workers in Public Broadcasting, Family Communications, and this Academy for encouraging me, allowing me, all these years to be your neighbor.  May God be with you.  Thank you very much.

It was a most impactful moment with a number of people in the audience tearing up.

We begin our days with "Modeh ani - I am thankful." Three times a day, we say "Modim anachnu lach - We are grateful to You."  Jews are yehudim, which means we have gratitude built into our very beings.  These days, we all have legitimate reasons to be upset.  Many lives have been upended, and many people have lost so much.  Nevertheless, there is always a reason to be grateful. 

Take ten seconds of silence for gratitude.  I'll watch the time...

And the Winner Is...

While we await the final results of the Presidential Election (and we may have a long time to wait), I’d like to share who will emerge victorious in this process.  This is not the winner on the ballot.  There is a clear winner who will emerge victorious from a process that has been full of anger, anxiety, and angst.

אֵיזֶהוּ גִבּוֹר, הַכּוֹבֵשׁ אֶת יִצְרוֹ

Who is a gibbor? One who controls his yeitzer.

Gibbor is usually translated as hero.  Yeitzer is usually translated as inclination.

I think we can interpret this expression to mean: Who is the winner?  One who can control one’s passion.  Or impatience.  Or rage.  Or hyper-partisanship.

I love a good election as much as the next guy.  The volume, however, has gotten out of hand.  I feel like the old, fuddy-duddy parents wishing their kids would just lower the music!

The 2020 election will be decided.  Some people will be happy.  Some people will be upset.  The winners will be those who can move forward with a positive attitude and a feeling that we are all in this together.

One of my favorite teachings is why we follow Beit Hillel instead of Beit Shammai.  The Talmud (Eruvin 13b) explains that Beit Hillel would study and teach both their opinion and that of Beit Shammai, and, moreover, they would teach the view of Beit Shammai before their own.

We should absolutely remain committed to our principles and our candidates.  We are winners when we remember there is another side.  We win when we tune out the noise and the anger and the disappointment.  We win when we want the best for ourselves and also for those with whom we disagree.  It worked for Beit Hillel, and it can work for us.

Mazal tov, winners!  

Be Like Avraham, Love Like Avraham

I’m a big Avraham fan.  (OK.  I’m a fan of all of our Biblical celebrities.)

Lech lecha.

Go.  Go for yourself.  Find your inner being.  Seek out a new path.

Ha-nefesh asher asu b’Charan – the souls Avraham and Sarah crafted in Charan.

Avraham and Sarah were the first outreach workers.  As Rambam wrote (Laws of Idolatry 1:3):

And thus Avraham went onward with his proclamations from city to city, and from government to government…When the people who congregated about him asked him concerning his preaching, he replied by imparting knowledge to each and every one according to his mentality…until there congregated about him thousands, even tens of thousands, and they became the people of Abraham's household, in whose heart he implanted this great cause… 

In 2009, I appeared in a documentary entitled Jerusalem: Center of the World to provide a rabbinic perspective on the history of Jerusalem.  In describing Avraham’s connection to the city, I called him, in a sense, the first mega-church preacher.  He was innovative and shared monotheism with the masses.

What was Avraham’s secret?  The Torah does not describe Avraham’s youth or any particular insights into how he developed his relationship with God.  The Midrash fills in some of the gaps – especially the idol store and the hammer account.  There are, however, a number of clues in Tanach.

One is in Isaiah 41:8, in which Avraham is described as: Avraham ohavi. This can be translated as, “Avraham my friend.”  I prefer: “Avraham, who loved me.”

Avraham loved God.  He was so full of love that it spilled over to others.  He loved God, so he loved people.

Avraham was full of love. He loved Sarah and Hagar.  He loved Yitzchak and Yishmael.  He loved Lot and Eliezer.

Sometimes, his love blinded him to the flaws of others, but it didn’t matter.  There is no such thing as too much love. 

Rabbi Rafi Feuerstein, a noted Israeli rabbi and educator, captured it well:

ומי שאוהב את אלוקים, זוכה ורואה את האור בכל דבר.

One who really loves God is able to see the light, the good, in everything.

Avraham loved God so much that he wanted others to experience what he experienced.  He shared this love with humanity.  Avraham possessed an ayin tova, a good eye, a positive outlook. (Avot 5:19)  Avraham had the right perspective.  He channeled his love for God through an ayin tova, to see the best in others and to seek out and connect with others.

We live in a world that desperately needs more of this connection.  It is so easy – especially when Covid keeps us apart or we have different views on who should be president – to be disconnected.  This disconnection is not by design or with any malice aforethought.  There is a lot that distracts us - cell phones, news, life - and not always a sense of fellowship for us to seek out others with an ayin tova like Avraham.

Rabbi Avrohom Pam, of blessed memory, was dean of Yeshiva Torah V’Da’as and a gentle soul.  Once, he was visiting a community as a guest speaker.  The rabbi sent to pick him up at the airport was anxious since they were running very late.

They moved rapidly past the gates, at which other flights were disembarking.  At one gate, there was a crowd as the arriving passengers were being welcomed warmly by friends and family.  Rav Pam stopped to watch the scene for a few moments, totally transfixed. The local rabbi tried to hurry him along.

In the car, the rabbi asked Rav Pam what it was about the airport scene that so fascinated him.  He answered:

The saddest of all human happenings is separation. And the most wonderful of all is reunion.  Whenever I see people, of whatever religion or background, who are joyfully coming together after a long separation, I feel spellbound, and I must stand by and witness that pure innocent joy as long as I can. 

A modern rabbi named Avraham appreciating the type of love modeled by the original Avraham.

The Torah (Bereishit 12:3) states that Avraham will be a source of blessing for all humanity.

וְנִבְרְכוּ בְךָ כֹּל מִשְׁפְּחֹת הָאֲדָמָה

All the families of the earth shall be blessed through you.

Rashi explains that the simplest was to understand this is:

אדם אומר לבנו תהא כאברהם

People will tell their children, “Be like Avraham." 

The people of the world will see blessing when more people act like Avraham.  It’s really quite simple.  Seek out God.  Love God.  Love people.  Repeat.

I say to my children: Be like Avraham.  Be motivated by love to connect to God and to people.  This will bring blessing to you.  This will bring blessing to us all.

Living with a Bereishit Mindset

 

I love the book of Bereishit.  It provides more than “just” the story of creation.  It provides a foundation for one’s entire approach to Jewish living.  It is engaging, full of life and color, and contains the stories that tell us who we are, while, at the same time, raising questions with which we must grapple.  How old is the universe?  Did that story really happen that way?  It is in encountering the text and in addressing – even if not answering – these questions where we forge the foundation of our faith and identity.

  

Bereishit is a guide to developing a “Yiddishe Kup,” a Jewish approach to life.

Rashi famously quotes the Midrash that the opening verse of Bereishit can be understood as teaching us: “God created the world for the sake of the Torah.”  What does this mean?  Torah is more than a source of knowledge.  Torah provides us with our worldview.  It is the source of the “Yiddishe Kup." 

As Jews in the modern world, our lives are shaped by what goes on around us.  At the same time, Bereishit is a reminder that we must try to filter that world through the prism of Torah. 

Easier said than done.

Nevertheless, when we say the berachot over the Torah acknowledging God choosing us to receive the Torah and calling this gift a source of eternal life, we are admitting that Torah is meant to shape our entire worldview.

Rabbi Norman Lamm, in a sermon nearly 50 years ago, told a story of discussing how Jews react to anti-Semitism with his uncle.  Rabbi Lamm had an American worldview, and his uncle was European born but also had a more modern outlook.  Rabbi Lamm was curious as to the psychology of a Jew who lived most of his life in the shtetl without exposure to more modern ideas.  How would that insular experience shape the reaction to anti-Semitism?

Rabbi Lamm’s uncle described how when he was a child in Europe walking with his grandfather, Rabbi Lamm’s great-grandfather, they were accosted by a young Polish peasant who hurled at them every foul-mouthed anti-Semitic insult often heard from both Polish peasants and intellectuals.  Rabbi Lamm’s uncle, having been exposed to the modern world, was shaken.  Yet he noticed that the older man simply continued walking as if nothing at all had ever happened.  He was impassive, unruffled, unconcerned.

The uncle said to his grandfather, “How can you just continue? Aren't you bothered by all this?”  Rabbi Lamm’s great-grandfather replied:

What are you talking about?  How can I possibly be concerned by the likes of him?  Don’t you understand?  I am a man who has Torah!  One who has Torah is never concerned by the ranting and the raving of some semi-ignorant lunatic.  The slings and arrows of that kind of fortune can never hurt him. 

I think of this story when trying to understand the sometimes radically divergent views taken by different parts of the Jewish community to the issues of the day.  Might one response be more Jewish?  Which side is that?  On the one hand, some reactions seem more traditional.  On the other hand, the times and circumstances may call for a different approach.  On the other hand…We’ve run out of hands!

The truth is, of course, complicated.  It is possible for divergent approaches to both emerge out of a Torah worldview.  Regardless of one's ultimate opinion, Jews should interpret the world around us through a uniquely Torah-informed perspective.

Golda Meir had many interactions with Secretary of State Henry Kissinger during and after the Yom Kippur War.  The Prime Minister marshaled many reasons for assisting Israel - the country’s geo-strategic importance, its promotion of democracy, its attitude toward the Soviet Union, but she also appealed to Kissinger’s identity as a Jew.

Unimpressed, Kissinger responded, “I would like to inform you that I’m first an American citizen, second Secretary of State, and third a Jew.”

To which Meir replied, “In Israel, we read from right to left.”

As Jews, Torah provides us with information, inspiration, and guidance on how to live our lives.  It also provides us with something more.  One might call it pride or maybe it defies categorization.  As we face a changed world that seems to spin out of control with many issues dividing us, it behooves us to grab onto one thing which never changes: Torah.

No Dancing? No Kiddush? No Problem!

How can it be Simchat Torah without the familiar singing, dancing, gatherings, and Kiddush? (No Kiddush!?!) 

 

It should be noted that Simchat Torah is a holiday that did not exist.  The Torah commands us to observe a holiday after seven days of Sukkot.  We call that holiday “Shemini Atzeret.”  Outside of Israel, this holiday lasts for two days.  The whole idea of celebrating the cycle of reading the Torah only became widespread around 1,000 years ago.  

 

Since this holiday after Sukkot now has a theme, the joyous celebration of the Torah, the name Simchat Torah was born.  In Israel, they celebrate a one-day holiday that combines Shemini Atzeret with Simchat Torah.  In the Diaspora, since there are two days of the holiday, we call the first day Shemini Atzeret and the second day Simchat Torah. 

 

While we may be have gotten used to the “normal” way to celebrate this holiday, the soul of Simchat Torah is the joy found in Jewish living. 

 

Rambam (Maimonides) teaches (Laws of Shofar, Lulav, and Sukkah 8:15): 

        The happiness with which a person should rejoice in the fulfillment of the mitzvot  and the love of God who                commanded them is a great service …there is no  greatness or   honor other than celebrating before God… 

 

On Simchat Torah, we reinforce that our joyous Judaism comes from Torah.  Usually, we sing and dance.  We encourage everyone to come close to the Torah.  We bring our children and show them a good time.  Judaism can be fun.  We honor the conclusion of the reading of the Torah, and we celebrate starting it again. 

 

This year, we need to do things differently.  This year, we need to dig down deeper to find the joy.  We need to get back to the basics. 

 

At the heart of Judaism is Torah. 

Rabbi Yosef Zvi Rimon, a prominent teacher and author in Israel, made an excellent suggestion for this Simchat Torah.  During hakafot, which will have to be different this year, dance in place while holding a sefer, a Jewish book of learning.  It can be a Jewish book you are finishing, or in the middle of studying, or want to study in the coming year.  After all, Simchat Torah is about finishing the Torah and starting it again.   Let’s each rejoice in our personal commitment to Torah study while in shul with the congregation. 

 

This year, when we cannot sing and dance together, when we can’t get close to one another, and when we can’t congregate together over Kiddush, let’s hold a sefer, a Jewish book.  It can be a chumash, a Mishnah, Gemara, book of Jewish thought, or any Jewish topics.  (I am happy to offer guidance and suggestions.) 

 

This Simchat Torah, there is one thing we can all do together and that’s express our commitment to the core of Judaism: Torah.