Making the Minyan

 

I asked the man, I saw how many Jews in this town
He said to me there used to be a Minyan around,
But one of us passed away and we’ve been feeling down
Yet now it seems as though another Jew has been found,
Won’t you stay with us for Shabbos, Minyan Man.

If you are of a certain age, background, or have kids who attended Jewish days schools, you recognize the lyrics from “Minyan Man.” The song was composed and written by Victor Shine in 1982 and recorded on a 1987 Schlock Rock album by Lenny Solomon and Gershon Veroba. It is a soulful tale of a Birmingham, Alabama synagogue, its struggle to get a minyan, and the joy of the tenth man. Shlock Rock considers the song, which became a Shabbat oneg, campfire, and kumsitz favorite, one of their top five all-time hits.

“Minyan Man” resonates deeply because it is true: There is great significance in making the minyan and completing the community, and all it takes is one person.

When God informs Avraham of His plans to destroy Sodom, he famously protests and demands that God relent if there are enough righteous individuals in their midst. He begins by hoping there are fifty tzaddikim - ten righteous men for each of the five localities concerned could reverse God’s verdict of destruction. We all know what comes next. Avraham continually requests smaller numbers, hoping to save some of the cities, until he finally asks God to spare Sodom if there are just ten. Alas, there are not even 10 tzaddikim.

We learn from this episode the importance and power of a minyan. Sodom couldn’t muster a minyan, so it was doomed to destruction. Similarly, without a minyan, Jews lack the ability to form an impactful, holy community.

While ten men comprise a minyan, there is also something very powerful of going from nine to ten.

When Avraham is told there aren’t 50 righteous in the region, he asks God to spare the five cities if there are 45 tzaddikim. What’s the significance of 45?  The Midrash notes that Avraham’s logic is that, even if there aren’t 10 righteous individuals in each city, maybe there would be nine “and You, the All-Righteous One of the Universe, can be counted with them to get to ten!”

While God does not accept the argument, we can appreciate the power of “nine plus one,” of needing that one extra force, person, or soul to complete the congregation.

The Talmud (Sanhedrin 39a) teaches, “Upon every group of ten, the Divine Presence dwells.” When ten Jews gather – men or women, adults or children, we create community.

Abba Kovner was one of the leaders of the Vilna Ghetto and the Polish resistance. After the Holocaust, he made aliyah and became a writer and poet. He describes Abba Kovner a visit he made to the Kotel. He approached the wall but stopped one step away from the stones - the place had no meaning for him. He felt rooted in a different experience and wasn’t ready to approach the Kotel.

Then, someone tugged on his sleeve and asked him to join a minyan.

So, Abba Kovner, a Holocaust resistance hero who wasn’t particularly religious, put on a hat and joined the prayers. Suddenly, he belonged. He concluded the story by noting that the nine need the one and the one needs the nine.

Avraham did not save Sodom, but his protest introduced us to the power of the Minyan and the critical role each of us can play to make the Minyan. It is not only the technical prayer quorum. Each of us can “make the minyan” of doing good, encouraging good, and tipping the balance of the community in the right direction. We should not think that someone else will “make the minyan.”

The Chofetz Chaim once spoke at a major rabbinic gathering. He stressed that it was incumbent upon every individual to be involved in strengthening the community. One who can teach children should teach children; one who can give generously to support the community should give generously; one who can assist the sick or elderly should assist the sick or elderly. Everyone should do what they could according to their ability.

Several hours later, the Chofetz Chaim surprisingly asked to speak again. He explained that after his first speech, he heard that some people were saying, “The Chofetz Chaim is only speaking about rabbis and leaders; the message was not for the average people like me.”

“Absolutely not!” the rabbi concluded. “If there’s a fire raging, you don’t wait for someone else to the save the city. You put it out. Every person must view themself as the only person who can help. Do everything you can to benefit others.”

We each have the power to be the tenth, make the minyan, improve the community, or even save the city.  

Avraham understood the power of the Minyan, of the ten, of the nine plus one. Whether it be in Mobile, Alabama, Manhattan, or Atlantic Beach, we need each other. That’s how we have survived, and that’s how we thrive. The nine need the one, and the one needs the nine. 

Let’s all make the minyan!