Rosh
Hashana Day 1 – Confronting Fear
2019
– 5780
As I sat down to write my sermons
for the holidays this year, I realized that an overwhelming feeling I had about
events in the world today was one of fear and dread. It has been an awful year
for the world and for our Jewish community in particular. Just 11 months ago
our brothers and sisters at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh
experienced a harrowing and terrifying shooting. As we know, as Jews were
gathering for the shabbat services in the building, 11 were gunned down. If
that weren’t enough to frighten the American Jewish community, just 6 months
later, on the last day of Passover as Jews were about to recite the
Yizkor-memorial prayers, another shooting occurred in a synagogue in Poway, CA
leaving 1 dead and three injured. Our place as Jews in America which we have
taken for granted and have been blessed is now more precarious.
So many mass shootings have
occurred this past year in shopping malls, at schools, and in office buildings.
Parents send their children to school not knowing whether they will be safe. We
go shopping not knowing whether an incident will occur. There is no reason why
Congress can’t pass serious and meaningful gun control legislation. The fact
that our elected officials have not acted is inexcusable. Every day that goes
by without Congress acting is another day that our lives are threatened.
Many social justice issues that we
hold dear are also being threatened. As Jews we should be welcoming to the
stranger and encouraging our country to open its border in a coherent and safe
way to people who are legitimately seeking asylum. There is no reason why
people who are literally running for their lives don’t have the opportunity to
seek freedom and safety in our country and instead are met by a figurative and
literal wall stopping them in their path.
Ocean waters are rising, weather
events are becoming more frequent and more severe and yet our government
chooses to ignore these signs. Though 195 countries have signed the landmark Paris Agreement of
2016, a UN sponsored agreement which addresses greenhouse gas emissions and its
effect on the ozone layer and our global climate, our government decided to
withdraw from it. Though it seems
obvious that our environment is threatened, it is even more shocking and
frightening that our government has allowed 12 of our national
parks to be open to drilling for oil and natural gas.
These
are just some of the issues that are weighing on my mind today. A few weeks ago,
I attended a Washington Board of Rabbis meeting – our first of the year. It was
a high holiday sermon seminar where 5 local colleagues shared ideas that they
were working on for the new year. I was surprised to see nearly 40 rabbis in
attendance but in retrospect maybe I shouldn’t have been so surprised. I think
all of us in that room were gathered to try to articulate our despair and
angst. Rabbi Rachel Ackerman of Temple Shalom in Silver Spring was one of the 5
rabbis who presented, and she shared a beautiful insight about Rebbe Nachman of
Bratslav.
When
traveling around Israel it is common to see the following phrase spray painted
on buildings, printed on bumper stickers on cars and even embroidered on big
white kippot on people’s heads – na, nach, nachma, Nachman, Nachman me-Uman.
It looks and sounds like gibberish until the last part when it is understood
that it is referring to Nachman from the Ukrainian town of Uman. Rebbe Nachman of
Breslov, a great grandson of the Baal Shem Tov, was the founder of the Breslov
dynasty of Hassidism. He lived in the late 18th and early 19th
century mostly in what is now the Ukraine. He was known for promoting serious
Talmudic scholarship along with a very deep and personal mystical approach to
God. That combination formed him into a charismatic personality that attracted
hundreds of disciples.
Today, among non-Hassidim, he is
best known for a phrase that has been popularized in song. We may know it from
camp or from Hebrew school and we may not even realize what we are singing
because of the lively tune. (Sing it quickly) Kol ha-olam kulo gesher tzar
me’od ve-ha-ikar lo le-facheid klal – the whole world is a narrow bridge
and the point is not to be afraid. It’s a profound statement in which we
recognize our precarious place in the world and how we are supposed to respond
to the world around us. We could fall off that narrow bridge at any moment.
Someone could push us off the bridge. We might not see an obstacle in front of
us or we might take a risk and jump over an obstacle and fall. Anything could
happen either because of something we do or caused by someone else to make us fall
off the bridge. But the point according to Reb Nachman is not to fear. Why?
Because God is with us.
But
as I sing and focus on the words, I realize that it’s hard not to be afraid.
The Hassidic song’s response to the obstacles and tragedies in the world around
us works for someone with a traditional understanding of God’s role in the
world. Such a person understands that God is always there and will always be
there if we just believe. As long as we stay on the path, no matter how narrow
and precarious, God will be there to lift us up if we fall and God will also encourage
us to keep walking.
But we don’t have to be a traditional
Jew to still appreciate the wisdom of Reb Nachman’s teaching. It is clear that
our path through the world is fraught with danger. Crises constantly arise,
tragedies always occur, our values are continually challenged, yet Reb Nachman
teaches that we shouldn’t be afraid. How is it possible not to be afraid?
Because we have resources to protect us when we fall. We have family, we have
community and we have a value system that provide us with support, strength and
confidence.
Knowing that there are people who
can help and support us in times of need is inspirational and does provide
comfort. We often say to our children “don’t worry, everything will be okay.”
If the words don’t help our children feel better, then the fact that we’re
hugging them and stroking their hair as we say these words probably does the
trick. It could be that was what Reb Nachman had in mind. As we walk across the
bridge, we should imagine that God is there for us reaching out and whispering
in our ear that everything will be ok.
Providing comfort like this to our
children during a thunderstorm may work in the moment, but comfort like this
doesn’t really help us confront the ongoing fear we experience today. We can’t
go through life walking around like Linus in the Peanuts comic strip sucking
our thumb and dragging around a security blanket. We need more sophisticated
strategies to recognize the threats and to appropriately respond.
And just as Rabbi Ackerman led us
to this frustrating aspect of Rebbe Nachman’s song, she taught that the song is
not the original text of his teaching. A rabbi generations later paraphrased
Reb Nachman and wrote the song as we know it today. What Reb Nachman really
taught was, ve-da she-ha-adam tzareech la’avor al gesher tzar me’od me’od,
ve-ha-klal ve-ha-ikar – she-lo yitpached klal - “And know that a person has to cross a very,
very narrow bridge and the point and main purpose is not to make himself
afraid.”[1] There
are two points in this correct version that are quite different from the popular
song. Instead of recognizing that the world is a narrow bridge and assuming
that we are on that bridge, the real version says that we must cross a bridge.
We may not be on the bridge because we are afraid, but we must cross the bridge
anyway. Life is about the challenges we face not the refuge we seek to hide
from life. Life isn’t about staying at home, hunkered down against the virtual
storm of the world around us. Life is about the challenges out there and how we
manage crossing the bridge, walking the path through those obstacles.
It’s the last part of the phrase
that is the most telling. When one crosses the bridge, one must not make
oneself afraid. Clearly fear arises throughout our lives. Moments occur and crises
happen, that cause us to be frightened. We can’t help but be afraid of a loved
one being sick, of crimes that occur, of the attacks on civic values – it would
be unnatural not to be afraid of such things.
But the goal according to this
teaching is not to perseverate on that fear. We can’t let the fear take over
our lives. We can’t let the fear paralyze us. We can’t just focus on the fear
and nothing else. We have to be aware of the fear, recognize that the world is
fraught with danger, and proceed cautiously over that bridge.
This version of Reb Nachman’s
teaching seems to be more realistic and much more pragmatic. Nachman recognizes
that we all are afraid. Human beings who are compassionate and loving people
have a lot to fear in the face of evil and tragedy. It’s only human to be
frightened. But Reb Nachman teaches that we can’t let that fear overpower us.
We can’t let the fear be the underlying emotion we feel all the time. We have
to be aware of the fear, confront it, and move forward.
The Torah portion we read tomorrow
highlights that awareness of fear and moving forward in the face of it. Abraham
as we know, was told by God to bring his son to Mt. Moriah and offer him there
to God. That is a frightening mission. Abraham could have refused. Abraham
could have argued. And he most certainly was afraid. The son that he and Sarah
had waited all their lives for now had to be brought as a sacrifice? When God
told him that it must have been the most traumatic moment in his life.
Yet there is a phrase that
constantly repeats in the Torah to highlight Abraham’s actions. The Hebrew word
for sight occurs no less than 7 times throughout the brief story. Abraham
begins the journey and then “lifts up his eyes” and “sees” the place from afar.
Abraham responds to Isaac’s question of where the animal is by saying that God
would “show” him the animal. The angel stops Abraham’s arm at the last second
and God says that Abraham has surely “seen” God. Then Abraham “lifts his eyes”
and “sees” a ram hidden in the bush. Abraham offers the ram and calls the place
“God has shown”. With every action Abraham performed there was a corresponding
awareness, a seeing, that occurred as well.
As Reb Nachman taught, Abraham
confronted the fear by looking at it and moving forward. Abraham continued the
journey with eyes wide open. Despite the fear of losing his son, despite the
possibility that his religious sensibilities would be irreparably damaged,
Abraham crossed that bridge with full awareness. He was looking for and making
himself aware of possible alternatives. And because of his diligence he was
rewarded and blessed.
In Hebrew the word for fear – yud,
reish, aleph – and the word for sight – reish, aleph, hey – are often the same.
Hebrew words are constructed from three letter roots and in their various forms
fear and sight could look like the same word. Some of the very verses I
translated a moment ago as Abraham seeing or being aware could have been
translated as Abraham being afraid which then would lend a new level of meaning
to the story. When Abraham began the journey and lifted his eyes, we could read
that he was afraid, not that he saw. When the angel stopped Abraham’s arm
Abraham saw God, but it could also be read that Abraham was afraid of God. And
when Abraham called the place “have seen God”, he could just as easily have
called it “have feared God”.
Fear in the Torah can often have
the sense of awe as when Moses saw the burning bush. Such a sight, never seen
before, creates a sense of awe and fear. One has to see it or be aware of it in
order to be afraid of it or in awe of it. Seeing and fearing go hand in hand.
If we don’t see something, if we’re not aware of something, then we can’t be
afraid of it. We have to see it in order to react to it.
It’s how we react that is the most
important response. The bible is full of people who see something extraordinary
and then respond by acting. Moses responds to the burning bush by recognizing
God’s presence and agreeing to become the leader of the people. The people of
Israel respond to the events at Mt. Sinai - the mountain trembling, the sounds
of the shofar and thunder and the lightning – by saying na’aseh ve-nishma
– we will do and we will hear, thus expressing their commitment to the Torah.
Prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel respond to their first visions of
God’s presence – seeing God’s throne and heavenly court – by providing comfort
to the people and teaching them about the moral and ethical principles of
Judaism.
Fear can be paralyzing. Fear can
be debilitating. But with the right support and resources in place, fear can be
mobilizing and motivational.
Nearly every week someone with an
automatic weapon shoots and kills people. Mass shootings in schools, in malls,
at places of work are becoming commonplace. Eleven months after Pittsburgh and
five months after Poway, CA we Jews are afraid. Antisemitic acts of violence
have been perpetrated this past year as never before and we are afraid. For the
first time in years we as American Jews are afraid for our safety and security.
We’ve read about the plight of the
central Americans at our border who because of dire, violent and extreme
conditions in their villages and towns see no choice but to undertake the
arduous and grueling trip to our border. They see no other hope for their
future but to attempt to seek asylum here in the land of the free. Yet the
border is now essentially closed and not one more person is allowed to cross.
We are afraid that the social justice issues on which we were raised are now
threatened. We are afraid that the lines etched into the base of the Statue of
Liberty, “give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be
free” no longer reflects our policies.
We are afraid that our environment
is rapidly deteriorating. National parks are being opened for companies to
drill for oil, global warming is ignored or questioned, the ozone layer
continues to evaporate, and the ocean levels keep rising. Coastal communities
are being threatened and if nothing is done soon life as we know it will
drastically change. We are rightly concerned and afraid for the well-being of
our planet and life on earth.
All of these are threats to our
existence. We are afraid of each of these issues. Antisemitism, gun violence,
immigration, climate change are just a few of the threats we face each and
every day. But what does Reb Nachman teach? How did Abraham respond? We must
confront the threats with open eyes and walk forward without allowing the fear
to overtake us.
After the shooting at Stoneman
Douglas High School in Parkland, FL 18 months ago the students could have
refused to go back to school. They could have stayed home and cowered in fear.
But what did they do? They began a nation-wide effort to rally people and lobby
congress for gun control legislation. Those of us who attended the March for
Our Lives rally in DC in March of 2018 were inspired by those students and
others who in the face of overwhelming fear and despair decided to act. They
spoke eloquently about the horrors they saw and how in the face of it they knew
they needed to speak out. In the face of fear, they spoke about hope.
Armando
Rojas served as the custodian of Beth Torah synagogue in Mt. Kisco, NY for
over 20 years. He arrived here from Mexico, married, had a child, paid taxes,
paid into social security and yet was still not a citizen. He was devoted to
his synagogue and everyone in the shul loved him. Because he was in the wrong
place at the wrong time, in a restaurant when a fight broke out, he was
detained by the police. His name ended up on a list of illegals and an ICE officer
arrested him. Rabbi Aaron Brusso and his congregation immediately intervened by
hiring a lawyer for him, providing meals for the family and providing moral
support. To no avail. Armando was deported to Tijuana, Mexico. The congregation
didn’t give up the fight. They organized two trips to Tijuana to continue
supporting him and filling out the paperwork so that he could officially seek
asylum. They wrote dozens of character reference letters on his behalf. In the
meantime, because of his status, he was first detained in New Mexico and then
transferred to a facility in Albany. The congregation held vigils outside the
synagogue and gained publicity in the New York area. Finally, last December, in
fact the day after Christmas, Armando was granted asylum and reunited with his
family.
Rabbi Brusso wrote
movingly of the process his congregation and he undertook to support
Armando. In the face of ICE – the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency
and other bureaucratic obstacles, his community responded. In the face of the
unjust treatment of a Mexican who had been here trying to live out the American
dream as legally as he could, the synagogue lived up to the Jewish value of “loving
the stranger because we were strangers in the land of Egypt”.
In August of 2018 at the age of 15
Greta Thunberg took
time off from school to demonstrate outside the Swedish parliament for climate
change. Other Swedish students soon took notice and they too took time off from
school to demonstrate. With the help of other students, Greta organized the
school strike movement known as Fridays
for Future. Every Friday, somewhere in the world, students take off from
school and demonstrate for climate change. You may have heard that such a rally
was held just a couple of weeks ago in Rockville and there was a debate as to
whether students in Montgomery County would be allowed an excused absence to
attend and participate. Last week, Greta was a featured speaker at the UN
climate conference and Time magazine has called her a young leader to watch. In
the face of great obstacles of climate change deniers, and critics who make fun
of her disability – she has been diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome – Greta has
risen above them and been the face of awareness of climate issues.
These are just a few examples of
people who saw injustice and decided to act. They are people who recognized the
insurmountable odds and realized they had no choice but to speak up. They are
people who despite the fear of retribution, criticism, and even arrest, stood
up for our values and became voices of change and inspiration.
In
a few moments we will recite the famous piyyut – hymn – the U-netaneh
Tokef. In it the medieval poet imagines us as a flock of sheep waiting to
be counted. These sheep are fearful not knowing what lies in store for them.
Animals have a sense when they are being led to the slaughter. They can smell
the blood; they can smell the fear in the other animals around them. Their own
fear is thus compounded by the fear of the other animals.
As
the poet continues, we don’t know who shall live and who shall die. It is an
anxious and fearful time. The list of possible ways to die grows longer and
only compounds our own fear. Will this be me or someone I love? Will I have to
face this tragedy this year? What can I do?
Just
as we are afraid to cross that bridge, in the words of Reb Nachman, the poet
gives us an out. He says that teshuva – an awareness of our own complicity in
these threats around us and committing ourselves to act – and tefilla, prayer
as we are gathered here today – and tzedaka – acts of charity or social justice
can avert our fears. We have the tools to deal with these threats to our
society. We have the resources to acknowledge our basic values and to stand up
for them. We have the tools to be advocates for positive social change. We just
have to act. We just have to say that we will cross that bridge and we will do
so together.
It
is difficult to stand up for justice. It’s easy to do it from the safety of our
homes or from the security of our sanctuary. But it’s imperative that we take
our commitment to face our fears and be forces for change to the next level. We
can’t sit idly by. We must confront these threats and we must say proudly as
Americans and as Jews that we will do all we can to eradicate these threats
from our midst. We want our country to be the land of the free. We want our
country to be safe for all people and for all religions. We want our country to
be a place where people of all colors and children of all ages can go to school
or walk down the street and not have to fear for their lives. We want our
country to reflect the ideals we recited every day in school, “one nation under
God with liberty and justice for all”.
If
we can be so inspired, then we will be written in the book of life and this
will be a sweet and happy new year. Amen.
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