September 3, 2010

Hello my dear friends.

Season's greetings ;-). It's been quite a summer and this post has been on hiatus too long - while it may seem silly, I often get the profound feeling that I'm sitting with all of you (well over 400 MLF alumni) as I type. Delusional, I know, but a very warm feeling nonetheless. Nice to see you again....

This Shabbat, Jews around the world will be reading the Torah portion called Netzavim, named for the first verse which reads, "You are all standing (netzavim) today before the Almighty, your God: your leaders, your tribal heads, your elders, your judges - every person of Israel." Moses, on the last day of his life, had gathered the nation to deliver his final message, to review the covenant which God had offered and we accepted. In Kabalistic writings, the word today, hayom, in the Torah always refers to THE day, Rosh Hashanah. In fact, this portion of the Torah always coincides with the Shabbat before Rosh Hashanah and, in a sense, is alluding to our impending approach to the coming days of judgment where we, as a nation in utter unity, will present ourselves to our Creator for the ultimate accounting. We are 'standing' to answer for our part of the deal.

There's an apparent contradiction of sorts, however, in our sentiment towards this holy day of reckoning. Rosh Hashanah is, after all, the day of judgment, followed 10 days later by the day of atonement, and yet the tone of the day is surprisingly jubilant - there's no mention of confession, guilt, sin, there's no heaviness to the service, the liturgy is full of the Almighty and Israel's praise, the meals are festive and lavish - have we forgotten this is the day of reckoning? Which books are opened? That here we confront our own accountability and the unspeakable finitude of life itself? Have we missed our cue?

While it is true that the prospects are menacing, "judgment" is merely a minor theme of the day - we'll save the trembling for the next 10 days and Yom Kippur. Rosh Hashanah however, a day when the entire nation presents itself for judgment, bespeaks a far greater message; one where all joy surpasses fear. We stand as one with the Almighty in fulfilling His will and bringing the world to its completion. This is the mission we accepted and, more importantly, for which we were accepted. Yes, we have fallen short, and yes, there is much to repair. But the covenant itself, the mission and intimate partnership with God, is tremendous cause for celebration. It is precisely at the time of reckoning, when we realize the extent of our responsibility, with Whom we partner, the mission in all its grandeur, and the privilege of participation, no matter how difficult.

It is said that the biggest blow to all our spiritual enemies - those which tempt our resolve and subpoena our every move in the Heavenly tribunal - is the very fact that we walk into the courtroom on our own volition, in perfect acceptance and appreciation of what judgment really means. They've been trying to put us on trial, but we beat them to it and volunteered ourselves. The Jewish People rises well above its simple, fallible, and ultimately forgivable humanity. Rosh Hashanah is the joy of getting into the night club of all night clubs, and even though what lies beyond the great velvet ropes upstairs may be daunting, critical, punishing and painful, the entry is so sweet. Praiseworthy are we who stand in judgment, for the privilege of being chosen for the job.

Wishing you all a good writing and signing and a very sweet new year!

Rabbi Lynn