delray beach orthodox rabbi

                                                                                      B"H
                       
 Pre Rosh Hashanah Thoughts

I would like to take this opportunity and wish all my friends a healthy and happy New Year. This has been a challenging year that has caused many to feel frustrated and upset over policies enacted by the shul, policies that were contrary to their wishes and philosophy. Some fervently believe the shul is far too liberal regarding its Covid protocol, while others are equally upset at the shul’s draconian and heavy handed rules. Some are refusing to attend services due to the rampant spreading of new variants while others believe that once vaccinated they and others have little to fear. Some believe that Covid is a threat to their very existence while others believe it is not any more threatening than the yearly influenza virus. I’m not King Solomon, and it seems that cutting the baby in half may serve only to exacerbate the tension. 

Therefore, I ask for your collective forgiveness and pray that the difficulties of the past year end and the new year bring only blessings, good tidings, and a cessation of illness and disease. (If I have a direct line I might as well try for the trifecta). 

And for those who are not planning on attending services, I will share some thoughts about Rosh Hashanah. The Torah readings can be quite telling; they give us an insight into how the rabbis perceived the most integral issues and how to best grasp the holiday's importance. The first day's reading seems almost trivial; Sarah is post-menopausal, but the angel of God miraculously assures her she will conceive. Of course in her state of shock she is dismissive and doubts the veracity of the promise. Then Sarah complains about the negative influence Ishmael is having on Isaac and wants Abraham to sever his relationship with Hagar and Ishmael. Abraham is livid and disagrees with Sarah. God ultimately is the mediator and sides with Sarah.  Compare it to the Torah reading on day two. Isaac is 37 years old (still living at home) and God tells Abraham to bring his precious son and offer him as a sacrifice. According to the Midrash he doesn’t even discuss it with Sarah and she finds out via the grapevine. 

While Sarah was flippant and didn’t initially believe what she heard, Abraham immediately got underway to complete the task assigned to him. He didn’t question Hashem or try to find a way out, he dutifully put away his personal interest and accepted the divine word. (Let me tell you, had God spoken to me and made a similar request I would have gone to an audiologist and checked my hearing or assumed it wasn’t really God speaking to me). While Sarah's interest was for her biological child, she had little empathy for Abraham’s biological child. 

So what important moral lessons can be deduced from both stories? 
1. Although their positions were diametrically opposed on important matters, Abraham and Sarah still managed to maintain a loving relationship. 
2. How you react in a given situation is not etched in stone; even the greatest of our leaders perceived things radically differently. 
3. Challenges may be as much a certainty as death and taxes. What shows our character is how we deal with the cards we are dealt.  
4. Our relationship with God is complicated and mysterious. We often don’t comprehend why or what he desires, or if and how we should proceed. And believe it or not, there is a very good chance we will get it wrong.
5. Our matriarchs and patriarchs were not perfect and contrary to some, neither are we. (For every correct answer there is an infinite amount of incorrect answers. The odds are overwhelming that both sides will be wrong). 
6. When God tells Abraham that he should listen to everything his wife says, His intent may not be that Sarah is correct and hence Abraham is incorrect. It may be that neither answer was perfect. 

Rosh Hashanah marks the end and beginning simultaneously. We say tichleh shana v’kileloteha, techel shana u’birchoteecha - may the cursed year come to conclusion and may the new year bring only blessings. The truth is that we not only beseech the Almighty to grant our request, but more so we ask that of each other. The worst of Covid may not have been the disease but the rampant breakdown of civilization’s code of ethics. What started with pro - and anti- Trumpers quickly devolved in a downward spiral. Friends ceased being friends and the major focus was on our differences instead of our commonalities. Our communications failed to engender the poetic lyrics of blessing and instead led to debasement of those we opposed. Contrary to our imagination, our curses have little impact upon the person we are cursing but a huge impact on the person who is uttering the curse.  

My greatest request for the New Year is for the lack of civility that descended upon humanity over the last few years come to a complete and resolute ending. And may the new year usher in a special blessing - one that makes us realize that we needn’t always agree but we always have to be agreeable.

Shabbat shalom and have a healthy and happy New Year,

Rabbi Jack Engel