On Sukkot eve, some selections from Ecclesiastes to help you celebrate this time of our rejoicing…
a generation goes a generation comes
but the earth remains forever
the sun rises the sun sets and
glides back to where it rises again
southward blowing turning northward ever
turning blows the wind
on its rounds the wind returns
all streams flow into the sea but
the sea is never full
to the place from which they flow
there they will flow back again
(Ecclesiastes 1:4-7)
“Death of Moses” by Alexandre Cabanel
on that day the lord said to
moses take your final
journey ascend to the top
of mt nebo and i will show you
the land from above
do you see how it
fulfills my promise do you
see how its light flows
and dances like
milk and honey do not
grieve moses do not be
frightened for now you will
finally greet me face to face
the moment for which you’ve
yearned now turn and gaze
into the eyes of
your beloved
(Deuteronomy 32:48-52)
From my Erev Yom Kippur sermon last Tuesday:
I’ve often thought that there’s (a different Torah portion) that is just as appropriate – perhaps even more appropriate – for Yom Kippur. I’m referring to the famous episode in the 32nd and 33rdchapters of Genesis, when Jacob wrestles on a riverbank with a mysterious stranger the night before he meets up with his estranged twin brother Esau.
Anyone who’s read or studied this text will attest that it’s a phenomenal story with deliciously rich spiritual symbolism. Indeed, I often find myself returning to this portion for its insights on forgiveness, reconciliation and personal transformation. All of which, of course, are central themes to the Yom Kippur holiday.
So on this Yom Kippur eve, please allow me to submit this story as an alternative Torah portion for your spiritual consideration. I hope its lessons will help us all engage more deeply in the spiritual work that lays ahead this coming new year.
Click below to read the entire sermon:
the lord said to moses soon you
must die and my children will
cross over the river
a generation that did not know
slavery and liberation
who has known only wandering and
wilderness
who do not know this land
cannot fulfill its promise
that their struggle
will never be complete
therefore write down this song and
teach it to them put it
in their mouths so that when
the season turns and
they harvest bitter fruit
the taste of milk and
honey will not be
far from their
lips
(Deuteronomy 31:14-21)
From my Erev Rosh Hashanah sermon last Sunday:
Isn’t it profoundly presumptuous to say our God is the only God? I think we can all agree that right and wrong that should apply to everyone, without exceptions, but whose right and whose wrong are we talking about? Why should our faith system – or any faith system – get to determine the will of this universal moral authority? It’s all well and good to affirm that we all serve one universal God, but history is replete with examples of heinous acts committed by people of faith who believed the rest of the world should do their God’s bidding.
Click below to read the entire sermon:
From my Erev Rosh Hashanah sermon five years ago:
Yes, our actions do make a difference. Every opening of a door, every act of peacemaking, every move we make to heal the world around us has the potential to create a sacred transformation. They can make a difference in ways we can see readily and in ways we will never truly know.
And lest I forget one more crucial point: such actions have the potential to transform our own lives as well. Isn’t that what this time is year all about in the end? That we need not surrender to the complex, often painful external events that too often enter our lives. That no matter what, we can start anew, that our actions do make a difference. I have said it before and I will it argue to anyone willing to listen: if our spiritual tradition stands for anything, it stands for the eternal possibilities of healing, of hope, of transformation. No matter what may happen in the world around us, we are not simply bystanders bearing witness to eternal cycles of occurrence and recurrence. We can break these cycles, we can re-chart our courses, in a myriad of small and not so small ways. And if we ever have any doubts about this, we gather and affirm this truth together every single new year.
And here we are. Another new year has arrived. Another door has opened before us. The gates have opened wide. Let’s join hands, step forward, and walk through them together.
Sending blessings for a New Year of healing, hope and transformation…
“Crowd at Coney Island” Weegee, 1940
you stand here this day all of
you before me your tribal heads
your elders your officials your wives your
husbands your children your friends
enemies jewish christian muslim hindu
buddhist taoist jain believers
doubters deniers blessed cursed
wounded wandering howling breaking
into song crying out in pain seeking
finding losing winning falling all
who know the struggle all who limp
their way into the water all of
you stand together on this day to
enter into a covenant
with the lord
your god
(Deuteronomy 29:9-14)
Check out the latest musical offering of Persian Jewish singer Galeet Dardashti – a taste of her new live performance, Monajat.
From her website:
Monajat is inspired by the poetic prayers of Selihot, recited during the month preceding Jewish New Year. It is a time-specific concert and program that takes place during a period of deep reflection and spiritual preparation. In the project, she re-imagines the Selihot ritual in collaboration with an acclaimed ensemble of musicians, an electronic soundscape, and dynamic live video art. Monajat is a Persian word meaning an intimate dialogue with the Divine. Using Persian melodies and Hebrew texts, the work pays homage to her grandfather (Yona Dardashti, the most renowned singer of Persian classical music in Iran in his day). She performs some of the Persian piyutim (liturgical songs) traditionally chanted as part of the Selihot service, as well as other liturgical and non-liturgical Hebrew and Persian poetry set to new music. Through electronics, she defies time and performs with her grandfather.
Dardashti’s Persian-Jewish musical hybrid is nothing short of sublime. If you’re tempted by this preview, check out her album “The Naming,” in which sets her unique musical sights on stories of Biblical women.
beware lest you hold onto the land
so tightly that it hardens and
you find you are worshiping an idol
of stone
then you must go forth and
wander among the peoples
of the earth
make your way from one end
of the universe to the other
maybe then will understand
no matter where your footsteps may lead
wherever your eyes may seek me
wherever your spirit pines for me
there you will find
your promised
land
(Deuteronomy 28:58-68)
Yedid Nefesh 