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Rosh Hashanah Sermon-5768 2007
Rabbi Scott Hausman-Weiss
Temple Emanu-El
Birmingham, Alabama
Danny’s father jumped out from behind the
couch, “I’m Thor,” he yelled. “King of
the tigers, king of the wild beats, King of the Greatest Show on Earth.” Wearing last year’s tiger mask they bought at
the circus, Danny’s Dad was trying to get Danny in the mood for their annual
circus adventure. Every year, just the
two of them, together, would go to the circus.
This year, it seemed, Danny wasn’t sure that he was still into the circus,
since he was getting older and all.
“Danny, you’re gonna have to skip basketball practice tonight.” “Oh dad,” Danny hollered, “Do I have to miss
basketball?” “Only if you want to make
it on time. Remember, last year, we
almost missed the opening act!” Then,
Danny raised his hands and said, “Ladies and Gentlemen, and children of all
ages, Welcome to the Greatest Show on Earth.”
By now, Danny’s face was beaming with the smile of a child on his way to
the circus.
When they arrived, Danny and his Dad got in
line and right behind them was another Father and Son, waiting to buy
tickets. Vincent, the little boy behind
Danny and his Dad, saw the Thor sweatshirt that Danny had from last year and
asked him if Danny had ever been to the circus.
“Of course,” Danny said, “haven’t you?”
Vincent put his hands in his pockets and looked down, shaking his
head. Danny pretty much knew that was a
stupid thing to say, especially when he saw Vincent’s tattered clothes.
“Well,
you’re gonna love it!” Danny exclaimed.
A smile returned to Vincent’s face.
First, there’s the Ring Master who declares, “Ladies and Gentlemen and
children of all ages!” “Why does he say
that?” Vincent asked. “Because everyone
loves the circus!” Danny went on. “Then out come animals doing tricks!” “Tricks?”
“Yeah, like elephants that dance and dogs that push other dogs in baby
carriages and horses which men stand on and ride
– there’s even an acrobat who twirls from a rope held in an elephant’s
mouth.” Vincent’s eyes grew wider and
wider with every description. He’d never
imagined such things. “Are there
clowns?” Vincent asked. “You better
believe it! First, more than 20 clowns
get out of one little clown car, then they do silly things like pie eating
contests or pizza making contests and then somebody always gets the pizza or
pie in the face. But the best part, the
best part is when it looks like the people in the audience are gonna get
pied! And just at the last minute, its
confetti that gets thrown on them instead!
Oh, oh. And there are the
motorcycle riders. They get in a steel
cage and they ride in it up and down and sideways and around. All together at the same time!” Vincent couldn’t help himself; he was so
excited he was just about to burst!
As
they stood in line and Danny’s Dad finished buying the tickets, Vincent’s Dad
walked up to the ticket counter and presented a coupon. The lady in the booth explained that she was
sorry but the half-off offer had expired and that he would have to pay full
price. Danny and Vincent heard what she
had said and then saw Vincent’s Dad close his wallet and walk away, very
embarrassed. Vincent and Danny and
Danny’s Dad got really quiet. Danny
didn’t know what to say. All he knew was
that all the excitement and happiness he was feeling about the circus and
sharing it with Vincent all of a sudden was gone. And as Vincent’s Dad told him he was sorry,
and they began to walk away, Danny looked up at his Dad and said, “What can we
do?” His Dad looked back at his son and
said, “You know, the basketball courts are open late tonight. Do you think you’d rather go play basketball
this time around, and save the circus for another time?” Danny’s eyes lit up once again. “Really?” he asked his Dad. His Dad nodded and with that, Danny ran over
to Vincent and his Dad and handed Vincent the tickets. “Vincent,” Danny said, “Since I have a
basketball game this weekend, I have to go practice so we can’t use the tickets
after all.” And with a smile even larger
than the one he had when telling Vincent about the circus, Danny took his Dad’s
hand and left.
Yes,
I know it’s a tear-jerker. It’s one of
those stories that just hits you in the most vulnerable place of your
heart. It’s one of those stories that,
simply and beautifully reminds us that sacrifice, true giving of one’s self, is
the only true giving there really is. And as I sat on Samuel’s bed, reading him
this story from Chicken Soup for Little Souls, dabbing the tears from my
eyes, choking back the tremors in my voice, I was reminded of some of the
simplest of lessons that tonight and this time of year are all about.
Hayom
harat haolam
– “Today the world is conceived.” We
just read these words that frame and garner meaning to the depth and value of
Rosh Hashanah. We love to sign New Years
Cards with the words, “L’shanah Tovah tikateivu,” meaning, “Happy New
Year and May you be written into the Book of Life.” In other words, it is our deepest and most
cherished wish that next year, the person and people you are sitting next to
are still here with you holding hands as you live, love, build and embrace your
lives. But the meaning of Rosh Hashanah
is so much more than a supernatural wish that we survive to live again through
another new year. The Rabbis are clear
about this. This isn’t simply new year’s
eve, when, I guess, in Jewish fashion emulating our secular new year’s
traditions, we could get drunk on apple brandy and stuff ourselves with honey
cakes, all the while promising to be someone we’ll never become tomorrow. However, tonight, in marking the New Year, we
mark something entirely different than indulging in self. Tonight, we mark the new year with a
celebration of the Birthday of the world.
Tonight we proclaimed that this is the five thousand seven hundred and
sixty eighth year since God decided to create the entire world. Now science aside, the truth of this wise
faith of ours is that when the Jewish people celebrate the New Year, it is not
marked by a self-centered affirmation of the truth of our particular religious
tradition. Rather, Rosh Hashanah is an
utterly universal lesson for the meaning of existence – that the world at some
point didn’t exist and that our presence here isn’t about how much we can
amass, how much of this earth we can call our own or how many people we can
control. Nor, even how long we are able
to live. That is not the point of it all.
The point of it all is laid out for us by these three simple words – Hayom
Harat Haolam. Today the world is
conceived. Happy Birthday World! So what are you giving her for her 5768th
birthday?
According
to Ms. Manners, once you have completed your first 5000 years of life, you have
exceeded the need for gifts of paper and precious gems and stones. You have no need for fame and fortune, for
your name in stars or on plaques. No,
once you have turned at least 5000 years old, your needs change. The only gifts our 5768 years old world
really needs, are those things that only we can uniquely give – ourselves. Our time, our creativity and most
importantly, our humility - all wrapped up in one kind of package – that of
generosity of heart and sacrifice of soul.
Throughout
Jewish tradition, sacrifice is the order of the day. If one wishes to have a relationship with God
or with a world beyond the one we can see or touch or smell or hear, sacrifice,
in whichever form works is the means by which the divine is made real in our
lives. In our tradition, sacrifice is
part of a broad network of offerings called Avodah, that which we serve
up with our hands. For our ancient
forebears, it was an animal or part of the harvest. For our Rabbinic forebears, as for us, it was
tzedakah, acts of loving kindness and the gentle and beautiful offerings
of our hearts and minds in prayer. For
our more recent forebears, it was the blood, sweat and tears of redeeming the
swamplands of Palestine. In every generation,
the Torah’s voice has echoed through the minds of our people – What does God
want from us? The Prophet Micah teaches,
“Only this – to do justice, to love mercy and to walk humbly before Your God.” The Hebrew word for the gifts of our souls
and bodies that we are to give justly and mercifully and with humility are
called, korbanot. Korbanot
comes from the Hebrew word, Karov, meaning close. To understand the true meaning of giving,
then is to understand that true giving, the kind of giving that brings us
closer to God, is the kind of giving that is rooted in sacrifice. It does matter that our giving monetarily
should impact us. That perhaps we would
choose to have one less extravagant dinner in order to keep food closets from
getting bare makes the gift a true act of giving. That perhaps we would choose a less
extravagant vacation in order to afford a charitable gift is what makes the
gift a true act of giving. That perhaps
we would choose a less extravagant Bar or Bat Mitzvah celebration in order to
give more to children who have so much less makes the gift a true act of
giving. That perhaps, as one recent Bat
Mitzvah did, one could donate 100% of her monetary gifts received in order to
support Israeli children in Sderot, on the Gaza border. Her act of generosity of heart and spirit and
savings account is helping more children, who are under constant threat of
Kassam rocket attack, to attend summer camp near Jerusalem, safe from the
torrent of Hamas. For it is not simply
about what we can afford and what others need.
A true act of giving requires, on our part, a certain amount of giving
up. And giving up, the notion that we
might have to do without, does not ring well with us in the 21st
century.
Everywhere
we look, TV, radio, film, commercials, talk shows – they’re all committed to
helping us figure out how to have it all.
We can be parents as well as professionals, Jews as well as secular,
alluring as well as nurturing, charitable as well as extravagant. And I am not sure that we can’t be all these
things all at the same time. But what of
sacrifice? Do any of the normal gifts we
have made in our lives compare to the transformative experiences that came when
our gift had a direct impingement on our time or money or resources? The times we have “given up” the tickets or
the fun time planned or the vacation in order to be there for someone – aren’t
those the moments of Avodah that truly stand out in our lives? The moments of Korbanot that have
drawn us near to the Divine? I am
talking about the kinds of moments that others would reflect upon if asked to
share in gathering the memories of our lives.
Imagine for a moment the Rabbi or Cantor sitting with your friends and
loved ones, your co-workers and even some strangers, asking them to share your
moments of true giving, of true sacrifice, the moments you gave up your
comforts for the sake of the comforts of others. What does that list look like? Is it long?
Is it short? Is it in need of
being built up a bit more?
I
want you to take that list and place it somewhere in your brain. Adding to this list is what you can give the
world this year for her birthday. For as
I said, she doesn’t need extravagant gifts.
But what she does need are extravagant acts of giving. And giving has many varied shapes and forms:
- You aren’t
right about that argument with your spouse. Give in and say sorry.
- You may have
worked really hard this past year for that promotion. The other guy probably deserved it too.
- Maybe you don’t
need to see all five of the Broadway series shows. Give the tickets to some folks whom you
know have never been.
- I know getting
up and out early in the morning is important to you to get your workout
in. But, occasionally, so is
sitting with your kids at breakfast.
- Throwing a party
often creates the expectation that you would like gifts. Suggest that in lieu of gifts for your
grand 40th or 50th or 60th or 70th
birthday, donations be made to your favorite cause.
- Its hard to get
to break old habits. To change the
paths that feel so comfortable. But
you have so much to give to so many other places and people whom you don’t
even know yet. Part of loving the
stranger is seeking him out.
In
the words of Rabbi Lawrence Kushner:
There must have been a time when you entered
a room and met someone and after a while you understood that unknown to either
of you there was a reason you had met.
You had changed the other or he had changed you. By some word or deed or just by your presence
the errand had been completed. Then
perhaps you were a little bewildered or humbled and grateful. And it was over.
Each lifetime is the pieces of a jigsaw
puzzle.
For some there are more pieces.
For others the puzzle is more difficult to
assemble.
Some seem to be born with a nearly completed
puzzle.
And so it goes.
Souls going this way and that.
Trying to assemble the myriad parts.
But I know this. No one has within themselves
All the pieces to their puzzle.
Like before the days when they used to seal
Jigsaw puzzles in cellophane. Insuring that
All the pieces were there.
Everyone carries with them at least one and
probably
Many pieces to someone else’s puzzle.
Sometimes they know it.
Sometimes they don’t.
And when you present your piece
Which is worthless to you
To another, whether you know it or not
Whether they know it or not
You are a messenger from the Most High.
Draw
nearer to God this year; partake in the giving of your korbanot that
draw you near to the space of God’s holiness.
God is to be found in the places where a human heart is breaking and
where another seeks to repair it. The
gift of life only comes from the true sacrifice of what we hold near and dear
to our hearts, to our minds and to our wallets.
So what are you giving the world today for her birthday? Answer that and God will cease to be
elusive. God’s presence will be imminent
in every moment in which you give up something of yourself that provides for
others in need.
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