Library:D'vrei Torah

Parashah for High Holy Days
Stan Samuels
October 2009

Shabbat shalom!

Deuteronomy is traditionally viewed as Moses’ valedictory when he was 120 years old. I am not Moses. I have neither his wisdom nor charisma. My conversations with God have always been decidedly one-sided: like those of Tevye. And, I am not 120 years old nor am I saying “Good by.”

Today’s parsha and Haftarah deal with the observation of the holidays. I have some thoughts that I would like to share with you today. The schedule being quite heavy, I will keep my comments brief. And I hope you will allow me to occasionally lapse into my poetry to express my thoughts.

I drape myself in tradition
To cover my disbelief
Then recite in robotic rote
What gives others great relief.

I say aloud the words you say
(They are what you want to hear)
Keeping the words within my mind
From encroaching on your ear.

The words in my mind are my words
Defined by my deepest thought.
Those on my lips are from a script
To which I’ve added naught.

But that’s the price of tradition,
A fee I know I must give.
I must preserve the ancient text
For my private words to live.

And so I say the words to You
Though I know that no one’s there.
Preserving history and myth
While my logic shows a tear.

I recognize the importance of our customs and ceremonies. They are an essential part of what makes us Jewish, for without them we would be indistinguishable from our friends in Ethical Culture. This past spring Shirley and I combined a visit to our children and grandchildren in New Mexico with an ElderHostel on the Conversos and Crypto-Jews. There we learned about Hispanic Americans who are practicing Catholics but who go down to their basements on Friday nights to light candles. They have other atavistic customs as well, left over from when their ancestors fled and hid from the Inquisition in Spain and Mexico. They have ceremonies that they practice but they don’t know why. The customs and ceremonies outlasted their meaning and became ends in themselves. Without synagogue membership and a community where they could freely and safely talk about their beliefs and renew their traditions, their practices became a hollow shell without substance.

I found it rather surprising that when I examined today’s parsha and Haftarah, very little of how to observe the holidays is spelled out. Moreover, much of what is detailed regards animal sacrifices in the Temple and has become archaic. The traditional customs and ceremonies that many Jews know and practice today, developed in the Rabbinic Period and have continued to change and evolve over time. Some practices were certainly instituted to maintain the insularity of the community and deter assimilation after the Enlightenment. Whatever the reasons for why we do what we do, it is important that we maintain an understanding. Our practices will continue to change and our beliefs must be at the root of them. We are Reconstructionists. That means that we pride ourselves in cognitively evaluating our practices and that we are not afraid of change.  I see change as inevitable and essential.

Judaism rests on three pillars: prayer, study and Tikkun Olam. My emphasis has been on Tikkun Olam and study. My art has become focused on the Holocaust and my poetry, on aspects of spirituality. I am still wrestling with prayer and the tapestry of customs and ceremonies that go with it. With that in mind, I would like to read another poem of mine:

The prayers soar up
To God knows where,
Propelled by song and chant:
Structured by tradition
And ritually intoned.
A bare handful of themes
In a multitude of tongues,
Uniting mankind everywhere
While splintering it asunder.

There is a traditional Chinese blessing and/or curse: “May you live in an interesting time.” I look back at eighty very interesting years and hopefully look forward to appreciably more ever changing ones, hopefully not forty: that could indeed be a curse.

        The older I am,
        The closer I get
        To finding out
        If there is anything to find out.

Stan Samuels,