Part of the Jewish High Holiday season is about acknowledging things we don’t control. That recognition can be scary. Sukkot are temporary structures meant
to remind us of our dependence on God. And the tornado that literally swept away some families’ sukkot this week was as stark a reminder as we can get (or ever
want).
At the same time, there is another theme of the High Holidays, which is one of the
most crucial ideas for me: the fact that we also have agency. We, ourselves, each have the ability to influence the way God looks at us. As the
machzor (High Holiday prayerbook) teaches us, through
teshuvah, tefillah, and
tzedakah, we can change our standing in God’s eyes and hasten our inscription in the Book of Life.
This year, the Second Grade took a close look at one of the prayers that we recite
communally on Yom Kippur, called,
Ki Anu Amecha, “For We Are Your People,” in an effort to better understand our relationships with God. In addition to critical reflection
on Jewish theology, it was also a wonderful inquiry into the literary device of
metaphor.
Together we sing:
“Ki Anu Amecha/For we are Your people, and You are our God.
We are Your children, and You are our Parent.
We are Your flock, and You are our Shepherd.
We are Your vineyard, and You are the One who watches over us.
We are Your creation, and You are our Creator.
We are Your loving friend, and You are our Beloved Companion.”
My brilliant students noticed such interesting metaphors to describe God: parent, shepherd, creator, and friend, as well as the reciprocal words to describe each of us. After much discussion, however, we all noticed something very important: God cannot be a shepherd without any sheep. God cannot be a parent without any children. God cannot watch over a vineyard of grapes that doesn’t exist, and God cannot be a companion without a friend to love and cherish.
After analyzing the poetry of the prayer, my Second Graders were then able to update the imagery with their own contemporary metaphors that they generated themselves:
“We are a cell phone, and You are our Charger.”
“We are a truck, and You are the Gasoline.”
“We are an airplane, and You are the Airport.”
“We are a CD, and You are the CD player.”
A cell phone doesn’t function without the ability to be plugged into a charger, and a charger has no purpose without a cell phone to charge. A truck cannot run without gasoline, and so on. Essentially, God isn’t God without us, and we cannot exist without God. Our relationships with God are most definitely a two-way street. We need God and God needs us. While each of us may have made mistakes, may have areas in which to grow, and amends to make, we know that we are loved and needed in this work of making the world a more perfect place. We were made as God intended us to be, and are an essential part of a
hevruta (partnership) with God.
Throughout this new year, may each of us do all that is within our power to enhance our relationships with each other and with God, in an effort to bring a sense of wholeness to the world.
Moadim L’simcha - wishing you a season of happiness and joy!
Rabbi Sharon Barr Skolnik
