After Yom Kippur
I vacillate between being okay and living in fear.
Like many of you, I am suffering from this vacillation and from trying to maintain balance in my life.
Watching and reading too much news, I imbibe the pundits' opinions - there might be a civil war, we are losing our democratic institutions, and we should wait until we replace the late great Ruth Bader Ginsburg with another Supreme Court appointee.
With the High Holidays over, we are supposed to know that we are forgiven, and it is time to live our lives fully. For some of us, this is problematic.
My niece, Shira Telushkin, wrote a piece (recently published in the Jewish Forward) called: “How can we pray when we have no HOPE? A Yom Kippur Paradox.” We blessed each other with a sweet new year; but how many of us believe, she asks, that this coming year will be good or sweet?
To answer this question, Telushkin shared a story from the Talmud.
King Hezekiah, 8th century BCE, a righteous king of Judea, became ill. He was told by the prophet Isaiah that he was being punished for not having children. In protest he explained that in a recurring dream he saw that his future children would be evil, and so refrained from procreation.
Then Hezekiah asked Isaiah to let him marry the prophet’s daughter reasoning that “perhaps my merit and your merit will result in virtuous children”!
Isaiah rebuffed his request exclaiming, “The decree has already been pronounced against you!” In response, Hezekiah told Isaiah to leave the castle at once. As he kicked him out, King Hezekiah said to Isaiah:
“The tradition I received from my father is that even if a sharp sword rests upon your neck, a person should never cease praying for mercy.”
In other words, Telushkin explained in her article, there is always HOPE. Believe that your prayers may be answered.
Forget the prophets and the pollsters: it is not over until it is over.
In spite of the raging pandemic, we pray for healing and that people continue to wear their masks to keep each other safe.
In spite of violence in our cities, we pray for continued commitment to make changes and bring justice for our troubled communities.
We pray for the leaders of our country to do what is right for the betterment of all of our citizens. We pray for ourselves, our children, families, friends and communities for health, safety and a return to economic prosperity.
These are our prayers of HOPE. We must have faith that we can enact change. Telushkin states that we simply cannot have a Yom Kippur without HOPE, and concludes, “The sword is sharp, but the game is not over.”
My dear friends, let us find hope together! Our Lev Eisha community is solid and we can find strength in our friendships, caring, and knowing that we are in this together.
Immediately after the Yom Kippur fast, as I said above, we are supposed to celebrate Sukkot, the Festival of Joy. Knowing we are pardoned for our distractions and misdeeds - we are now commanded to LIVE. Enjoy nature’s beauty and bounty. Give what you can to those in need, be patient, find love and go forth with hope and dreams for a good tomorrow.
Join our Lev Eisha services and other offerings. Stay engaged, stay in touch, and one day we will see each other again…soon!
May we be blessed with an attitude of gratitude, hope in our hearts, health, safety and love.
AMEN
With blessings for safety and health,
Rabbi Toba August
