Dear TBZ community:
This week is
Shabbat Ha’gadol
or the “Great Shabbat”, the Shabbat before Passover. Some say the name of this shabbat is a reference to a verse at the end of the
Haftarah for this Shabbat
, the reading of prophet
Malachi
who announces a day in the future that will be "Gadol" or awesome: At the end of the
Haftarah
we read:
Micah 3:23
הִנֵּ֤ה אָֽנֹכִי֙ שֹׁלֵ֣חַ לָכֶ֔ם אֵ֖ת אֵלִיָּ֣ה הַנָּבִ֑יא לִפְנֵ֗י בּ֚וֹא י֣וֹם יְהוָ֔ה הַגָּד֖וֹל וְהַנּוֹרָֽא׃
Lo, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before the coming of the awesome, fearful day of the LORD.
The message in this
Haftarah
seems simple: The people have been committing a variety of sins, including sorcery, adultery, lying, cheating laborers, abandoning the tithe and the contribution to the Levites, and treating widows, orphans, and strangers poorly. Malachi imagines the people standing with their backs to God and wondering how they will ever face God again. God reminds them that if they turn back to God, God will turn back toward them. This Haftarah teaches that Hope and Restoration comes from repentance and the following of Torah’s teachings.
Hope and Restoration are, in a way, the recurrent themes throughout this reading. The restoration of acceptable offering (
Chapter 3:4
), the reparation of the Covenant through repentance (
Chapter 3:7)
the renewal of trust in divine justice (
Chapter 3:18
) and the reconciliation of parents and children (
Chapter 3:24
). Actions have consequences and if the people repent they will receive the blessing of God. God announces that God will send the Prophet Elijah to renew their hearts.
During this present chaotic, destabilizing time, during this time where it is hard to hold into hope and control, I want to invite us to read this
haftarah
as a call for restoration. I would never interpret this text in that Covid19 is a punishment from God for people’s wrongdoings. Although I can say that a lot of the ways that things are unfolding are the consequences of irresponsible leadership. Yet, at this time I would invite us to think about the consequences of our own actions going forward.
I want to share a teaching that I have shared with you before:
We find in the Talmud this rather challenging teaching (
Talmud Bavli 5a
):
אמר רבא ואיתימא רב חסדא
אם רואה אדם שיסורין באין עליו
יפשפש במעשיו
Rava, and some say Rav Ḥisda, said:
If a person sees that suffering has befallen them,
they should examine their actions.
This text is generally understood as claiming that suffering comes about as punishment for one’s transgressions. For many years, I have read it differently. Although
Lefashfesh Be- Ma’asim
means to examine your actions so that you understand why whatever has happened, happened, I suggest that instead of reading it in the past tense -- asking us to check what we had done wrong in the past to bring about this suffering, we should read it in the future tense.
Lefashfesh Be- Ma’asim
- to check my actions now and going forward:
What do I need to change from now on?
How does this experience shape my future decisions about how I live my life?
How do my own experiences of life, of suffering, of fear or loss, my experience of hurt actually help me shape my priorities from this point onwards, how do they shape my values and my journey?
I believe that we are in a time that invites us to shift and recalibrate priorities, restoring all that needs to be restored and choosing to re-center our values.
Next week, we will invite the prophet Elijah to our homes. When I was a kid, we would fill the cup for Elijah during the Seder and in the morning, I would run to check if the cup was empty and it was! (My dad would empty it). I believed, I was sure that Elijah had come to MY house and drank our wine. That experience gave me so much joy.
I invite you to hold onto the belief that Elijah can come to our homes, even if in different ways this year, and that when we allow Elijah come in to restore and renew our hearts, we may find hope, joy and comfort.
I dedicate this teaching to our dear member and friend, David Breakstone who died on Wednesday. He loved the song Eliahu Hanavi, and the prophet Elijah.
Here
you can find the song Eliahu Hanavi (traditional tune)
Here
a new tune by Annie Lewis and Rabbi Yosef Goldman
Here
the joyful Carlebach tune.
May this Shabbat bring blessings to all of you and your loved ones.
May we find strength, courage, patience and open our heart with generosity.
May all those who are ill find healing.
May we have a joyful Shabbat!
Shabbat Shalom,
