Holiday Message (3 min read)

רפואה מן התורה
Healing from the Torah

Perhaps you are familiar with the story about the homeless man who was brought to a tailor by a kind town’s person to have a new set of cloths made for Yom Kippur. The tailor told the homeless man to come back later that day to pick up his new cloths.  Upon his return the homeless man tried on his new cloths and was out-ranged at the tailor because they did not fit right. The tailor stood there patiently as the homeless yelled at him, accusing the tailor of shaming him with miss-fitting cloths.  After the homeless man was finished with his rant the tailor said, “Sir, I assure you that the cloths fit, but you have to take the old ones off first.”  While there are a number of applications to that story I suppose, here, it about leaving our “stuff” at the door and letting the message and the meaning of our holidays into our hearts, minds and spirits.

It’s good to reflect on what we just went through.  During this time of the year it also seems that Jews in general are more willing to consider the “nuts and bolts “ of God so to speak.  On Yom Kippur we spent 25 hours looking deep within, pounding our chest’s and confessing things we don’t normally think about.  Okay so maybe we don’t do everything that we read about, but you know we have the potential, and that is just as important to consider and reflect upon.  That is somewhat reminiscent of the two goats from Leviticus 16.   One goat is sacrificed to God for Israel to say thank you for the ritual opportunity to internalize being forgiven.  The second goat called the Azazel was sent off into the wilderness, symbolically carrying the bad and evil out of the Israel’s camp, a ritual where Israel was both grateful and humbled.  Grateful because God was willing to provide a means to banish what was no good from their midst.  Humbled because that was a mirror of self, revealing to each who stood there that their sins have also been cast away.  As that goat ran off into the wilderness and slowly faded out of sight, I think it reasonable to hold that those who watched surely realized in that moment that that could have been them. 

That message of Yom Kippur, although no longer in the image of a goat running away, exists in the words of our prayers - kind of like water that flows under the ice.  We need to remember that “to pray,” להתפלל, is a reflexive verb that just does not mean to pray but “to judge oneself.” (i.e. self-examination/words are a mirror).  The words of our prayers speak to us on a level that surpasses our intellect alone and touches our sense of the spiritual.  But is that not what prayer is supposed do?  If our prayers have such high lofty values that they are beyond our human comprehension is there value in them for us?  Well, sure there is value, but like the story about the homeless man and his new cloths, you have to remove the old that fights against the prayers in order to receive the newness of its meaning.  Every year we are confronted with a new meaning to our prayers, either new lessons that came our way or old ones we are still needing to learn.  There is great value it what we experience with Rosh Hashanah through Yom Kippur.

This past Sunday night we begin the celebration of Sukkot.  In contrast to the solemn day of Yom Kippur that concluded 40 days of Cheshbone haNefesh that began on Elul 1, Sukkot is joyful, sweets in our sukkah’s, a week of celebration and good food!  We had a season of reflection and growth that brought new energies into our lives. We need to be grateful and joyful for that. That is why Sukkot is Zman Simchateinu, a time of our rejoicing.  But Sukkot, like our prayers and the two goats beforehand, is a mirror for our beings, thus it asks us to embrace its meaning of thanksgiving.  The Mystics believed that the power of Yom Kippur was not confined to the day itself but would act as a guide throughout the following year, asking us always to consider the place of tikkun hamiddot, the repair of our characters to be better than we were before. Yet the Mystics also believed that based on Psalm 121:5 that says יְהוָ֥ה צִ֝לְּךָ֗ עַל־יַ֥ד יְמִינֶֽךָ, “The LORD is your guardian, the LORD is your protection at your right hand,” God would accompany us on our life journeys in the same way that our shadow follows us everywhere we go.

The Holidays are not over and each of us still has the opportunity to allow its voice to make us better people and Jews, raising our values to new and restored heights.  However it is approached, just remember, take off your old clothes first so the new ones can fit perfectly.  I hope you have a great Sukkot and may it indeed be for you Zman Simchateinu, a time of rejoicing.  Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sukkot Sameach.