On this sixth Shabbat, before Rosh Hashanah, I’d like to tell you a short story about Moshe Yosef Daum and Fela Nussbaum who were both holocaust survivors and married after the war in Poland. Regarding their shared experience, while Moshe took the attitude that humans could not possibly comprehend the mystery of God in relationship to the horrors of the holocaust, Fela’s was the opposite. In this case her son said of his mom, “before God’s final judgment, she will turn the tables. She will demand to know why God stood by silently during the holocaust as her large family was being destroyed.” We will return to Fela in just a little bit, but what does her story have to do with this week’s Torah parasha, or more particularly, the Haftarah of Eikev?
The theme in general of this week’s Haftarah, and really the entire Torah reading, is about God’s enduring love for Israel. The theme of the Haftarah parallels our ascent to Rosh Hashanah but must be understood in light of the world in which Isaiah lived. A prophet of the Southern Kingdom, Isaiah wrote at a time just before Israel was ushered off into exile in Babylon based on her unfaithfulness to God, Torah and one another. In the same way Isaiah wrote prior to the destruction of the Temple, we read on the Shabbat before Tisha B’Av, “And when you lift up your hands, I will turn My eyes away from you; Though you pray at length, I will not listen. Your hands are stained with blood” (Is. 1:15). Further writing, “Listen, House of David,”[Isaiah] retorted, “is it not enough for you to treat the weary amongst you as helpless that you also treat my God as helpless?” (Is. 7:13), words that speak to Israel’s lack of faith to believe that God was still present even in the midst of their exile.
Yes, Isaiah called Israel to task, but he was also a voice of hope, renewal and restoration. Last Shabbat’s Haftarah from Isaiah spoke of a God who would comfort Israel and would bring them back to Jerusalem after their exile. This week, reminding the people of God’s enduring love, the prophet wrote, “Zion [the congregation of Israel] says, GOD has forsaken me, My Sovereign has forgotten me’” (Is. 49:14). But that is not so, as Isaiah further declares, “Can a woman forget her baby, Or disown the child of her womb? Though she might forget, I never could forget you” (Is. 49:15). So while yes even if a mother but for a moment can turn her back on her child, God cannot - in fact God will not, forget the nation that is called the Lord’s “first born.” Isaiah therefore continues, “Truly GOD has comforted Zion, Comforted all her ruins— Made her wilderness like Eden, Her desert like the Garden of GOD. Gladness and joy shall abide there, Thanksgiving and the sound of music” (Is. 51:3).
According to the words of Isaiah the people believed that God had abandoned them in some strange land, questioning if God even cared in the first place, which takes us back to the story of Fela Nussbaum. Fela believed the same thing as Israel in Isaiah’s day, “where is God … how can I trust a God who left me in my greatest need,” Fela's own lack of faith to believe that God was still present even in the midst of her personal nightmare! Did that mean Fela no longer believed in God, was she now agnostic, or maybe she became what the religious world called a Pagan! On the contrary! Fela was the ultimate definition of what Moses meant when he called the people in Deuteronomy 9:6 “stiff-necked,” but not the way you might think. Do we really believe that just because someone struggles with their connection to spiritual things they lack faith, or worse God turns away? Stiff-necked means stubborn, which should be seen as a good thing, or consider the following: if Fela Nussbaum was not “stiff-necked” could she really have had the audacity (or chutzpah) to actually think she could stand there and take God to task!
During the Holidays we take God to task when we pray the Vekhol Ma’aminim that says “And all believe that God is faithful. And all believe that God is good to all. And all believe that God is omnipotent. And all believe that God answers the silent prayer. And all believe that God is just and righteous. And all believe that God’s work is perfect.” Is this so? Can all really believe, or like Fela, are there those who cannot? Rabbi Joshua Hoffman writes, “the pursuit of wisdom will be an everlasting commitment, one that will be tested” in generations past, present and future, which will include our doubts as people of faith, or part of the Jewish struggle; remember the meaning of Israel is one who struggles with God and prevails!
Therefore, on our journey toward the Chagim, or the Holidays, we look at the year behind us, and maybe just like with Fela, life dealt a hand to you or I that made us struggle with our faith as we approach Rosh Hashanah, and if so zeh b’seder - it’s okay - we share that common bond! Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote of people's faith, “To some people they are like shooting stars, passing and unremembered. In others they kindle a light that is never quenched,” meaning that our faith experiences and pursuits are somewhat subjective because that are individually unique. Our struggles are also individually unique, which is why we all must be a little “stiff-necked” as to not give up on the spiritual interests that may potentially yield great rewards. That was Isaiah’s message to Israel, that was what Fela figured out despite her unimaginable experience, and that is the message we are to ponder on the way to the Holidays.
Shabbat shalom,
Rabbi Adam
No comments:
Post a Comment