Rabbi Rachel R. Saphire
Yom Kippur Morning Sermon 5774
Wednesday, September 14, 2013
Temple Beth Elohim
The Choosing People
Whether you see it or not, you’ve made a choice to be here today. You may be thinking, “I don’t have a choice whether or not to observe Yom Kippur. It’s just what I do. It’s what I’ve always done.” You may observe in order to support your loved one or your family. Maybe you’re a teenager or child and your parents have simply told you, “You’re coming.” Either way: you’re here and that’s a big deal. And even if you may not realize you have, you’ve made that choice and THAT is a big deal, too.
Our Torah portion for Yom Kippur comes from Parashat Nitzavim from the Book of Deuteronomy. In just a few verses, God puts a big choice before us.
“You stand this day, all of you, before God —[leaders], elders, all the men, women and children of Israel,and even the non-Israelite living among you[i]… to enter into the covenant of the Lord your God…
Surely, this Instruction that I command you this day is not too baffling for you, nor is it beyond reach.[This Instruction] is not … beyond the sea - that you should say, ‘Who among us can cross to the other side of the sea and get it for us and impart it to us, that we may observe it?’No, the Intruction is very close to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to observe it.
See, I set before you this day life and prosperity, death and
adversity… Choose life — that you and your offspring will live”[ii]
I find this text to be symbolic. It is not only about choosing life in the physical sense (preserving our health), but I actually think it’s about choosing TO LIVE JEWISHLY in a meaningful way. For, the commandment to choose life is given as an instruction to connect to that which is sacred. Perhaps what’s most important is the fact that this strong charge does not explicitly say HOW we should choose to live Jewishly in a meaningful way. The text only states that this choice is not far out of reach “it is very close to you – in your mouth and in your heart.” What I think this really means is that the choice is within each and every one of us. It is upon us to choose for ourselves, from within our own being, how it is that we want to express our Jewish identity or connect to the Jewish community. And if that is the case, the pathway to choosing Jewish life may be different for each one of us! The point is that we each actively have to make the choice. Making this choice is a big deal.
The Torah portion also mentions that all of us stand before God on this day - every single one of us, no matter who we are – men, women, and children. The text also mentions that even the ger, the one who is not from the Israelite community and is not Jewish stands among us.[iii] Today, a ger tzedek, also refers to one who makes the choice to convert or join the Jewish community.[iv] We affirmatively call him/her a “Jew by Choice.” I think the Torah is teaching us that WE SHOULD ALL BE JEWS BY CHOICE! What would it look like if each and every one of us consciously took hold of our choice to be Jewish?
I’ve thought about this question from a very young age. I grew up in an interfaith family. My mom is Jewish and my dad was raised as a Christian. My parents made the decision to raise my twin brother and me as Jews. My mother also wanted my father to feel comfortable observing his own customs. What did that mean? Culturally, we celebrated Christmas at home. I have fond memories of decorating the tree, hanging holiday lights, putting up a stocking, listening to and singing carols, laying out cookies for Santa Claus, sitting down for a Christmas Eve dinner, and waking up to open presents.
I also remember my mother sharing her strong Jewish identity with us and teaching us to take pride in being Jewish. We celebrated Passover and Chanukah at home with active rituals. A few times a year, we lit the Shabbat candles. In my hometown, being Jewish was also ‘something different.’ My brother and I were the only Jewish kids in our grade and my mom was our school’s “Jewish mom.” She would go from room to room to teach about Chanukah and sometimes she even invited the class to our house.
All of these practices brought me joy. I knew that I was Jewish, but I also knew my father and his family members were not. I also liked to fit in among my classmates. And so, I matter-of-factly and quite simply called myself and considered myself to be “half-Jewish.”
Then, something began to change my perspective midway through elementary school. A new kid came to town. He was in the same grade as me, his grandparents lived up the street, and HE was JEWISH! Besides my brother, I had made my first Jewish friend. I began to learn about his family and their deeply-rooted Jewish practices. With joy and excitement, their extended family gathered for holidays, including festivals I had never experienced. Their traditions and rituals spanned generations. They went to temple together. Being Jewish even informed the way they ate and the things they talked about. I was fascinated by this new-found meaning and beauty that I experienced by having a Jewish friend.
I began to explore my own identity.
“Who am I really and what is important to me?”
And then the deep Jewish questions came up, too.
“If my friend is Jewish and he goes to temple, then why don’t I?”
“Can I celebrate the ‘new’ Jewish holidays that his family celebrates?”
And then a bit later as I began to visit religious school and temple functions with my friend…
“Mom, can I attend religious school, too?”
“Can you help me learn Hebrew?”
“Can we go to services?”
“How about a field trip to the Jewish gift shop?”
And then things like…
“Mom, why do we have a Christmas tree if we’re Jewish?”
“Can we have a youth group just like the Christian kids do?”
“Can I skip my soccer game on Yom Kippur?”
“Can I become Bat Mitzvah even if I’m now 17?”
“Can I study with the rabbi more?”
And so I did – all of these things. My brother and I formed a youth group at our temple. And there we built our own sense of Jewish community. And I became Bat Mitzvah on my 17th birthday – With a new year of life came a new understanding of the depth and richness of Torah. And I decided that I would find my own sense of peace by attending Shabbat services every week if I could – that even meant skipping THE high school football game on Friday night.
These choices were my own, ones that I was proud to make and explore. Some choices were different than the ones my brother made and many were different than the ones my school friends made. But, they were mine -my own conscious and meaningful choices – ones that allowed me to explore my passions and the things that were important to ME. These choices brought me joy, connection, a sense of purpose and even the feeling of being known and loved. Even though I was born a Jew, it is for these reasons that I am a Jew by Choice. And it is because of my Jewish journey that I want each of you to have the same opportunity to make your own conscious Jewish choices today, every day, in the year ahead.
Instead of thinking of ourselves as the CHOSEN people (people for whom our destiny is chosen and dictated), we could become the CHOOSING people. We could choose to create a new Shabbat ritual for ourselves every week. We could choose to read more Jewish texts or books or explore the world of Jewish music. We could act in more concrete ways that heal our world. Or we could visit those who are lonely and in need. We could commit to teaching our children something of our own Jewish interest. We could share our own family’s history. We could question and explore our faith. If we could choose to do any of these types of things (the choices are endless)…Then, we would not be passive inheritors of our tradition, but rather active participants, consciously acting upon our choice to live Jewishly.
Our Torah portion for Yom Kippur reminds us that simply ‘existing’ is easy, but ‘living’ requires active participation and choice. The same is true for meaningful Jewish connection and positive Jewish identity. We can go through a whole year just existing as a Jew, but LIVING Judaism requires 365 days of choosing – whatever that looks like. The Torah tells us that this decision is one or the other – life or death. Mere ‘existence’ equals death. If we're not actively growing, exploring or choosing, then we're decaying.
In reflection on his Jewish life and Jewish identity, Albert Einstein stated that his only regret would have been if he were not able to choose Judaism for himself.[v]
I think Einstein, the child of two Jews, meant for this statement to catch our attention. How did one of the world’s most famous Jews come to view his connection to Judaism in such a way? Well, Einstein was born in 1879, into an assimilated family in southern Germany. Albert’s father, Hermann, was proud of the fact that Jewish rites were not practiced in his home. He and his wife, Pauline even sent their son to the neighborhood Catholic school.
Under a Bavarian law calling for every child to be schooled in his family’s religious tradition, Pauline and Hermann hired a distant cousin to tutor 10-year-old Albert in Hebrew, Torah and the teachings of the prophets. To their chagrin, the boy fell in love with God. Delighted by the idea that human action could please God, Einstein offered up devotionals which he sang on the way to school. He also gave up eating pork. His parents must have been relieved when geometry began to absorb Albert’s attention at age 12.
If not by upbringing, Einstein was becoming a Jew by Choice.
At a much later age in 1947, having made his way to the States, Einstein gave a short talk on the importance of identifying as a Jew to the Princeton University’s Student Hebrew Association. Einstein spoke of a Jewish affinity that did not arise from tribal or ethnic connection. He abhorred allegiances based simply on blood ties or nationhood. (He believed that being Jewish is not about inheriting Jewishness.) He perceived, rather, independence of thought and an ethical imperative as the distinct blessings of Jewish heritage.
Because of this viewpoint, Einstein was not quick to support the development of a Jewish state based on nationality alone. He found his own way to support Israel and the Jewish people. Whether it was situated in a state, homeland or Mandate, Einstein felt the need for a higher Jewish center of learning. “I know of no public event,” he toldThe New York Times, “that has given me such pleasure as the proposal to establish a Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
Einstein also gave permission to the organizers of what would become Brandeis University to name their start-up foundation the “Albert Einstein Foundation for Higher Learning.” In 1948, New York’s Yeshiva University asked for his name on the Albert Einstein School of Medicine. And for Hebrew University, which had named its school of mathematics after him, Einstein ceaselessly sought funds and favors.
One of the world’s most famous Jews chose, with very strong conviction, to pave his own unique path of Jewish connection. He is well known for saying, “For me the unaltered Jewish religion is a [manifestation] of the most childish superstitions.[vi] I believe Einstein was advocating for a Judaism made relevant and meaningful by each one of us in our own way.
At TBE, we are proud that our community is a beautiful blend of people choosing to live Jewishly in our own ways – whether we were born Jewish, are part of a Jewish family, or take part in Jewish life because it is important to our partner or family member. We support you and your journey to connect Jewishly. We support your choices and we encourage you to make active ones! Please let us know how we can journey with you.
Einstein made choices based on his Jewish identity until the day that he died in 1955. He left wishes for his body to be cremated and in keeping with the way he had lived since his teenage years, Einstein’s funeral was absent of ritual. Nor did Einstein wish to leave behind a memorial or gravesite. His ashes were strewn over the Delaware River.
Though Einstein left the world without a physical monument to his existence, through his choices, he literally gave his all to the Jewish people. He left orders in his will for a trust to be formed from all of his manuscripts, copyrights, and publication rights. The trust’s income was designated first for his children – as long as they lived. After that [in 1973], its contents and income were gifted to Hebrew University.
To a degree that Einstein may never have imagined, that gift has kept on giving. Those who use Einstein’s name and image for commercial ends must pay for the privilege. Every Einstein T-shirt or poster, each Baby Einstein toy, the Apple “Think Different” ads, all earn money for Einstein’s beloved institute of Jewish learning. With relativity, Einstein paved new roads for scientists. With the choices of his own life, he pioneered new ways to live as a Jew.[vii]
So, it’s up to you. And yes, it’s a big deal. How will you choose to live Jewishly today and in this new year? Will you let your Jewish identity be chosen for you? Or will you be a Jew by Choice? It is during these Days of Awe and reflection that we see these choices that God has put before us – life and prosperity or simply existence and decay. I, too, hope that you choose life and that your choices will be meaningful for you and your family. May this journey of choice and opportunity lead us to be inscribed for a rich, fulfilling and blessed Jewish life.
1
[i] Deuteronomy 29:10 וְגֵרְךָ אֲשֶׁר בְּקֶרֶב מַֽחֲנֶיךָ ger’cha b’kerev machanecha “The stranger within your camp.” Most likely the ger toshav, the resident “alien” or non-Israelite living within the Israelite encampment. The ger toshav accepted the Noahide laws, refrained from Idolatry, and in return lived among and was protected by the Israelite community.
[ii] Interpretation of Deuteronomy 29:9 – 30:15
[iii] Most likely it’s the ger toshav that is mentioned in Deuteronomy 29:10.
[iv] The ger tzedek is defined in the Talmud as a righteous convert who converts for the sake of religious truth and not for any other motive.
[v] Source unknown.
[vi] Letter to Eric B. Gutkind, on January 3, 1954, sent as response to Gutkind's book “Choose Life: The Biblical Call to Revolt”.
[vii] Was Einstein a Jewish Saint? BYMANDY KATZ·MARCH 13, 2013Moment Magazine –