Shanah Tovah

I'm sitting here distracted by the other writing project I have to take on today, which is to write a D'var Torah for Shabbat services next month. I've given my share, but there is something overwhelming about having to deliver a sermon, albeit a short one, to a group of rabbinical school students. Most people laugh when I tell them that I actually get really nervous when I have to get up and speak in front of a group, but it is true and I get even more nervous when I sit down to write something that will be critiqued and judged by both my peers and my teachers. So, maybe I'll try and has out some thoughts here and see where it gets me.

Tonight is erev Rosh Hashanah and I feel the distance between where I am sitting and the packed parking lot that my mom, sis and I try to arrive in just as the early services are letting out so we can snag a spot at exactly the right time while one of us darts to the sanctuary to reserve our seats for the high holiday dash. Usually, we come upon the Altman's and the Ash's already sitting in the back row and we're able to conjure up enough seats to all sit together and talk about the big annual bash that is to come the following night. Everyone will arrive at the beautiful house in the woods and it won't take much more than finishing the first plate of always incredible food before Max, Stephen and I ask Ali to take us out to the garage and show us the latest collection of vehicles that we've grown up asking to be taken for a spin in or, with guts and to no avail, even asked to drive once we were able to. If it is nice outside, which it usually is, we'll work our way to the back yard and sit on the patio, catching up about the good 'ol days of summer camp and getting in trouble in hebrew school and talk about the break fast which will take place next week where we'll all be together one more time before we go back to our normal schedules and likely won't cross paths for another year. Great Falls, Virginia seems like another world today, but I can picture it in my mind as if I were headed there now.

This year in Jerusalem. Tonight is supposed to be about the beginning and I realize it also marks my third month here. I finally hear myself saying to both family and friends at home that I feel as if I am getting into a groove...finally...I am (slowly) meeting people who remind me of who I am beyond just a rabbinical student, and I'm starting to feel the days as a gift of being able to live and be in Israel rather than counting down the time to my return to all that I left. I'm starting to feel at home and I'm finding that the subtle (and not so subtle) things that remind me I am far from home are actually things that I once longed for when I was there. I walk outside my apartment to the corner coffee shop and the people I pass in the stairwells, at the bus stop and the security guard who checks my bag when I go inside all bestow warm wishes for a new year, a healthy year, and sweet year. That does not happen in Virginia. I walk down the street with my roommate who makes up a Shanah Tovah Hadashah rap re-mix and rather than people looking at her cross-eyed and laughing, they join in with their own attempt to beatbox or offer a verse. People are more aware of their words and everywhere you turn the spirit of a new beginning resonates.

The theme that I am writing my D'var on is based on the story of Noah and the Ark and this notion that Noah was considered righteous in his time and in respect to the others around him, but in another time and place many would think he was anything but. So, I'm sitting with my advisor the other day and we're talking about this notion of what does it mean to not simply be righteous but to actually be righteous within the time and space you are living. I've always thought that righteous was such a funny word. First thing that always comes to mind is Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, not necessarily the Bible, but I like the idea that most of the characters in the Bible are not actually these figures that exemplify a certain persona that most human beings do not relate to. Rather, as I study more and more I realize that actually most of the characters in these stories are flawed, often making bad decisions and the recurring theme is that somehow, through living their lives, they find the lessons that teach them how to live in a better light.

I like the idea of righteousness being something of an attribute that is not an abolute but rather falls on a spectrum. It seems to me that this allows for more people to attain a level of righteousness that perhaps seems a bit beyond reach when I think of some man taking all the animals in the land and building this big ark and rocking back and forth in a category 15 storm. But, when I think about tidbits of righteousness, extending a hand to a friend in need, taking the extra five minutes to let someone know you care about them, doing a favor for a stranger, or just making eye contact when walking past otherwise nameless people on the busy streets and I think how those small gestures both bring out light in each of us and also pass along spirit between human souls.

Somewhere when I sit down to actually write this sermon I am going to have to come to a greater conclusion about how that fits into 2006 or, better yet, 5767 and the thoughts of renewal and beginning as a new year approaches. I think so much of the people I love at home and what they do every day to try and make their lives better..through the work they are doing, through the people they are in relationships with, through music, through dance. I continue to be inspired by the numerous conversations I have here, sometimes in the most unlikely places, and I realize that whether someone I am studying with is here solely to continue tradition or they are here to revolutionize Jewish education and bring it into the 21st century they are also working to bring together the points of light that yield a collective righteousness.

I go back to Bill and Ted and I think if I could jump in a phonebooth and fly both around the world right in this time and also back in time who I would pick up and bring to the stage when I talk about the righteous people that are a part of my story and my tradition. As I get ready for the chag I realize I'm lucky because once my phonebooth was full there would be people from both here and there...from right now and from before my own time...and these people would all look different and would have done very different things...some would be big names and many would be nameless to all but a few...but they would all have one thing in common...they would be navigating this life to the fullest...they would be aware of the many blessings that are both on the surface and more so that lie way beneath and their hearts would be full. And, just like Bill and Ted's final project...there would definitely be a major rock concert upon arrival. And that, would be totally righteous!

One final thought...erev Rosh Hashanah. Us Jews having two new years...Jan 1 and the Rosh always leaves me thinking that the first is for tangible resolutions and the latter for that of resolving deeper things that take more time and a bit more digging...as I sit and think about my wishes for the coming year I think about a message someone presented at a gathering we had at school the other day with our class and the pre-schoolers to toast the new year...may this be a year of sweetness; may this be a year of love. May it be a year with no war and may we know peace. May we be in the company of those we care about and may we always let them know we care. May it be about family and be about friends. May it be about life...good life. Rak D'varim Tovim...only good things!

Chag Sameach...l'shanah tovah
peace...i'm out.
love!