I will begin this morning with a phrase from the Rosh Hashana musaf service.      

היום יעמיד במשפט כל יצורי עולמים.   

This day, all the creatures of the universe stand in judgment before You, O God.              

This core statement of traditional High Holy Day theology is one which may not reflect our conception of God during the rest of the year; but we are drawn to it when the High Holidays arrive.

The Mishna teaches that we pass before God on these days as b’nai maron, which is explained by many, including the author of U’ntaneh Tokef, as passing before God as sheep before the shepherd. But, in the Talmud, Resh Lakish has a different explanation of these words. He teaches that the residents of a mountainous village called Maron, b’nai Maron, reached their village by climbing up a path so narrow that they had to walk single file. So, we pass before God as individuals, walking alone, singled out. The rest of the world fades away in the background as God focuses on each of us individually and we have God’s undivided attention as each of us stands in judgment. 

On the High Holy Days, we should find at least one moment when we truly feel that we are standing on a narrow path alone in the presence of God, as the mortal, fallible and yet grand individual that each of us is. 

This concept is, I believe, the essence of the High Holy Days.

As we think about this concept, we should quickly dismiss the question: how God could possibly attend to each of almost 8 billion human beings as individuals at the same time. Of course, time and space in that sense mean nothing to God so there is no reason God couldn’t focus on 8 billion people individually. We shouldn’t ruin this beautiful idea by being rational.

So, it wouldn’t matter if there were twice or hundreds of times or thousands of times as many souls to confront individually, God could handle it. 

And perhaps there are.

Maybe there are more souls to judge than those 8 billion.

Right here, some of you might be thinking that I am going to talk about animals again. While I do believe that animals have souls in one sense or the other, that’s not my subject today. 

I’m thinking in another direction.

You might say that I’m thinking vertically, not horizontally.

This morning, I would like to share some thoughts on a book published this year that I just read for the third time- It’s great to be retired. It is a fascinating book which I would love to discuss with those of you interested at some point after the holidays. I can’t do the book or the subject justice within this time frame. I’ll try to whet your appetite though. 

The book was written by Avi Loeb, professor of Science and former chair of the astronomy department at Harvard University.  

The title of the book is simple enough, but it is the subtitle which will grab your attention. The book is entitled: Extraterrestrial and the subtitle is: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth.

Professor Loeb believes that we may very well have witnessed that sign. 

Let me assure you that he has not seen little green people. He hasn’t taught musical scales on top of Devil’s Tower or come across that tall man carrying a book entitled To Serve Man. He hasn’t climbed into a machine to go through a wormhole in the time space continuum. The sign he refers to is more subtle: an object hurtling through our solar system which was sighted by astronomers in a Hawaiian observatory in 2017 and given the name ‘Oumuamua, Hawaiian for “scout”. 

Professor Loeb explains that ‘Oumuamua wavered from the path of an object influenced only by gravity of the sun and that it showed no evidence of gas or debris following it which would affect its movement. He writes that the most reasonable  explanation given the evidence is that it is an artificial object with its own system of propulsion, the product of intelligent beings somewhere out there. 

Of course, not everyone agrees with him. That is an understatement. 

But the science behind his hypothesis, and he is careful to call it a hypothesis, is fascinating. The book solidified my belief that such extraterrestrial intelligence does exist and that we should continue to search for it to the extent possible.

Professor Loeb brings up many critical ideas. I will discuss three of those ideas that I believe are particularly meaningful during these Days of Awe.

First, while Loeb says: “I put my faith and hope in science” and certainly I absolutely agree that trust in science is crucial especially in this era of COVID, he is highly critical of the way in which the scientific establishment, by and large, refuses to take his hypothesis seriously. He says it is evidence of the arrogance of scientists who will not consider ideas which don’t fit into their prior assumptions or haven’t been proven conclusively. Loeb writes that the failure of scientists to consider theories that are not immediately verifiable is preventing many from considering this possibility and he sees this as a missed opportunity. I will quickly add that I feel the same way when scientists dismiss some experiences which are referred to as “paranormal”. I think many deserve strong scientific consideration and investigation. 

We must acknowledge that there is mystery in creation that we have yet to completely understand. 

Professor Loeb is passionate about this perspective and writes with language which takes on a spiritual character, even as he states that he is “secular”. His personal musings about his youth in Israel and his reflections on seashells and galaxies clearly display an awe with which he sees the universe and a desire to understand our place in it.

He expresses ideas which could be found in any number of rabbis’ High Holy Day sermons, including certainly my own. For example, he writes: “We are here for a short time and consequently we had better not fake our actions. Let us stay honest, authentic, and ambitious. Let our limitations, very much including the limited time we are each given, encourage humility.” Humility can lead us to acknowledging that this world is full of mysteries and possibilities which enhance our respect for creation. 

Secondly, a thought about our present and our future, certainly on our minds on the High Holy Days. 

Loeb refers to the theologian Blaise Pascal who famously stated that human beings wager with their lives on whether God exists or not. Pascal argued that it is better to live our lives as though God existed. If we are wrong, all it cost us was a few pleasures. If we are right, we are saved from eternal punishment.

Similarly, Loeb says, we should bet our future on the idea that ‘Oumuamua is extraterrestrial technology. 

Professor Loeb stresses how critical it is that we recognize “the promise of betting right, of exploring out among the stars for the life we expect to find there: betting wrong and planning too little and too late could hasten our extinction.”

But, why now? With all the dangers and challenges we face in the world, why even consider this possibility now? In this context, Loeb refers to economist Robin Hanson who coined the term “filter” to refer the age when a civilization advances technologically to the point where it can achieve great things but can also self-destruct.

The lessons we would learn and the discoveries we could make would justify investment both with resources and with our creative energy. We might discover something which would enable us to surmount this “filter” in one way or another and help the prospects for our survival. That is quite an argument and one which, again, you need to read in more detail to completely appreciate.

Finally, he addresses the questions which are often raised in connection with the issue of extraterrestrial intelligence. How would religion deal with this discovery? What would it mean to those of us who believe in God of creation and of human beings created in God’s image? As we might say: Is it good for the Jews? 

Professor Loeb reminds us that at different times, both religion and science have bolstered arrogance of humility. Frequently, both encourage their practitioners to put on blinders restricting their thoughts, teaching that we have all the answers we need in front of us.

But he notes that occasionally both disciplines have encouraged people to shed their blinders and open themselves up to the new, the controversial, the unexpected. 

He is correct. But, I can say with respect to religion,  it needs to happen more often. 

So, how do I see this from my perspective as a rabbi?

I believe that there is nothing in traditional Jewish faith that would in any way be threatened by assuming or even proving the presence of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe. Perhaps some of our texts even pre-suppose this reality. After all, the word for universe in the Machzor text I quoted before, is olamim, plural of the word olam, world. Think about that. 

If we believe that God is limitless in creative power, then the presence of other beings who believe in whatever way they might that they are created in the image something greater than they themselves, who stand on narrow paths looking up to the heavens in awe in no way invalidates our uniqueness, as individuals of as a species, in God’s eyes. 

This entire question is not a threat to our faith. And I will take this one step further. I think this search is vital and can be extraordinarily meaningful on a spiritual level.

Taking the leap of faith that those other beings exist and, in fact, searching for them, would keep us appropriately humble, believing that there might be others created in God’s image. It would also widen our vision to more deeply acknowledge the wonders of the universe. 

Two of my favorite movies, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Contact are about the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, and I often use them as metaphors for the searches we are all on in our spiritual lives. But these are science fiction and while I find them fascinating and thought provoking, I do not expect human beings to experience extraterrestrial intelligence in the way these movies propose.

However, I can readily accept the idea that an object hurtling through our solar system came from another type of intelligent life. I can readily accept it especially if accepting it could bring human beings together to contemplate and better understand who we are and how we connect with the universe and our creator. 

After all, isn’t that the message of the High Holy Days?

It is a fantastic, courageous book.

If you’re interested in continuing the discussion, I’m ready any time. 

This is the fourth and final posting of original prayers which I shared with the Congregation on the first night of Rosh Hashana. This prayer, from 2002, followed a d’var Torah in which I commented on a line from the Shabbat morning service: Yismach Moshe B’Matnat Helko.

The words are translated: “Moses rejoiced with the gift of his heritage”. But, the word yismach is actually a future tense verb so we would more accurately read this as: “Moses will rejoice”.

The paragraph which follows this line is: “Veshamru B’nai Yisrael et HaShabbat”, a verse from the Torah which is usually translated: “The people of Israel should keep the Sabbath”. But, I suggested we translate it as: “The people of Israel will keep the Sabbath”. Perhaps this is a promise from God to Moses that in fact the people would observe the commandments that he had delivered to the people and that this made Moses happy in that he rejoiced in the fact that his sacred work would be rewarded.

That led me to think of what it is that we could do that would make different figures from Jewish history rejoice. Here is the prayer that I wrote:

As we have made Moses rejoice by our gathering tonight, may we continue to make our ancestors rejoice through our actions in the coming year.

May Aaron, who taught us to seek peace and pursue it, rejoices as we seek and pursue peace in our homes, in our community, in our nation and in our world.

May Miriam, who taught us to sing a joyous song to God, rejoice as we find new ways to express our joy at being alive and our thanks to our creator.

May Joshua, who taught us to be strong and courageous, rejoice as we find renewed strength and courage to face the difficulties of life in the year ahead.

May Esther, who taught us to always be prepared to step out from behind whatever masks we may wear and remember our responsibility to our people, rejoice as we and our children proudly identify with our Jewish community and our Jewish people. (2021 note: this does not apply to COVID masks, please continue to wear them.)

May Rabbi Akiva, who taught us that we are never too old to begin to learn, rejoice as more and more of us take on the commitments of serious Jewish learning at whatever stage in life we are.

May Hillel, who taught us to be gentle and flexible in our efforts to do God’s will, rejoice as we realize that strength and loyalty to our people is not an excuse for belligerence and arrogance.

May Maimonides, who taught us that the middle way is the proper way, rejoice as we find a way to avoid extremes and seek moderation in our daily lives.

May the Ba’al Shem Tov, who taught us to find mystery and ecstasy in our daily life, rejoice as we rise above the every day to find beauty and holiness in our world.

And, may all of those who lived and died so that we might be here tonight, rejoice in the commitments we have made to return again and again throughout this year.

May God bless us all of us together with a year of life, peace, health and rejoicing.

Best wishes to all for a Shana Tova u’mituka: A sweet, healthy, year.

       

I want to share a third prayer which I wrote to share with the Congregation on the first night of Rosh Hashana. This prayer, written in 2015, was based on a song: a beautiful song with a very simple but memorable melody. One of the song’s writers, the man who first performed it, had died a few months before. After I heard the news of his death, I found myself singing the song repeatedly for several days and decided to use his song as the basis for my prayer. 

It is a song which continues to inspire and, in fact, just the other night while at a family wedding celebration, I heard the unforgettable introduction and watched as so many people of different ages started immediately singing along. 

The song was inspired by words from Psalm 46 and from an old Christian spiritual. Its message of loyalty and love and connection speaks to all of us. It has been “covered” by more than 400 artists including Ike and Tina Turner, MeatLoaf, John Lennon, Tracy Chapman in an extraordinary performance on the David Letterman show just a few days, coincidentally, before the songwriter’s death and, last but certainly not least, Timon and Pumbaa from The Lion King in a hilarious video. 

       To further solidify its place in my heart, in the mid 1980’s it became the title song to one of my favorite movies.

       The song, as you might have concluded by now, is Stand By Me and the name of the man who died, the co-writer and original performer of this beautiful song was Ben E. King. .

Before I read the prayer on Rosh Hashana that year, I sang one verse of the song softly and invited the congregation to join with me, softly as well, addressing it both to God and to the people closest to us. I wanted the song to bring more meaning to this night as we ask God and our loved ones to sustain us regardless of what this year might bring.

Here is the text of the prayer from 2015:

       When the night has come

       And the land is dark

       And the moon is the only light we’ll see.

       No, I won’t be afraid, I won’t be afraid

       Just as long as you Stand By Me.

As we gather together at the beginning of this New Year, O God, help us to stand through the year. 

       Help us to stand by our family and friends, to share their joy and comfort them through sadness.

       Help us, O God, to stand by and for our people and our faith. Let us express pride and remain always dedicated to our brothers and sisters, our tradition, our history and our commitment for our future. 

       Help us, O God, to stand by the values You and our great teachers have instilled in us: values which compel us to search endlessly for peace and justice and to hear the cries and concerns of all people everywhere, the hungry, the oppressed, the refugee, the unfairly and unjustly imprisoned and those who live in danger and isolation, and reach out a hand to help them.

       Help us, O God, to stand by our hopes and our dreams. Help us not to give up the wild, revolutionary, and authentically Jewish idea that the world can be a place of perfection if we join hands with all throughout the world to make it so. 

       And, O God, stand by us as we navigate this frustrating, difficult, maddening and so, so beautiful world. When the night has come and the land is dark, help us to find the moon and stars to guide us one step at a time to fulfill our responsibilities and embrace our world with confidence and hope. 

       May we stand by those we love and may they and You, O God, always stand by us as this new year unfolds.

Shana Tova

Last week, I posted a prayer for the New Year which I wrote in 2016. This week, I am posting a prayer I wrote in 2007.

The prayer followed a sermon in which I taught a Midrash I love about our patriarch Jacob who was also known as Yisrael, Israel. The teaching is that Jacob remains alive as long as the people of Israel, who bear his name, remains alive.

This prayer builds on that idea and refers to many teachings regarding our patriarchs and matriarchs. Some explanations of the references in the prayer can be found below the text.

I hope you will find the prayer meaningful as we continue to plan for the New Year which is fast approaching.

This year may we dedicate ourselves to keeping alive the souls of our patriarchs and matriarchs as we endeavor to make the most of our lives and to serve our people and our world.

May we strive to reach greater spiritual heights, inspire our travels with meaning, shake the foundations of our world where necessary and become an inspiration to our children and grandchildren. In this way we keep Abraham alive.^[1]

May we continue to believe in a better future no matter how absurd that may seem. May we laugh when the time is right and keep ourselves active and vital as we age. In this way, we keep Sarah alive.^[2]

May we be loyal and willing to do what is necessary for the future of our people and our world. May we understand that being a bridge from the past to the future is, in itself, a great honor. In this way, we keep Isaac alive.^[3]

May we be courageous in the face of difficulty and resolute in standing firm for our ideals. May we be trusting of family and community and willingly share in the ambitions and priorities of those around us. And, last but not least, may we always care for the animals who mean so much to us. In this way, we keep Rebecca alive.^[4]

May we be renaissance people, widening our areas of interest. May we reach for the heavens and wrestle with reality. May we give our name to our people and may we always, always seek ways to reconnect with those from whom we have been separated. In this way, we keep Jacob alive.^[5]

May we convey the message that real beauty comes from within. May we take seriously our role as elders and see ourselves as the mothers and fathers of generations to come. In this way, we keep Leah alive.^[6]

May we tell our children always that there is a hope for the future. May our tears be dried and may our legacy live on after us. In this way, we keep Rachel alive.^[7]

May God bless us as God blessed Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob and Rachel and Leah. May we invite their spirit into our homes and invite them into our hearts. May we keep our patriarchs and matriarchs – and our people – alive.

Shana Tova. 

---

^[1] God’s initial call to Abraham was: “Lech Lecha” Go forth to the land that I will show you. The tradition teaches that he was the first to believe in one God, an idea which challenged the beliefs of the time. 

^[2] According to the Torah, Sarah laughed when she was told she would give birth to a child in her 90s. The name of the child, Isaac, may derive from the word for laughter.

^[3] Isaac was the second of the Patriarchs and often viewed as providing the essential link between his father, Abraham and his son, Jacob.

^[4] Rebecca wsa considered to be the “purest” of the Matriarchs and Patriarchs and her love of animals was evident in the story of her kindness to the camels whom she watered.

^[5] Jacob was a man of many skills and our people bear his name Israel. 

^[6] Leah’s sister, Rachel, was considered more beautiful than she according to the Torah but Leah was a loyal wife to Jacob and mother to many children. 

^[7] The prophet Jeremiah speaks of Rachel crying for her children as they are led to exile in Babylonia past her grave. The prophet tells her to dry her tears as there is hope for her future and her people would come back to the land and to her. 

For many years, I had the tradition of writing a prayer for the New Year which I read at the conclusion of services on the first night of Rosh Hashana. These prayers often reflected one of my interests or events taking place in the world at the time. My words were often more “charges” than prayers, words of encouragement to consider what is truly important in our lives as we engage in the process of teshuva, repentance, which is the major theme of the High Holy Days. 

In our tradition, Teshuva is not just for the Holy Days. The entire month of Elul, which began yesterday, is a month dedicated to teshuva in preparation for the High Holy Days. During the month of Elul, I will share some of those prayers on my podcast and here, in my blog.

You will hear one such prayer in this week’s edition of my podcast (which will be posted on Thursday, August 12). That prayer focuses on my love of geography. The prayer I am posting below, with the original introduction, is based on my love for sports and my fascination with the Olympics and was delivered on Rosh Hashana 2016, after the summer Olympic games.

         PRAYER FOR EREV ROSH HASHANA 2016

                  

As I do each year, I have written a prayer for the New Year.

As a rule, I try to keep my prayer on the light and hopeful side each year but as you no doubt feel, it is difficult to ignore all that is happening outside of our doors and in our hearts and minds. Still, I want the prayer to reflect the beauty of our world and the opportunities we have to elevate our souls even at times of sadness.

So, my prayer is in two parts linked together by one idea: the concept of movement. 

During the middle of the summer, I, like many Americans, at least those of us who are not completely cynical about the Olympics enjoyed a bit of a break from the bad news around us by watching the games. As many of you know, I had more than a bit of a personal interest in the US women’s gymnastic team as I was paying particular attention to my cousin Aly Raisman but it was the entire gymnastics effort which amazes me. So, I used the four events of woman’s gymnastics: vault, bars, floor exercise and balance beam, as the metaphor for my prayer.

Please understand that I am not making the claim that these young women must be the role models for everyone, especially young girls. There are so many women and men in our nation with inspiring academic, business, philanthropic careers who deserve our admiration and respect. I know that. But, for a few days this summer, I and so many others were uplifted by these young women’s ability, tenacity, poise and strength.  (Note from 2021: Strength is measured not only in physical terms but in the ability to know ourselves and to have the strength to make courageous decisions. Thank you Simone Biles for teaching us a lesson we all need to learn and for being a role model in this different way.)

         But those uplifting moments in the Olympic gym can’t blind us to the problems we face as a nation as we enter this new year so the prayer has, in essence, two parts. And, as our Mishna teaches about telling the story of the Exodus, I will begin with the sadness and end with hope

         Before we turn to the fancy moves of gymnasts, let us never forget how for so many simply walking down a street is a tremendous and often life-threatening challenge.  

We pray O God that you protect all of the young children in our inner cities and throughout the nation so often tragically caught in the crossfire of violence and all who are victims of our national obsession with guns. O God grant heath, hope and peace of mind to those who face the reality that simply walking or driving a car can become a dangerous act for no reason other than the color of their skin. Let us stand by them in their struggle for justice and equality.

We pray for the safety of the law enforcement officials who protect us all. May they perform their roles with wisdom, courage, compassion and appropriate caution as they do a job more difficult than most of us could ever imagine. 

We pray for those for whom the very act of walking does not come easily, if at all. We pledge to stand by them with assistance, encouragement and respect. 

Let us continue to stand with lesbian, gay and transgender individuals, especially youth, many of whom walk to school each day in fear of bullying and ostracization.

 And O God, as we walk through life, stand with us and help us all be safe from the dangers which plague our nation and the world. 

Help us, O God, to be a nation where all can walk with their heads up, in freedom and without fear. 

But, let us also not give in to fear and despair and let us not limit our movements to walking.

         Help us to get a running start in the New Year, to dare to vault over the obstacles which are in the way, to come down standing firmly on our feet and ready to face the next challenge along our path. 

         Help us O God to move from the highs to the lows of life with grace and dignity, to continue to seek higher ground and more meaningful and celebratory moments. 

         Teach us O God to move through our life, staying within the boundaries that we have established for ourselves and that you O God have established for us. But let us realize that within those boundaries there is plenty of room for jumps and twists and impressive, creative movements that will enliven our days and inspire those around us. 

         And, most importantly, O God, teach us to find balance in our lives. Let us never be afraid to reach out to grab for those around us to keep us from falling, to rely on the wisdom of our tradition for stability in a difficult world but always, always seeking balance in our lives.

         May we always remember that there are often no medals for getting through life impressively, that goodness may truly be its own reward but that we will never know how many people we have taught and inspired because, believe me, they’re out there watching. 

         

         Shana Tova. 

Last week, I wrote about Harry Chapin but, in truth, I have many favorite songwriters and performers and one of them is Neil Diamond. I love the varied styles of songs he wrote and sang. I should quickly add that I admired Neil Diamond’s work even before Red Sox fans at Fenway Park started singing Sweet Caroline after the 8th inning of every game.

One of Neil Diamond’s best known songs is America, a song about immigrants coming to this country. It is quite a meaningful song and there is one part of the song that I think is truly remarkable and I’m sure most of you have heard it and can hear it in your mind as you read this. Towards the end of the song, he repeats a line which he sang earlier: “We’re coming to America” but adds the word “today” to the end of the phrase. Then, while the word “today” is repeated by the back up singers, he recites the words of the patriotic song: “My country ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing…each phrase is punctuated by the word “today’ sung by the singers until the end when he joins in with “of thee I sing…Today”. repeating the word several times allowing it to echo in our ears as he connects the experience of past generations of emigrants to the love of country we feel today.

The song reflects a remarkable quality about the word “today”. When Neil Diamond sings it, he is clearly making a connection between a “today” of the past and our “today”. When we read any quotation or hear any words spoken from another time which includes the word “today”, it challenges us to connect ourselves with the past and to realize in many cases that we are linked closely to the “today of the past’.

Think about the line from the Psalms: “This is the day the Lord has created, on it we will rejoice and be happy.” The word for “the day” is the Hebrew word hayom which in fact also means “today”. So, while the Psalmist is talking about the day of the Exodus, which is the context, we are reminded as well that the day we are reading or singing the line is also “the day”, and that each day is a day on which we should rejoice and be happy in God’s miracles.

This Shabbat, we read parashat Re’eh which begins with Moses telling the people about to enter the promised land: “Re’eh, see, I am placing before you hayom (today) a blessing and a curse.”

We naturally concentrate on the words blessing and curse but when we do that, we miss the impact of the word hayom. 

Hayom, today. When Moses spoke those words, it must have seemed totally natural. But to us reading them millennia later, that word challenges us to feel the reality of the experience of Torah in a unique way. Those words are still being said “today” and the choices are still before us in our “today”.

The words which Moses said about the blessing and the curse are still every bit as true today as they have ever been. Each day we are given the opportunity to choose between blessing and curse. Each day we are presented with choices about how to live our lives, what priorities to choose, which path to follow; and while the choices we made yesterday do influence our path today, there is always the opportunity to turn around, for good or for bad, and make a different choice. 

Next week, we will begin the month of Elul — the last month of the year, the month of teshuva, of repentance — ushering in the High Holy Day season. We think about the changes we must make and the choices we must continue in the year to come. 

On Rosh Hashana, during the Musaf service, we recite the words “Hayom harat Olam”: today the world was called into being. This recalls the Rabbinic opinion that the world was created on the first day of Tishre and that the anniversary of the creation presents us with the opportunity to change our lives through teshuva.

However, we can’t wait for Rosh Hashana. The Rabbis taught that every day is the proper day for teshuva, for repentance.  And thus each day we can truly say: “Today the world is created again.”  For today, like every day, we are presented with the choices that will affect our lives — and affect our world — for days far beyond today.

Let the word “today” continue to echo in our minds as we consider the power and potential of each “today”.

CIRCLES

          CIRCLES

                           CIRCLES

On this Shabbat Nachamu, the Shabbat of “comfort”, I want to share with you some words which I hope will be comforting. My d’var Torah is going to be a bit of a journey with many stops along the way. It begins with a reference to a man who was and remains, a great inspiration to me, proceeds to refer toa Jewish holiday many are not familiar with, references a text from this week’s Torah portion and a prayer from the siddur and, finally, goes back to the beginning, closing the circle with an important point about our lives.

         I’ll begin by talking about the man who inspired me and those who know me or who have read some of my writings or listened to my podcast, may not be surprised to learn whom I am referring to. Last Friday, July 16, was the 40^th anniversary of an automobile accident which claimed the life of Harry Chapin, alav hashalom. I’m sure many of you recognize his name but some won’t. Harry Chapin was a singer, songwriter, storyteller and philanthropist whose ballads touched the hearts of so many and who worked tirelessly for many causes, notably fighting world hunger.

         He was and remains a creative and spiritual inspiration to so many. His voice was stilled far too soon. 

         Let me share some simple words from one of Harry Chapin’s most popular songs: Circle. I’d be glad to talk to any Chapin fans later about my favorite songs of his, most of them less well known. But, in that song called Circle, he sang: “All my life’s a circle, sunrise and sundown, the moon rolls through the nighttime till the daybreak comes around.”

         These may not be among his most poetic words, but they are so beautiful and profound in their simplicity and they are, in fact, reflective of Jewish tradition. 

Each evening in the Ma’ariv service, we express the same thought; that God “rolls away the light before the darkness and the darkness before the light”. We feel God’s presence in the cycle of day and night and celebrate the cycles of time. 

         And we recognize the circle in other areas of Jewish life. We talk about the “life cycle” referring to the ongoing cycle of death and rebirth and in the real, genuine presence in our lives of those who have died whose souls are still part of our circle. 

         We talk about the calendar being a cycle, from Rosh Hashana through the ebbs and flows of the year, the joy of Purim to the sadness of Tisha B’av and back again. But we don’t have to wait until Purim to have a joyous holiday. There are actually joyous holidays all around the Jewish calendar. In fact, you might be surprised to know that one of those happy days is in fact observed today. 

         Today is the 15^th of Av, Tu B’av, The Hebrew letters Tet and Vav pronounced Tu have the numerical value of 15 as in Tu B’shvat, the 15^th of Shvat. So, this is Tu B’av, the 15^th of the month of Av.

Tu’ B’av is known in many Jewish circles as the “Jewish Valentine’s Day” a holiday celebrating love. That idea stems from a statement in the Mishna about Tu B’av. Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel taught that there were no days in Israel more festive than Tu B’av and Yom Kippur because on those days the daughters of Jerusalem dressed in borrowed garments of white, borrowed so that no one would know who among them actually could afford such garments and who couldn’t so that the dancers would be appreciated for their grace, not their wealth. And they would dance in the vineyards seeking the attention of the sons of Jerusalem, presumably to take the first small steps in insuring that the life cycle would continue. 

         It is reasonable to ask why there would be dancing on Yom Kippur. That is the subject for another sermon.  

         I’m going to ask and answer a different question: 

         What was the dance like? How did they dance? Maybe they danced a distant ancestor of the hora.

It is of course impossible to know but, according to one Hassidic commentary offered by the 18^th century Hassidic teacher Rabbi Avraham Yehoshua Heschel, they in fact did dance a hora: they danced in a circle. He emphasized that this is fitting because true dancing involves looking at one’s dancing companions face to face and that shows the equality of each dancer and emphasizes the significance of the circle in Jewish life. 

         That’s a nice idea. But how did this Hassidic teacher conclude that they danced in a circle? 

         He concluded this by using some great creativity. 

He read Tu B’av in a different way. Av is the name of the month, spelled alef bet, so, he said Tu B’av is a reference to the 15^th letter of the Alef Bet, the Hebrew alphabet. What is the 15^th letter?  It’s samech. What shape is samech? A circle. So, the Tu B’av dances were in the shape of a circle, just like our hora today. 

         I like that. 

But I want to go a step further and talk about the Samech, an under appreciated and infrequently used letter in the Alef Bet.

         The Samech is actually the subject of a great miracle story in Jewish tradition relating to a text in this week’s parasha, none other than the 10 commandments. 

         The commandments, according to the tradition, were inscribed on the tablets with the words actually engraved all the way through the tablets so that one could read them from either side. 

         This works for all of the letters except the samech. All of the other letters could be punched out of the tablets and the remaining stone would still be connected. But, it you punch out a circle for the samech, the piece of stone in the middle of the letter presented a problem. It would have to remain suspended, defying the law of gravity. And, according to tradition, it did just that. This was considered to be nes bitoch nes, a miracle in the midst of a miracle. The overriding miracle was the giving of the Torah itself while the smaller miracle, the floating middle of the Samech, was further proof of God’s power and the wonder of the world. 

         Why would we need the miracle of the samech when there is the greater miracle of the giving of the Torah?

         I think that it is because the greatest miracles around us are often just too much to consider and so we tend to be blind to them, We can’t go around “oohing and aahing” at our very existence and the existence of the world, the greatest miracles of all. But, when something happens in our world, one little piece of wonder, our eyes should be filled with awe and our hearts overflow with joy and gratitude. 

         Perhaps in the spirit of Tu B’av, it is looking into the eyes of a beloved. Perhaps it’s the smile of a child, a rainbow or a beautiful sunset, a text of Torah or a piece of music or poetry which elevates us and inspires us. All of these are reminders of the miraculous world in which we live. 

         Our Siddur tells us that we should thank God for the daily miracles around us always. That’s not easy to do. There are just so many miracles around us. But the siddur reminds us that each and every day, we can experience something which elevates, inspires, and, while we probably don’t do it, would be a good reason to go out into the vineyards and dance with joy. 

Let me return to the idea of circles and share with you another brief excerpt from Harry Chapin’s song. I will, however, not sing the words Harry wrote but with two words a friend of his, folksinger, Oscar Brand inserted into the song when he sang it at the Carnegie Hall Tribute to Chapin in 1987: “There’s no straight lines make up my life and all my roads have bends, there’s no clear cut beginnings and thank God, no dead ends”. 

         It’s a beautiful thought. But saying our lives are circles is not enough. We need to find the points on those circles which stand out, which attract our attention and our wonder, experiences which teach that each moment is not like the one before and that at some moments, we experience miracles within miracles, floating like the samech in the air around us, moments which inspire us to find meaning in the entire circle of life.  

         May we all celebrate such moments of vision and joy and on this Shabbat Nachamu, be a source for comfort always.  

In this week’s episode of my podcast, Wrestling and Dreaming, I discuss the Sh’ma which is found in this week’s Torah portion of Va-etchanan.

I bring up several issues relating to the Sh’ma, noting that it is not technically a prayer in Jewish tradition but a statement of witnessing, a declaration of faith.

I also raise an intriguing issue. While the Sh’ma is an affirmation of belonging to the Jewish people, what do you do if you don’t believe in God and can’t bring yourself to say something you don’t believe in but still want to affirm your connection to the people? I made some comments on that question but left it up to the individual to consider what one could say or do if one truly can’t tolerate the God-language of the Sh’ma.

I also discussed another question: Who are talking to when we say the Sh’ma? There are several answers to that question and they are all legitimate but I shared one that you might not have thought about.

There is a beautiful legend that the first people to say the Sh’ma were the sons of Jacob. As Jacob lay dying, he was worried that one or more of his sons would not remain loyal to the covenant. When he expressed this concern, his sons said together: Sh’ma Yisrael, Listen Israel (Jacob’s other name), Adonai is our God, Adonai is one. Jacob was relieved and responded: Baruch Shem K’vod Malchuto, Blessed be God’s glorious kingdom for ever and ever.

I love that legend and believe that one way we can look at the saying of the Sh’ma is to consider that we are in fact talking to Jacob as a symbol of all of his descendants- our ancestors- assuring them that we are still upholding the covenant of Israel. In addition to being a statement to those around us and a commitment to the future, the Sh’ma can be seen as addressed to those who came before us, assuring their souls that we are still perpetuating the tradition.

I invite you to listen to the entire podcast at wrestlinganddreaming.podbean.com

Today, July 16, 2021 is the 40th anniversary of the automobile accident which claimed the life of singer, songwriter, storyteller and humanitarian, Harry Chapin.

Harry Chapin was my “musical hero”. He was an inspiration to so many and his death stunned those who loved his music and his words and admired and emulated his passion for working to improve the world, especially through his work fighting world hunger.

Several years ago, I wrote a tribute to Harry on my website and I reprint it here with some more recent edits. I also wrote of the impact of his words and music in my book The Long Way Around.

The inspiration of those words and music continue.

May his memory be for a blessing.

This morning, I turned on my car radio and set the phone on “shuffle” and the first song that came up was: “Mail Order Annie” by Harry Chapin.

I took that as a sign that I had to fulfill the promise I made on Facebook last week to write a blog post on my favorite musician. The occasion of the Facebook posting was the news of the death of the woman who inspired the song: “Taxi”. Taxi was the first Chapin song that I (and I assume many others) heard and while I can still sing it all the way though and still love the story, Taxi has moved down the list of my favorite Chapin songs, replaced by songs that didn’t make the “top 40” charts but resonate so deeply.

A step back for those who need it: Harry Chapin was a singer, songwriter, storyteller and humanitarian who raised so much money to fight world hunger as well as for other worthy causes. His stories of real people, their triumphs and sadness, so often tinged with loneliness and disappointment are unforgettable. He was by all accounts a wonderful, real person and would often end his concerts (as he did when I heard him in 1977 at Brandeis University) by staying until everyone who wanted to had had a chance for a handshake, a hug and an autograph. I still have the autograph.

Harry died in a tragic automobile accident in 1981. I can still remember the day he died. I was working at Camp Ramah and upon hearing the news, I had to take some time away from everyone and wandered to the far end of the camp to sit and think deeply about what it means when a voice is stilled and when a good life comes to an end.

I want this post to be about Harry’s music and, more importantly, his stories. I urge you to look up the songs online

So, which are my favorite songs?

There are so many but I’ll start with the one that played on my car radio:Mail Order Annie, the story of a farmer from North Dakota who meets his “mail order bride” as she gets off the train. The bridge in the song features the sentiment that while it’s a lonely life out on the plains, “there’s you babe, there’s me… and there’s God“. As he sings those words, they reach a beautiful crescendo falling softly to the last verse which ends with: “Mail order Annie, let’s you and me go home“. Such a tender, beautiful song.

Then there is Mr. Tanner, the dry cleaner from Dayton, Ohio. His singing is praised by all his friends who finally convince him to try his hand at a professional concert. He uses all his savings and the critics suggest he find another profession. The part of that song that is so brilliant is how he sings the chorus while in the background, we hear a beautiful rendition of “O Holy Night” which fits perfectly with the melody of the Chapin song.

 A Better Place to Be tells the story of the lonely waitress who listens to the sad story of the night watchman who comes in for a drink. He tells her the story of the beautiful woman that he found and then lost. She “takes her bar rag and wipes it across her eyes” before leaving together with him so that neither are alone.

One of my favorites is Corey’s Coming, an odd story of a man who describes a lover to his young friend. I won’t give away the rest of this story. You can hear it for yourself.

Finally, there is my absolute favorite. The song is called Stranger With the Melodies and is about a man who has lost his writing partner and can only sing the names of the notes and chords that he is singing because he has lost the words that make the music meaningful. This song has deep personal meaning for me as I quoted it in the eulogy I wrote for my mother thinking back to the loss of her writing partner, my father, four years before. The song is so beautiful and so haunting and it is my favorite.

I’ll just mention two more. The first is one of the last songs that he recorded: Oh Man which includes words which once moved me in ways that are far too private and personal to describe here:

Now it must feel so very strange to have to throw away all the lines that you have learned and force yourself to change.

So many are so beautiful. Take a moment to listen to Remember When the Music, Vacancy, Tangled Up Puppet, Dance Band on the Titanic and the sequel to Taxi, called appropriately enough: Sequel. The words
and music that accompany them are gems, as are so many others.

I’ll end with the lyrics which are always, always in my mind and which I will quote in a sermon next Shabbat morning and which I will post here next week.

All my Life’s a Circle
Sunrise and Sundown
The moon rolls through the nighttime
Till the daybreak comes around.
All my Life’s a Circle
But I can’t tell you why
The seasons spinning round again
The years keep rolling by.

The years that roll by are richer as we still have these beautiful songs and stories
to accompany us.

Rest in peace, Harry.

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NOTE: I occasionally post pieces which reflect my interests outside of Jewish texts, tradition and issues. This is one of those pieces. (Please note the comment and reply at the end of the posting.) Please also listen to my podcast at wrestlinganddreaming.podbean.com This week’s episode discusses the use and misuse of the terms Bar and Bat Mitzvah. For now, the piece below reflects my commitment to finding joy in the world- even in unexpected places. Enjoy!

\I have to admit, I am really happy this morning.

I just read an article in the New York Times about a TV series which recently premiered on Disney+ network. (We don’t have a subscription to the network but thankfully our daughter does!) The series is called Monsters At Work and it is a sequel to the 2001 movie: Monsters, Inc. And, Monsters, Inc. just happens to be one of my all-time favorite movies.

If you’ve never seen Monsters, Inc., you are missing a great treat. The movie features one of the most elaborately creative stories and some of the most endearing characters you will see in a movie, animated or otherwise. The monsters are voiced by many well known actors including John Goodman and Billy Crystal.

The story concerns the city of Monstropolis, populated by monsters of all different sizes, shapes and colors. The energy source which powers Monstropolis is the screams of scared children which are obtained by the monsters who appear in the kids’ room at night and bottle up the energy of the screams.

I can’t even begin to unravel the entire wonderfully complicated story. But, the new TV series picks up where the movie left off. Through a set of circumstances, it is discovered that the laughter of children is a more efficient energy source so the monsters all reinvent themselves to being slapstick comedians and rather than scaring the children, they elicit great peals of laughter.

Does the movie have any lasting significance? Beyond the beautiful idea that a laugh has more energy than a scream, probably not. But, it is such a lot of fun.

If you’ve never seen it, you absolutely must. And, when you do, hang around for the “outtakes” at the end which are an absolute riot.

We took our kids to see many movies when they were young and I must admit that I slept through some of them. But, I loved the Toy Story movies (I previously posted a blog on these movies), adored Shrek and absolutely loved Monsters, Inc.

I can’t wait to watch Monsters at Work and I promise a review very soon!