A few weeks ago, a friend who’s
a minister invited me to go fishing with him. Well, I’ve never been interested
in fishing, but he was insistent, so I agreed to go. When I arrived at Chebbaco
Lake, I was pleasantly surprised to find that he’d invited an Imam to join
us. So we went down to a little dock, threw our gear in a boat and rowed
out to the middle of the lake where we fished for awhile.
Before we knew it, we started
to get hungry and realized we’d left our lunches on shore. So I said, ‘Don’t
worry, I’ll go get ‘em.’ And I got up and walked across the water to the shore.
But I couldn’t find our lunches. So I shouted, “I can’t find the lunches. Where
did we leave ‘em?’ The Imam shouted back, “I’ll come take a look.” So he,
too, walked across the water and we looked but still couldn’t find them. So we
called out to the minister, “We need your help!”
Well, he stood up in the boat;
and for a minute he looked nervously at the water; then, he gingerly
stepped out of the boat, into the lake and promptly sank to the bottom.
And the Imam turned to me and said: “Our poor friend! Why didn’t he just . . .
use the stepping stones, like we did?”
Okay, that’s a pretty old
joke, and most of you have probably heard some version of it before. But I
wanted to tell it today because it’s a little reminder to all of us to be
grateful for the ground beneath our feet.
It would be miraculous to walk
on water, or on the clouds, or the sun. But in truth, it’s also a wondrous
miracle just to walk on this beautiful earth, upright, with our feet on the
ground. It is a miracle to walk, or roll, or limp, or move how we can
through this world, and be aware of our connection to the natural world, and to
the Divine that is within us, flowing through all of creation, and beyond.
I’ve been doing a lot of
walking lately, ever since our family welcomed one of the world’s cutest
puppies into our home. Her name is Cypress and she is a “hound-mix,” which is
to say, a mutt, born in Mississippi and adopted through Sweet Paws
Rescue. Like all dogs, she needs to walk, frequently.
Cypress sniffs and snuffles her
way along the path, her cute oversized ears flopping around, her tail wagging
furiously. Scientists say a dog’s sense of smell is at least 10,000
times greater than a human’s. What would that be like, to perceive the
world through aromas that we cannot detect or even imagine. And this thought
reminds me, as I walk with Cypress through an autumn forest, to appreciate
nature for what it is: A miraculous creation of which we are a part, which
can heal our damaged hearts and regenerate our souls.
In a sense, that kind of walk
has a lot in common with what we are doing in this sanctuary today. Of course,
we’re doing it sitting down, but we are nonetheless walking, We are here
to reflect on the world, on ourselves, and how we fit into the web of
creation. By being here on this holy
day, you’re walking the Jewish walk.
But the synagogue is just one
stop on Judaism’s long path of awareness of the choices we make nearly every
moment of our lives.
In Hebrew, the verb to walk is
Lalechet. And the Jewish path laid before us by our sages is Halakhah, a
word with the same root as lalechet. We usually translate Halakhah as Jewish
law, but it literally means, “the path”. Consider this: The world is
filled with the Divine Presence, and halakhah is a way to plug in, and, as
Hassidic masters teach, it is ideally practiced out of love, not merely out of
fear of punishment.
So, if we think of halakhah
as the way we are walking in the world as Jews, we recognize that common
practices are essential for the ongoing life of a Jewish community. Even
as Judaism changes over generations, whether the path grows dark and dangerous
or bright and welcoming; even as it branches off into multiple paths, there is
something that connects us. Our tradition teaches that we have to not just be
Jewish, we have to walk Jewish -- as we are doing this morning.
And so, let us ask ourselves:
How do we walk through our daily lives? And how do we walk through a
world filled with beauty and love, but also danger, loss, and tremendous
suffering? How do we show our kids, our students, our grandkids how to
walk through a world that is torn by violence, hatred and vitriol, and the
looming reality of climate change? Or, perhaps the better question is, how do
our children show us?
What does our tradition,
created over millennia by Jews who have walked all over the world in search of
refuge, teach us about walking in our own time?
These are the questions I wish
to reflect on during these holy days.
On Yom Kippur we will discuss
walking our own spiritual paths, and the challenges of doing so in the face of
increasing antisemitism and other sources of fear. But today, let us talk about
walking together as a community, grounded in our sacred texts and the paths of
our ancestors.
Let’s begin with our Torah: God
walks through the Garden of Eden, searching for Adam and Eve. Noah is
said to have walked with God. Abraham walked before God. Enoch
“walked with God [until] he was no more...” The people of Israel walk for
40 years in the desert on their way to the Promised Land, and later they are
required to walk to Jerusalem as pilgrims on the three festivals. In
Deuteronomy, Moses teaches that “God walks before you...”
Convinced walking is a theme
yet? No??
Over and over, the Bible
tells us that we are to walk in God’s ways. The Psalmist pleads with God
to “show me your paths, that I might walk in your truth.” In one
of the world’s best-known Psalms, Psalm 23, we read, “though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me.”
And the prophet Micah sums up the religion of Israel as “walking humbly with your
God.”
Those are just a few examples,
and I could give a sermon about each and every one of them. But don’t
worry; I won’t. We’d be here until next Rosh Hashana.
Instead, let’s look at a story
from the Talmud about an event that is said to have occurred not long after the
destruction of the temple by the Romans in the first century. The early
rabbis were faced with an extraordinary problem: How to live Jewishly when way of life was
destroyed. Many stories about these
rabbis intentionally involve walking.
Said Rabbi Yossi: Once I was
walking on the path, and I went in to one of the ruins of Jerusalem to
pray. Elijah of blessed memory came to me, and guarded the door for me
until I had finished my prayer… then [he] said to me, Peace to you, my
master. And I said, Peace to you, my master and teacher. And he said to
me, my child, why did you come into this ruin?
I said . . ., To pray. And he
said to me, You ought to have prayed on the path, the derech. And I said
to him, I was afraid lest passersby should interrupt me. And he said,[well, then], you ought to have
prayed the abbreviated prayer.
In a time when the rabbis were
legitimating prayer and study in place of Temple sacrifices, they turned to the
prophet Elijah who, in our tradition, walks the earth teaching right and wrong
-- and will someday announce the coming of the Messiah. Elijah tells us:
Don’t wait until you arrive somewhere to pray. Pray on the derech, on the
path. Shorten the prayer if you
must. But for heaven’s sake, don’t pray in a ruined Temple.
Ever since the destruction of
the Temple and Exile from the Holy Land, Jews have all been on the derech,
moving from place to place, country to country, as refugees, on a dangerous
path, seeking safe haven. Praying on the derech means that everywhere we
walk is holy. The path to the sacred, to
God, is always beneath our feet.
We also learn from Rabbi
Yossi’s story to avoid getting stuck in the ruins, the darkness of total
devastation. These early rabbis were creating a Judaism that could
literally be carried wherever Jews would go.
And that is why -- instead of bringing a goat or an ox to Jerusalem for
sacrifice -- we are here today celebrating Rosh Hashanah, in essentially the
same way as the Jews of Denmark, Uganda, Israel and around the world..
Now, how did
our sages manage to make our religion so portable? Well, let’s consider
this passage from the Talmud. The question is asked,
Why is it
written in Genesis: [to walk] “after YHVH your God”
… [it means] to walk after the
Holy One’s qualities/midot. Just as God clothes the naked . . . so should you
clothe the naked; just as the Holy One visits the sick . . . so should you
visit the sick; just as the Holy One comforts mourners, so should you
comfort mourners; just as the Holy One buries the dead . . . so should you
bury the dead. (SOTAH 14a)
In other words: The path
we follow as Jews means caring for the vulnerable and the sick, performing acts
of hesed, of kindness each and every day. There are several similar texts
about walking in God’s ways that bring different examples of acts of kindness
and justice. Judaism isn’t simply about
faith, it is about action.
No one understood this more deeply than Rabbi Abraham
Joshua Heschel. Rabbi Heschel marched with Martin Luther King from Selma to
Montgomery at a time when many in the Jewish community didn’t think rabbis
should do any such thing – either because they didn’t agree with King or
because they were afraid that associating with him would fuel antisemitism.
Better to keep our heads down and stay out of it, they said. But Heschel had
lost family in the Holocaust; he knew the poisonous character of bigotry which
he described as “maximum hate for minimum reason.”
At the same time, he had a profound understanding of the
teachings and commandments of Judaism and the biblical prophets’ calls for
justice. So when he marched, he did so as a Jew. He wrote these well-known
words, “The march from Selma to Montgomery was both protest and prayer. Legs
are not lips . . . and yet our legs uttered songs. Even without words,
our march was worship. I felt my legs were praying.”
I believe these times call for dramatic action, for
standing up, for marching -- as Jews. While we also continue to
strengthen the many ways we walk as Jews right here.
That’s what we’ve done in our community over the past year,
in accordance with our seven guiding values that our Board voted unanimously to
adopt 2 ½ years ago. Let’s see
how we are doing with them - also noting what Ken shared earlier.
Kehilla - Commitment to community
This past year, we comforted
mourners and buried our dead -- including much-loved members. We started
Haverim, a buddy program for new and prospective members. We celebrated
holidays and simchas, and ate, laughed, and shmoozed a lot.
Supporting, celebrating and
deepening friendships is walking Jewishly.
Tzelem Elohim (Inclusion and Human Dignity):
As Ken mentioned generous
donors helped us build the ramp so everyone can come and go through the front
door. We are part of the Ruderman Synagogue Inclusion Project, which will
support us in making sure everyone feels welcome to walk with us: whether
literally walking or in a wheelchair, white or black, straight or gay, single
or coupled, struggling with mental illness or addiction, living with any kind
of disability. We are on our way but we have a way to go.
This year, we designated our
new accessible and baby-changing bathroom for all genders. A year ½ ago
we voted unanimously to welcome partners who are not Jewish to become full
members. We have continued to welcome
members regardless of financial resources -- thanks to the generosity of other
members who gave extra. All are welcome, and need only to talk to me, or
Mike or Deb in private, and with dignity.
Inclusion and hospitality are
walking Jewishly.
Talmud Torah - Lifelong
Learning
Our wonderful teachers have
continued to teach our wonderful children. We enjoyed Shabbat morning
Torah discussions, the Sisterhood Book Club, Cantor Bruce Siegel and Me’ah
classes through Hebrew College - which are continuing this fall.. As is
Parenting Through a Jewish Lens.
Lifelong learning is walking
Jewishly.
Eretz Yisrael (Engaging
Israel) and Machloket l’shem shamayim,
debate for the sake of heaven
We received a grant from
Combined Jewish Philanthropies to have facilitated conversations about Israel,
and issues that could easily divide us. We listened to each other
respectfully and agreed that we can love and care for one another even when we
disagree. We can be
countercultural!
Engaging with Israel and
disagreeing for the sake of heaven is walking Jewishly.
Ruchaniyut - Spirituality
We have a new spirituality
committee that creates healing services and is exploring bringing more
mindfulness practice here. Cultivating Jewish spiritual practices that speak to
all is walking Jewishly.
Tikkun Olam - Repairing the
world
We have continued to be active
in the interfaith community, walking with immigrants and refugees, and standing
against causes of gun violence. All generations were represented as we
walked in the North Shore Pride Parade. We prepared Monday Night Suppers at
First Baptist Church and donated produce grown in our Pe’ah Garden. We
supported homeless families through Family Promise – which is having an actual
WALK in October.
We hosted Shomrei Adamah,
Guardians of the Earth festival, for the North Shore Jewish community.
Out of that has sprouted our TBA Green Team. They’re introducing more
sustainable practices. Today we are having an almost zero waste kiddush, please
note the composting bags and lack of plastic dishes. We look forward to a
Sukkot Farm to Table Shabbat dinner. In the face of the climate crisis we
must work at all levels to change, including individual and communal behavior.
Joining with multifaith
neighbors and the larger Jewish community to work for justice is walking as
Jews.
I am sharing these examples,
not to pat ourselves on the back - please note that - but to show that I think
we are on the right path. These times are different from those in which I
grew up – they are angry, polarizing, frightening. But we must not hide. We must create a stronger Jewish community,
with an even more positive presence in our larger community. We need to
do more. We can always do more.
I want to hear how you want to
keep walking Jewishly this year.. And so, I invite you to join me - for a
walk.
First, we can walk Jewishly by
sitting in the sukkah on a Thursday morning. And there are two weekend times
for actual walks. And of course, I am available if you want to talk - and walk
- at another time.
I would like to end with an
interpretation of the beautiful traditional traveler’s prayer, tefilat
haderech, literally a prayer of the derech, the path.
May it be Your will, Source of
Life, God of our ancestors, that ... our footsteps be guided towards ... life,
gladness, and peace. May our journeys in this new year be safe from
hatred, harm and affliction. May we
find joy, comfort, and friendship with our fellow travelers. May we walk
Jewishly with courage, hope, and pride, and also humbly, with You, and in Your
ways. Blessed are you God, source of eternal love.
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