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Walking the Jewish Path- Rosh Hashanah Day 1 2019/ 5780


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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