D’var Torah for Erev Rosh Hashanah 5768

29 Elul 5768
September 12, 2007

by Rabbi Yitzhak Husbands-Hankin

Good Yom Tov.

Once again, we gather as a Kehilat Kodesh, a Holy Community for these Days of Awe. At this sacred time of year, when the fall leaves are turning colors, beckoning to a new season, we too turn to look at the changing seasons of our own lives and to acknowledge with a sense of wonder the presence of G-d in the world.

Now, as the New Year is dawning, we take the opportunity to look back at this past year, and to consider our lives, families, community, and our world. We take this time to reflect on our accomplishments and challenges, and to give thanks for the grace of God that has brought us to this day.

Many of us choose to live here in Oregon because we love its natural beauty. So many who live here find their spiritual nourishment in nature; I know that I do. Sitting by the McKenzie River, I see, feel and hear G-d's Presence. I see it in the dance of the light shifting shades in ripples of the rushing clear water. I feel it in the coolness of the breeze rising from the cold surface, and hear it in the music of the waters washing endlessly over the stony bottom. Kol Hashem al hamayim — The voice of G-d — is on the waters. The patterns and movement of the water's flow continues to make its way slowly into the forms of magnificent firs growing from the moist, fertile earth along the riverbank. The upward reaching shapes of trunks and limbs record life's movement majestically, connecting earth with sky in its slow steady stretch. Even the rocks, gripped by powerful roots, reveal a seeming still life of movement occurring over millions of years.

The cool breeze invites me to breathe deeply and remember how I share that breath with the tall standing trees. I feel connected. I know I am at home.

The veins showing through the skin of my hand testify to my bond with the rivers flow and the endlessly wonderful systems that are always present around me and within me, always in miraculous motion, moved by a Mystery so magnificent and beyond my mind’s capacity to hold. That is where the mind stops and intuition carries on with the sense of life's great mystery, moving through the cells of our body, permeating with Hiyut, the Essential Life Force of all that is. This is the Presence of G-d around us and within us, all a wonderful unity. This is what we acknowledge on Rosh Hashanah.

Let me tell you about a very special person. About three hundred years ago, a baby boy was born to Eliezer and Rachel. They named the child Yisroel and lived a humble life in the small town of Okup in Eastern Europe. Sadly, Yisroel was orphaned at the age of six. Spending much of his time alone, he found comfort in the beauty of nature and in the forests near his home. He preferred those places of quiet solitude to his classroom seat. Often he would be found, wandering, watching, wondering and feeling the Presence of something so Holy, so close, and so loving that he spoke to that loving Presence from the depths of his soul.

This child grew up to be one of the greatest influences on modern Judaism. At thirty-six, he was recognized as a true spiritual master and became known as the Ba’al Shem Tov, the Master of the Good Name. He was loved and revered for his extraordinary insights into Torah, into people, into the nature of life and into the Living Force that constantly renews life. He felt a profound bond and unity between himself and all of creation and he taught about the powerful loving Presence that endlessly embraces all that is. His deep knowing of G-d fueled his passion to share his spiritual experiences with others. He spoke to common Jews and assured them that they too had access to a personal and intimate relationship with G-d.

The Ba'al Shem Tov taught that if one holds on to even one small part of this great unity of G-d, one grasps the wholeness. He saw beneath the fragmented surface of the world and experienced its underlying unity. This is the unity we affirm each time we call out the Sh’ma. His was more than a belief in G-d; it was an absolute knowing of G-d’s Presence. It was not a theoretical abstraction but a relationship that was as vital as the rush of the river I evoked a moment ago. He modeled and taught a core of future masters who allowed his consciousness to flow forward in time. We can still drink of the sweetness of his teachings.

The Ba’al Shem Tov believed in the absolute Goodness of G-d. According to one of his teachings, G-d only brings Goodness into creation. We find in the Genesis creation myth repeated pauses, at which time Hashem acknowledges the Tov, the Goodness of creation. Nevertheless, we also see a passage in the Tanach, our sacred scripture, which declares that G-d also creates Ra, wickedness. The Ba’al Shem Tov reconciled these passages explaining that even the wickedness in the world is here to serve an ultimate purpose of Good. The Ra is here to challenge us to grow in our strength by overcoming the obstacles that appear as Ra.

Let me share a simple example. Yesterday as our nation commemorated the tragedy of September 11, 2001, I started my day at an Interfaith Prayer Breakfast and ended my evening at an Interfaith Prayer Service. Together, members of varied spiritual paths within our community, had all witnessed the expression of Ra, wickedness, rooted in a grotesquely twisted understanding of a religion. Members of our extended interfaith community chose to let that Ra, that wickedness, serve as a call to create something good. Something that could transform the pain and wickedness we witnessed on that day. Six years later, members of the Moslem, Christian, Jewish, Native American, Bahai, Sufi, Hindu, Christian Science, Buddhist and other communities, continue to gather in prayer every month. This is a statement of faith in the fundamental goodness to be found in the heart of each of these paths, the infinite value of each person and a certainty that ultimately beneath the garments that our souls wear, we are all one. We now find healing and hope from the pain and despair that hatred causes. Many friendships and connections continue to grow because of our shared commitment to transform the darkness of that terrible experience. Something very good is growing out of the Ra of that unforgettable day.

The Ba’al Shem Tov taught that this transformation of the Ra into Tov is precisely our role in creation. Under the surface of what we call reality, the creative Mystery of Life has planted a goodness that awaits our discovery and nurturance.

But what about the misery and suffering, the pure evil we see in this world? What of the Shoah? Can such evil ever serve Good?

I think that we have a choice in this matter. We can say that such suffering is beyond us and so we will allow it to linger as pain without meaning or analysis far into the future. We can make it sacred and unique in history and set it apart. That choice, I believe would be tragic.

We have another way of grasping that horrible episode of history. We can say that the awful destructive power of humanity unleashed in the Shoah is to be looked squarely in the face. It is to be seen and grasped by us as the horribly base force that humans are capable of perpetrating. We can honestly acknowledge that the hatred, cruelty and indifference that plagued Jews, gays, disabled people, the Roma, labor unionists, political dissidents and so many others, is not different in essence, in its basic expression of the Ra, from that which continues right at this moment in Darfur and who knows how many other places of devastation and destruction. We continue to see the base potential of humanity demonstrated decade after decade. Acknowledging our capacity, both for doing great good and for permitting and perpetrating evil or allowing it to go unchallenged, is the beginning of our responsibility as human beings to take seriously our role in creation.

In many far less dramatic forms, this great cosmic challenge is present in our day-to-day lives. We see the Ra covering the good constantly in our encounters with vast societal systems that are broken and calling for our attention. Our health system is very sick. Our Justice system is just for some. Our education system is beyond the reach of countless willing and able students. These systems are not yet Good, but they can be. Certainly caring about health, justice, and education are worthy goals. However, our systems have become distorted and are malfunctioning. Rather than ranting at those folks whom we would prefer to blame for the ills of the world, let’s take responsibility for our systems and use our energies to draw out the best potential they can offer. Honesty and truth can be cherished; sacred values can be upheld even in business and politics. Truth, Emet, would go far toward transforming our broken systems that continue to conceal the potential Good that wants to breathe and move freely in this world.

We are assigned a remarkable role in Creation. How well do we see our own miraculous capacity to work as conduits for the Creative emergence of a world that is radiant and beautiful for its goodness? When we scan the broad stroke picture of the world, we see much beauty and goodness and we are met by what can be overwhelmingly deep shadows. These may seem beyond transformation by any light. I believe that the Ba’al Shem Tov would assure us that humanity has the capacity and the task to embrace and succeed in our G-d given purpose. Do we recognize the Ra, the Not Yet Good of the world we inhabit? Can we accept it as an invitation to our transformative capacities? Can we envision the world as it is waiting to be?

The way of the Ba’al Shem Tov and the masters that followed him in forming the Hassidic movement, was to encourage individuals to grow spiritually. Their particular approach was to encourage the cultivation of personal relationships with the Creator through D’veikut, clinging to G-d awareness.

While many of us tend to see Tikkun Olam—repair of the world—as an outward form of activism, our own personal spiritual development is an inward form of Tikkun Olam. Each of us can grow in our capacity to transform this often confused and pained world by developing our individual spiritual life. This is a necessary first step and ongoing process for succeeding in our purpose.

During this past year, I have spent time studying Chassidic and Mussar texts for some understanding of how to deepen and strengthen my own spiritual life. It may surprise you and it is even a bit embarrassing to admit that as a rabbi, I often have not made time for my own spiritual self-care and growth. This seems to be a professional hazard since I have learned over the years that I am far from alone in this challenge. I am so often driven by my internally demanding and unrelenting list of things to do, that I forget to breathe and remember that I am a soul that needs to have nurturance from G-d. This is certainly not a problem restricted to the rabbinate. So many of us wake up to a new day and begin thinking about the many things that we must take care of without remembering our soul, remembering that we must take care of our soul. It is good to remember our deeper essence and listen inward to allow our souls to feel nourished by the Source of our lives. Of course this is a concern important not only for rabbis, but for every person. We all see to physical checkups; what about spiritual checkups? We so often see ourselves as bodies and don’t remember the soul that gives it life and purpose.

This summer I entered a rabbinic leadership program through the Institute for Jewish Spirituality. This is an eighteen-month course in Jewish meditation, yoga, the study of Chassidic texts and explorations of varying modes of Jewish prayer. The rabbis who lead this exploration are each highly skilled and knowledgeable in ways of cultivating personal spiritual practices and approximately one hundred and fifty rabbis have already completed this training. Rabbis after all are often led to the rabbinate by a hunger for spiritual life. Sadly, so many of us forget this sense of calling under the burden of our busyness. This training is hopefully of great benefit to our communities, as we will bring the richness of our discoveries, the new insight and perhaps even some wisdom if we are fortunate, to help guide others toward developing their own spiritual practices.

It is through practice that we direct our lives toward experiencing life as a soul’s journey and not merely as the activity of a body struggling to survive in competition with other needy people. During our first retreat in July, I discovered in particular the richness of silence. There is a saying by the great first century sage, Yochanan ben Zackai,”I have spent my life among sages and have found there is nothing as good for the soul as silence.” In silent meditation, we have an opportunity simply to observe the inner narrative that plays within. To observe it and perhaps to gain insight into the truths and distortions that make up that narrative. Is our inner narrative one that is out of date with our growth? Is it one formed early in life, at odds with our actual day-to-day experience? Does our inner narrative relentlessly repeat words that reinforce artificial limitations or inflated and unrealistic capacities? Is our inner narrative expressing a positive and hopeful description of life or one that is negative and demoralizing? We can silently sit in contemplation and listen to that inner narrative from a place that my beloved music professor and mentor Robert Trotter, of Blessed memory, called “Witness energy.” We can observe ourselves from a place within that views and takes note of our activity and internal chatter. We can make a shift from what our kabbalistic tradition calls, mochin d’katnut, small mind, to mochin d’gadlut, expanded mind. It is from the perspective of expanded mind that we gain new insight into our lives and into our souls.

When we listen inward, we can also discover hidden goodness waiting to be affirmed. Our distorted narratives are the Ra, the not yet good. The stillness and quiet of silent reflection can calm the inner chatter as we listen more deeply inwardly and quietly appreciate the simple miracle of our breath. It is in that quiet inner space that the river of life pulsates and a sense of wonder at being can emerge. Perhaps that is our most available gateway to our inner divine spark. When we experience the sacred within ourselves and are able unabashedly to recognize the awesome holiness and preciousness of our lives, we certainly will elevate our outer world as well.

This is after all what we are here to do. To remove the concealments hiding the Good.

This is our last year as wandering Jews in Eugene. Next year with the help of G-d, we will at last be in our new home at 28th and University. This time of transition is a unique opportunity to refine our vision and elevate our sense of shared purpose. We are moving forward quickly with the physical expression of our community. We are creating a truly beautiful home of which we will be proud. However, the true purpose and holiness of our new home will be found as we come to experience the G-d-consciousness that flows within its spaces, among us and through us. It will be found in the respect, care and love that grow as we seek to see the goodness in each other. We will find it when we gently and lovingly support each other to grow in spirit. We will discover it in the goodness that extends outward from our home into our community and our world.
I pray for the fullest expression of our TBI community, a radiant Jewish people not insulated and isolated from the broader Community, a Jewish community that turns our resources toward awareness that we are global citizens; a healthy and flourishing branch of the much greater unity of this world.

This is what makes us a Kehilat Kodesh, A Holy Community.

May we be blessed in this coming year to seek the Good within ourselves each other and the world.

A beautiful question is posed by the psalmist, “Who is the person desiring life, loving their days in order to see good?”

I want to bless us all to become increasingly that person, looking for goodness within ourselves, each other and throughout this mysteriously wonderful world, whose goodness we have only begun to discover.

Shana Tova Tikateivu.