Entering the New Year with Our Heads Held High

How do you enter a Rosh Hashana like this one?

Hamas, Hezbollah, Harvard.

So much loss, so much hate, so much pulling us down.

It’s like we’re waking into this holiday season through a pile of sticky mud.

And if we weren’t beaten down enough, tonight we begin the Selichos season – two weeks of saying, I’m sorry. Ashamnu, we have been guilty. Bagadnu, we have betrayed.

To add insult to injury, a year like this could have inspired us to do so much more, but it didn’t. Which makes the chest-beating all that much heavier.

So do we walk into Rosh Hashana hunched over? Beaten down? Broken?  

No. Not at all.

Rav Kook makes an amazing observation. The very first viduy-confession found in the Torah is actually not a chest-beating, shoulder-sagging, viduy. It’s positive. It’s uplifting. It is even self-congratulatory.

Writes Rav Kook, “Just as there is great value to the repair of the soul through the confession of sins … there is also great value through the confession of our positive deeds, in order to gladden the heart and strengthen the paths of life in the way of God.”

One of his followers went ahead and rewrote the classic Viduy in this positive spirit.

Instead of Ashamanu, Ahavnu – We have loved,

Instead of Bagadnu, Bachinu- we have cried,

Insteda of Gazalnu, Gamalnu- we have given back,

Dibarnu yofi- we have spoken great things!

He’’emanu- We have believed,

v’Hish’tadalnu- and we tried to give our best effort,

Zacharnu- we have remembered,

Chibaknu- we have embraced…

Ladies and gentlemen, that is the Viduy we need this year. I am not suggesting we switch the traditional text, but I am suggesting that our mindset, as we go into the year ahead, a year filled with so much uncertainty, is a mindset of pride. We have so much to celebrate. We have accomplished so much this past year.

I just want to take a few moments to list a few public accomplishments that took place in these four walls, with our shul:

On October 13th, we hosted a community-wide rocking Friday night minyan, to support soldiers like Arky Staiman who begged us to do so.

On October 14th, we hosted a community-wide program with B’nai Jacob Sharei Zion, Shomrei, and Ohel Moshe that was attended by 400 people, giving the community much-needed chizuk and unity.

On October 15th, we produced and distributed hundreds of We Stand with Israel signs that you can still see all over Baltimore.

On October 21st, we plastered our back wall with pictures of hostages – if not the first, one of the first shuls to do so.

On October 29th, we co-sponsored a rally in downtown Baltimore, letting the world know we are proud of our support for Israel.

On November 2nd, hundreds of shul members chipped in to pay for the Bar Mitzvah of a young boy from Sderot, who was homeless, placing a smile on his face for the first time in a month.

On November 4th, 170 people started learning Bava Kama in memory of Eliyahu Harush, giving much-needed comfort to his young widow, Hodaya.

On November 27th, we sent a video to the Bar Mitzvah boy, wishing him Mazel Tov from Baltimore, letting him know there were people who cared about him.  

We’re going to skip December. I had a Bar Mitzvah in December so we were a little busy…  

But in January, we hosted a comedy night that was a fundraiser for Israel. In February, we hosted a soldier, Yoshi Rosenbluth, to share with us his experience on the battlefront. We also hosted a presentation from Zaka, the organization that helps care for the dead in Israel. We brought in Hodaya Harush, to see with her own tear-filled eyes, what was done in her husband’s memory. And then we sent her and her precious children to Disney World for much needed respite.  

We hosted Dance Parties for the women of the community, to inject some joy and energy into a year of sadness.

We had not one but two Moshav concerts, each packed to the brim, bringing a taste of Israel and an uplift to Baltimore.

An endless stream of members visited Israel, to volunteer, to learn, to give comfort. They came back to our community, shared their stories and lifted us higher.

We hosted Jen Airley who stole our breath.

We chipped in to buy three mobile shuls for soldiers in Gaza.

We dedicated all of Tisha B’av to the situation in Israel, most specifically an event for women that filled our entire social hall.  

Okay, then I went away for two months… (It’s in my contract, I promise)  

And this past week, we hosted an incredible lecture by Shabbos Kestenbaum to learn more about the antisemitism plaguing our campuses.

And all of the above is just the public accomplishments. I can’t begin to imagine what went on behind closed doors.  

But here’s just a little glimpse – There must have been over $150,000 that went through my pulpit fund this year, supporting Israel, and also supporting many people in this community.

The kindness – the amount of Shabbos invitations, of people extending themselves, informally, through meal trains, and through our Ner Tamid chats is breathtaking.

The volunteerism in this shul was off the charts! So much of what you see here every time you walk through the doors is only made possible by a growing team of incredible volunteers. From the CSS team welcoming you at the shuls entrance, to the food you eat at the kiddush. The chesed that we collectively engaged in is remarkable.

You know how many extra prayers were said in these walls? Thousands of extra chapters of Tehilim every day after davening. Even though everyone is always in a rush, no one left, no one speak. We begged G-d to watch out for acheinu kol beis Yisroel. And that is aside from the extra tefilos that all of you said over the past ten months.  

And then there is my pride and joy – something I have been accused of talking about ad nauseum – the amount of Torah learning in our shul this year. Wow.

137 men, women, and teens completed Bava Kamma – a difficult and long tractate of the Talmud.

And then the vast majority continued learning daily. How many people here are doing Daf Yomi? How many people are doing Mishna Yomi? How many are doing Nach Yomi? Amud Yomi?

In Rav Kook’s positive Viduy, instead of Tainu, we have gone astray, the text reads, Ta’amnu Sefer- we have learned your books. Yes, we have.

***

A new member of our shul shared an observation with me.

And once we’re talking about new members and this past year’s accomplishments, it’s worth noting that 49 membership units joined Ner Tamid this year.

This new member, Ari Weiss, complained. He said, “Rabbi, all the Torah learning initiatives are nice, but they’re not for everyone. Some people may be intimidated by all the Hebrew text. Some people may not be into learning Navi, Mishna, or Talmud. You need to find a daily learning opportunity that is for everyone. That is your tagline after all, isn’t it? Something for Everyone.”

And Ari didn’t just complain; he did research and eventually we settled on a form of Torah learning that is indeed ‘for everyone.’ We settled on this book – Master Your Words, Master Your Life (https://a.co/d/4DKYPGL). It discusses the laws and ideas behind Lashon Hara and how to speak more positively about one another. In a world filled with so much toxicity, I cannot think of something more important to be learning each day. It is split up into daily learning, each day’s learning is a short page, which should take you between 30 seconds to two minutes to read.

It gets better – Ari and his wife, Michal, in their generosity bought a whole bunch of these books for you, for free.

There is a new cycle beginning this Thursday. This is your last chance to take part in the incredible spiritual revolution of Ner Tamid. And I promise you this is the last time I will pitch any learning program this year…

Who wants a copy? They are available for anyone who is not currently learning on a daily basis. Hands up. If we run out, a generous sponsor has offered to buy more.

***

Rav Kook’s Viduy concludes with the words:

Nisinu- We have tried,

Tzadaknu, lifamim- We have been righteous, sometimes,

Karanu b’shimcha- we have called out in Your Name!

Ratzinu- We have wanted to do more

Samachnu- we have rejoiced,

Tamachnu- we have supported one another.

Friends, we have so much to be proud of. Let’s walk into this new year with our heads held high. And may G-d bless us all with a year of profound growth, true peace, and blessings.

No Such Thing as a Lone Jew Parshas Ki Savo

Before every Bar and Bat Mitzvah I meet with the family to discuss their big day. At the end of our conversation, I often turn to the boy or girl and ask them if they have any questions for me. They usually meekly shake their head no and say a silent prayer that the meeting should quickly come to an end. But Simcha Schwartz surprised me and said, “Yes, I do.” And he went on to ask me an amazing question from this week’s Parsha:

We read something called the Tochacha today – it is a long list of curses that will befall the Jewish People if they do not obey the Torah. And Simcha, who studied his Torah portion, said, “That’s not fair! Our great-great-great-great-great-grandparents accepted the Torah at Sinai. They are responsible to keep it. But what does that have to do with me? I never accepted the Torah? How can I compelled to keep something that I never agreed to? Why would I get punished for breaking an agreement that I never made?”

It’s a good question, no? Why are we obligated to keep the Torah? Because my great-grandparents did? Because a mohel gave me a bris when I was 8 days-old and had no say in the matter?

Simcha, I want to share with you an answer, which at first may seem like a stretch, but bear with me until I am done. Deal?

Rav Yaakov Weinberg of blessed memory, one of the Roshei Yeshiva of Ner Yisroel asked this same question – you are in good company. And he shared the following answer:

You have been Simcha Schwartz since you were born. Was there ever any point when you were someone else? No, of course not. You started off as baby Simcha, and then you grew and grew. And now you’re 13-year-old Simcha.

But that’s not entirely accurate. The molecules, the particles of your skin and bone, almost none of them are the same ones you were born with. Those molecules are dying off and regenerating every moment. The heart that you were born with is not really the same heart. And the brain and the blood from your brain is not the same either. And yet, you still consider yourself the same person. When you look at a baby picture, you say, “Look, that’s me!”

The same is true for the Jewish People. Were we at Sinai? Did we accept the Torah? Yes, we did. The Jewish People did. And although the particular molecules that stood there are no longer, we are a continuation of them, we are the same, we are one. I am bound by my ancestor’s agreement the same way I am bound by decisions I made twenty years ago even though the physical matter of Sruli Motzen from twenty years ago is no longer.

Now you may be thinking to yourself, I don’t want to be part of this mega-Jewish Person thing. I want to be on my own; I want to be my own person. Well first of all, too bad. Molecules do not get a say in the matter and neither do you. But before you jump to any conclusions, I’d like to point out that this ‘being part of a Jewish nation’ goes in two directions. We are connected vertically to the very first Jews who committed to this incredible enterprise called Judaism, but we are also connected horizontally, to every Jew across the world, who will give the shirt off their back to help you.

Let me share with you two stories that will help you understand how significant this is:

If you travel through Tel Aviv right now, you will see signs from the municipality of Sderot. One of the most amazing stories that is not being told is what is happening with the significant amount of displaced people in Israel. The northern cities are empty and many in the south are still unable to return home. Where are these displaced people? They have been welcomed with open arms by their fellow Jews. For almost a year! So much so that the government of Sderot felt the need to take out huge billboards thanking the people of Tel Aviv for welcoming them with open arms.

This could only happen on such a large scale because the Jewish People see themselves as one, as a family, as one unit. Ingrained in every Jew is the notion that we are connected; acheinu kol beis Yisroel. And you, Simcha, have received this education from your parents. Your father’s career is focused on feeding Jews; what greater form of togetherness than that! And your mother has been an exemplary volunteer at our shul since the day she joined. Your family Is not living life in a vacuum; they see themselves as part of a community.

Story # 2- On Thursday, I had the honor of spending some time with Motty and Shiri Twito. Their son, Eyal, who spent some time volunteering at Ohr Chadash Academy in 2019, was tragically killed in January when he and some fellow soldiers were hit by an RPG. Motty and Shiri were in town to help fundraise for an organization that helped them with their grief. They described to me how they refused to speak to anyone after the death of their beloved son. They could not bring themselves to experiencing any joy, it was an exceptionally dark time. But then this organization, with their Shabbatons full of inspiration and meeting others in a similar situation, really changed everything.  

Beautiful, right?

It gets better. Motty and Shiri are Daati-leumi, religious Zionists. The man who runs the organization they were here to promote is a Chassid. Together, they looked like an odd couple; two strapping, tanned, Jews – tiny kippah on Motti’s head, a little scarf covering a small part of Shiri’s hair. They’re sitting with a Chossid with his long coat and scraggly beard, who is looking out for them, providing them with relief and support.

And it gets even better. You know who got this Chossid started? You know who paid for the very first Shabbaton that he hosted for bereaved families after October 7th? A Satmar Chossid. Satmar is an anti-Zionist group. They object to the existence of a State of Israel. But there’s a Jew in pain – yes, this Jew’s daughter was dancing at a rave festival on Simchas Torah, yes, this Jew’s husband fought for the IDF, yes, this Jew’s father lived on a Kibbutz that was avowedly atheistic, none of that matters. They are Jews and we are connected.

***

Who here wants a good and favorable judgment this High Holiday season? We all do. So let’s take this idea one important step forward. I want to share with you something personal, but I think it is important to share in this context:  

When I was in tenth grade, I decided to not speak on Yom Kippur. There is a tradition of not only abstaining from food on Yom Kippur but also abstaining from talking. It is called a Taanis Dibbur – a speech fast. It’s an incredible experience; it feels like a cleansing. We say so many silly words every day; inane conversations, filling the silence, sometimes we gossip or worse. And for 24 hours the only thing that came out of my mouth was prayer.

Then about 15 years ago, I started working for a group that did outreach – meaning, we taught classes and ran services for unaffiliated Jews. Part of my job was to attend Yom Kippur services with this group. There was no way I could maintain this Taanis Dibbur. I had to do Hataras Nedarim, which I did; I annulled the implicit vow to not speak on Yom Kippur. But I was quite disappointed. I really got a lot out of those 25 hours of silence.

I was speaking to a rabbi I was close with, and I shared this with him. I probably thought he’d be like, “Wow, I cannot believe you used to not speak for 25 hours…” But that’s not what he said. You know what he said?

“FOOL! You are a fool!”

“Not speaking for 25 hours is very nice. But when you stand before G-d on Yom Kippur as an individual who does not speak with others, you are standing as an individual who does not speak with others. G-d will judge you alone and that’s a pretty scary thought for G-d to assess your worth in a vacuum.

But this year, you are going to be connecting to your fellow Jew. You might end up talking about sports or politics, but you are connecting to a fellow Jew. And you will stand before G-d in a group of people. He will see you as part of a whole. When He sees you in a group, He judges the group together. And when you dedicate yourself to that group, G-d sees how valuable you are to His children, and that generates a radically different and far more compassionate judgment. You are lucky to be going into the High Holidays with a group of people that you will support and you will connect to.”

The best way to get a favorable judgment this year is to not go inward but to go outward. If you are hosting meals this Yom Tov season, there are so many people who would appreciate an invitation. More effective than the most heartfelt prayers is G-d seeing us share our blessings with others. 3-day-Yom Tov is a scary thing, especially for people living on their own. If you are not hosting meals, pray for others. If you are able to, give more tzedakah to help the many people in our community who are in need. Share their burden. Show G-d that you are part of the whole, that you are not an individual, you are part of the Jewish People. There is no such thing as a lone Jew; the quicker we embrace that, the more we live that, the better off we will be.

Yes, we are held accountable by the commitments of the Jews who came before us. But we are also held tight but the Jews who live around us. The sooner we embrace the reality that we are all connected, the better off we will all be.