Last year at this time who would have believed the situation that was waiting for us less than half a year after we sounded the High Holy Day shofar? Who would have dreamed many of us wouldn’t be able to gather inside a synagogue the following year? Who could have guessed that our new year greetings this year would be given without handshakes or hugs? Last year, without a glimmer of what the future would hold, we innocently recited this powerful prayer in the Musaf service on both days of Rosh Hashanah and on Yom Kippur.
On Rosh HaShana it is
inscribed and on Yom Kippur it is sealed: How many will pass from the earth and
how many will be created; who will live, and who will die; who at his
predestined time, and who before his time; who by water and who by fire, who by
sword, who by beast, who by hunger, and who by thirst, who by earthquake, and
who by plague, who by strangling, and who by stoning, who will be at
rest, and who will wander about, who will have quiet, and who will be confused,
who will be tranquil, and who will be tormented, who will be wealthy, and who
will be poor, who will fall, and who will rise up. But repentance, prayer, and
charity can annul the stern decree.
I couldn’t have imagined then that I would be concerned
about a plague. Water, fire, sword, and beast, yes. Hunger, thirst, earthquake,
maybe. But a plague? We’re in the twenty-first century. All our scientific
resources would prevent such a thing from happening. And if by some freak
chance a plague would erupt our medical system would quickly contain it. Only
that’s not what happened.
For some reason HaShem has sent us this
plague and now, as we enter the next year, we’re full of prayers for the
Almighty to end Covid 19. I think we’ve learned that we don’t have all the
answers. Only HaShem does. However, the Torah, HaShem’s Book of Directions for
Life, is not over the rainbow. It’s here and available for all of us.
Somewhere Over the
Rainbow
(written a year ago)
It’s known that Somewhere
Over the Rainbow, the signature song that Judy Garland sang in The
Wizard of Oz, was written by two Jews, Yip Harburg and Harold Arlen*.
I wonder, though, how many Jews were involved with the screenplay of that
classical movie. In my opinion, the next-to-the-last scene sounds as if it was
taken from this week’s Torah portion, Nitzavim.
For those who don’t
remember the scene the wizard’s balloon takes off without Dorothy leaving her
stranded in the land of Oz. Glinda, the good witch, arrives and informs Dorothy
she doesn’t need Glinda’s help to get back to Kansas. She’s always had the
power but had to learn it for herself.
“What have you learned,
Dorothy?” her friends ask.
I think it wasn’t enough
to just want to see Uncle Henry and Auntie Em and if I ever go looking for my
heart’s desire I won’t look any further than my own backyard because if it
isn’t there I never really lost it to begin with.
Compare Dorothy’s answer
with verses 12 through 14 in chapter 30 of Deuteronomy:
It is not in the heaven,
to say, “Who can ascend to the heaven for us and take it for us, so that we can
listen to it and perform it?” Nor is it across the sea, to say, “Who can cross
to the other side of the sea for us, so we can listen to it and perform it?”
Rather, the matter is very near you- in your mouth and your heart- to perform
it.
In other words, just like
Dorothy’s heart’s desire was just a click of her heels away so is the Torah
within the grasp of each and every one of us. It is there for each of us to
learn with our mouths and grasp with our hearts and act by following its
precepts.
As we begin a new year
may we all understand the special gift we have been given and continue to
refine our service to G-d and each other.
May all be signed and
sealed for only good this coming year.
*for more about the
Jewish theme of the song see Who Knew posted on my blog on May
8th, 2015
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