Beit Warszawa, Warsaw, Poland
In just a few days, we will gather as a community for Rosh Hashanah. This day of celebration and reflection gives us a much needed chance to be thankful for all that the past year has brought, and also gives us space to work on the challenges and pain that we might have also encountered in our lives. Working on our own lives, on our own relationships and community takes time. And when we add all of the problems we see in our larger community, in our country and in our world, we might be overwhelmed. It is all too easy to dip the apples in honey and sit together for the festive meal (as I hope you will continue to do), yet the deeper task of these weeks sometimes is a bit harder to grasp.
Thankfully, we receive a supportive message in this week’s Torah portion about the challenges of doing this “holy work” and living a spiritual and connected life:
“Surely this instruction (mitzvah) that I command you this day is not too baffling for you, nor is it beyond reach. It is not in the heavens that you should say, ‘Who among us can go up to the heavens and get it for us and impart it to us, that we may observe it? Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who among us can cross to the other side of the sea and get it for us and impart it to us, that we may observe it. No, the thing is very close to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to observe it.” (Deuteronomy 30:1)
Most see the “mitzvah” referred to in this passage as Teshuva–the process of cleaning up our lives, fixing our mistakes and turning back to our true selves that is our work during these Days of Awe. And as it is every year, doing this work is not an easy task. In fact, we may not even know where to begin.
A wonderful Sephardic midrash explains this challenge well:
“They say to a person: ‘Go to a certain town and learn Torah there.’ But the person answers: ‘I’m afraid of the lions that I’ll encounter on the way.’ So they say: ‘You can go and learn in another town that’s closer.’ But the person replies: ‘I’m afraid of the thieves.’ So they suggest: ‘There’s a sage in your own city. Go and learn from him.’ But the person replies: ‘What if I find the door locked, and I have to return to where I am?’ So they say: ‘There’s a teacher sitting and teaching right here in the chair next to you.’ But the person replies: ‘You know what? What I really want to do is go back to sleep!’ This is what the Book of Proverbs (26:14, 16) refers to when it says, ‘The door is turning upon its hinges, and the sluggard (the lazy one) is still upon his bed…the sluggard is wiser in his own eyes that seven that give wise counsel.’” (Yalkut Midreshei Teiman)
We all want to change, and we want to become better people. We want to live in a more compassionate and more healthy world, and we want to do what we can to create more Shalom, more “wholeness” in all that we do. Yes, this is a lot to ask, and thankfully we do not have to fit all of this Teshuva into the few days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Now is the time instead to simply take a breath and look inside our hearts to see where the change is needed. We first need to wake up. Once we do, then can we know where to continue this year’s path of searching for our true selves.
