Please, Rabbi, he said, my wedding is just hours away and I will miss it if you do not help me.

Transcription

1 Temple Shalom of the South Bay Erev Rosh Hashanah Sermon September 14, 2015 By: Rabbi Toba August Avinu Malkeinu: Opening our Hearts to God Once, a long time ago, on the eve of his wedding, a groom s passage was blocked by a raging river. Just as he was about to abandon his attempts to cross the river, he saw a Rabbi approach the water from the nearby forest. The Rabbi looked carefully at the river and then dutifully removed a prayer book from his pocket and recited a prayer, bowed left and then right, and miraculously walked across the river. In a few minutes a second Rabbi popped out of the forest. He too surveyed the scene, whipped out his prayer book, recited a blessing, bowed left and then right, and walked upon the water just like the first. When a third Rabbi came out of the forest, the groom approached him. Please, Rabbi, he said, my wedding is just hours away and I will miss it if you do not help me. How can I be of assistance? the Rabbi asked. If I could borrow your prayer book for a moment and if you could show me the prayer to say before I cross this river that would be all I need. The Rabbi gave him the book. The groom then performed the ritual he had witnessed before and bowed left and then right. He then took one step onto the water and immediately sank to the bottom of the river. The Rabbi grabbed him by his coat and hauled him onto the shore. What did I do wrong? the young man sputtered. I said the right prayer, I bowed in the exact sequence. Why did I sink?

2 Ahh, the Rabbi said with a smile. You asked me for the prayer book and the appropriate blessing, but you never asked me to show you - where in the water - the rocks are. We will soon sing the prayer called Avinu Malkeinu. Many of us are familiar with the melody one that reflects a yearning for closeness and a desire to be heard and understood. The music is like one of the stones under the raging water a guide and an aid to connect with the prayer in our heart and to cross the raging river of doubt and insecurity. Like the groom in our story, we need the stones to cross from one side to another, to cross onto the shore of community prayer. Like other well-known prayers, it is the music of Avinu Malkeinu that is heart-opening whether we know or understand the words. Please turn to page 285, and sing the refrain together with our Cantor. The prayer is a litany of requests for God s assistance and forgiveness ending with the verse that says: Our Creator/Father, Our Sovereign/King, be gracious with us and respond to us, for we have no deeds to justify ourselves; Deal with us in righteousness and love, and save us now. To appreciate this prayer more profoundly I will share its origin and background story, from a legend in the Talmud the 5 th century repository of rabbinic wisdom. (inspired from an Essay by Rabbi Dan Ornstein. United Synagogue Review, Fall/Winter 2005) years ago. The Place is drought stricken ancient Israel and the time is First Century CE 2,000

3 Like California today, the rainy season of Israel was done and the rains had not fallen. Each day, as more cattle died, the water levels in the cisterns diminished, and the children wailed with thirst! As was the tradition, the sages called for fasting and prayer. They reasoned, Who knows what sins we have committed for which we need God s forgiveness. This is literally what our Torah teaches: If we fail to follow the commandments, the Holy One will grow angry and shut up the sky. No rain will fall. After many fasts and many prayers no rain fell. Then the sages decided to force the heavens open and called on the most charismatic rabbi among them, Rabbi Eliezer. He was fierce and prayed fervently, adding all his spiritual power to force God to open the heavens and let the rains fall. Expecting a miracle, nothing happened. Just dry silence and no rain. Surprised and embarrassed, Rabbi Eliezer and the people did not know what to do. At that moment Rabbi Akivah, a student of Rabbi Eliezer, ran down to the Holy Ark in a fit of mystical rage. In his own words he screamed: Avinu Malkeinu, Our Father, our King, we have no other King but You. King, have mercy upon us for Your own sake! Our Father, Our He wailed out these words from the depth of his heart, and sure enough, the rain fell that day. The Talmud stated that, God s tears watered the land and revived the people. Much later, the sages met and protested the favoring of Rabbi Akiva. In response, a heavenly voice declared: Rabbi Akiva is not greater than Rabbi Eliezer, but he is a person who is willing to forgive and Rabbi Eliezer is not. How can God be moved to forgiveness when you can t take these same steps within yourself?

4 This Talmudic tale teaches that when spontaneity and emotional intensity is infused into ancient words, we move closer to God. Additionally we are shown that that a person s character can be efficacious in prayer. We have uncovered three rocks that metaphorically move us across the river and bring us closer to the Source of Life the One who receives our prayers. The first rock is the Shir, the music which opens our hearts. The second is our Kavanah intention our personal cry and tears. Rachmana Liba B ei The Merciful One desires the heart. (San 106b) The third rock is our Middot personal attributes. Are we worthy of forgiveness and second chances? Like Rabbi Akiva, are we able to forgive our enemies? Are we able to forgive ourselves? We learned from the story of the groom that it is NOT only what you say, but it is knowing what to DO after you say it. We ask: What do we do after we recognize our needs and cry out to God? Prayers and supplications are not magical. We are the ones to make things better. We can be wiser, kinder and more forgiving, and ask for the help we need to develop these qualities. Can we find more opportunities to look for the good instead of the bad? Can we find patience and understanding instead of anger and resentment? Can we find curiosity and optimism instead of apathy and despair? Hope in the face of tragedy?

5 Laughter and joy in the face of life s uncertainties? Aveenu Our Father - Source of our destiny: Teach us how to grow from the harshness of life Aveenu Our Parent - Compassionate One: Teach us to accept what we must accept Eemaynu Our Mother -Our Guide towards truth: Teach us to change what must be changed Malkeinu Our King - Our Guardian: Teach us how to make peace with our enemies. Malkeinu Our Queen - Source of Our Destiny: Teach us how we can best help humanity Eemaynu - Our Mother Nurturing One: Teach us how to enjoy the gift of life. (reworked from the RA Machzor Lev Shalem) The list goes on. We can read the words in our Machzor our prayer book, or call out with our own requests and private prayers. El Ro i the One who sees me hear my prayers, pardon my wrongdoings and grant me another year of life. Ultimately, this prayer moves beyond the back story, the images of God and the petitions for deliverance. It becomes the song, the haunting melody that opens our soul to the mysterious unknown. Perhaps we can t know the Awesome Reality of God, but when we sing in unison, with an open informed heart, we can get closer to the Presence of Compassion and Truth. Join me as we read together a modern poetic version of Avinu Malkeinu

6 Avinu Malkeinu: A Prayer for Renewal. (New Reform Prayer Book Mishkan Hanefesh, CCAR, 2015) We haven t forgotten, Avinu Malkeinu, though we ve overthrown kings and we disobey fathers And we have no great liking for absolute power. Akiva stood before You in a time of drought, And his word went up like a flame on the altar: Avinu Malkeinu, You alone are our ruler. Avinu Malkeinu, Have compassion for us! He was humble and forgiving, so his prayer was answered. Tonight we speak again in a time of drought- Dry ground beneath us; no water, only rock. Not a hunger for bread or a thirst for water, but hearts that are longing to hear God s voice. For the Sea of Faith is all but gone; The tide s gone out on the empty beach. The world mocks our hopes and life tests our courage. Why do the wicked live on and prosper? Why are You silent when they prey on the innocent?

7 And if Your dominion is kindness and justice, why is Creation in so much pain? Avinu Malkeinu, sustain our souls. Send rain to our roots; help us find a way to pray. Make us humble and forgiving of ourselves and one another. Avinu Malkeinu- renew these words. Help us speak them with conviction and believe their truth. A hundred generations have stood before the ark And they lifted up their voices like flame on the altar And they put their trust in kindness and justice And they gave their strength to make the promise real. Avinu Malkeinu, we haven t forgotten. Avinu Malkeinu, bring us back to You.