YOM KIPPUR 5769: 2008 Facing Death and Living Life

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1 Rabbi Susan Laemmle, Ph.D. USC Hillel Jewish Center YOM KIPPUR 5769: 2008 Facing Death and Living Life Not eating or drinking, even water; not bathing or anointing ourselves with cosmetic lotions; not wearing substantial shoes and not having sexual relations these are the five prohibitions crystallized by the early rabbis out of the Torah s repetition of the phrase: V initem et nafshoteykhem: you shall afflict yourselves. At about this time today, we are feeling the effects of the most severe restriction the prohibition on food and water. Throughout history and around the world, there have been and are Jews, as well as non Jews, who find that fasting opens them up spiritually. But for many of us, even if fasting does grow easier with practice, it seems like it s the body that reasserts itself more strongly, not the spirit; that being hungry, thirsty and tired stand in the way of thinking clearly and feeling deeply. And so, we summon our resolution to complete the task before us, to handle the day as best we can. In a phrase, we live through it. We live through it : we endure. But also I realized in writing this sermon through it (that is, by means of fasting), we are in a position to re gain life. But this will only happen if we look more closely at the process, and take it upon ourselves willingly. Then we reanimate and deeper the life that is within us. Ironically, this happens because Yom Kippur is essentially a rehearsal of death. The act of fasting stimulates in us a turning toward death; our bodies begin a process that, were it to continue, would bring about our deaths. Refraining from eating and drinking on Yom

2 2 Kippur puts us into a position from which we can gain a glimpse, however foggy and far away, of the moment of our own death. And yet, Judaism is clearly a religion of life against death. We toast L chaim over our drinks, and make contributions in multiples of 18, the numerical value of Chai life. Throughout Jewish texts, death is treated as the enemy, as a contradiction as it were to God, who is pure life. Behold I place before you today life and good, death and evil.... Therefore choose life, announces Deuteronomy 30:19. Granted, when death strikes a family, the tradition prescribes unflinching recognition and acceptance, even as the larger community offers support. We re realistic about death as a fact of life. But in other ways, we fight back against it. Think of how the Kaddish does not even mention death; instead the mourner steps forward to testify that their family has not yielded to the crushing defeat of losing a loved one, and the community confirms that resolution in its responding line. The one notable exception to Judaism s arm s length treatment of death is the High Holy Days. During this period unusual in the Jewish calendar because it s not linked to remembrance of liberation or commemoration of catastrophe our tradition deliberately concentrates the individual s attention on mortality, and on the meaning of life. As with Kafka, we feel on trial, pushed and prodded to ask, Is my life contributing to the balance of life? If my life ended now, would it have been worthwhile? How aware and grateful am for daily existence? Samuel Johnson famously said that standing before a firing squad wonderfully concentrates the mind. One important aim of the High Holy Days, especially Yom Kippur, is to give us that 2

3 3 power of concentration but without the lasting trauma of seeing guns aimed toward us. I bring this theme before you today, even while knowing that most of you are taking it in through youth s covering of invulnerability a kind of magic cape that you wear. Intellectually, you know that you will die but, unless you ve lost someone close to you or had a scrape with real danger, your vital forces tell you that you are immortal. And well they should; for without youth s zest, our hope for a better world would be much diminished. It s different when you re 68, like me. And yet, even young people and especially university students profit from stepping back from the rush and routine of their lives in the interest of self examination and correction. After all, the college years often set the direction for the rest of your life your limited, finally short, single and unique life. And so even for you, whose bodily juices resist the death direction of fasting, Yom Kippur s focus on death offers an opportunity. That focus has sharpened already today in Unetaneh Tokef, and it will be prominent in the Torah Reading and in the Yizkor memorial prayers still to come. Going back some two thousand years, the Torah reading recounts the Temple ritual whose most arresting element was sending one of two designated goats into the wilderness as a scapegoat for the people s sins. We for whom animal sacrifice is an alien idea, find it difficult to grasp the way in which the scapegoat event, and the other Temple elements, framed our ancestors Yom Kippur experience. We need to stretch ourselves to imagine how awesome and indeed liberating these rituals would have been; how they must have conveyed a virtually sacramental sense of God s grace. From that long ago era and from subsequent rabbinic wisdom there has come down 3

4 4 to us the useful, and to me profoundly moving, idea that Yom Kippur taken by itself b etzem ha hom in the biblical Hebrew the day itself provides atonement. Like the scapegoat sent into the wilderness, the very existence of the 10 th of Tishri, as it were, carries away the sins of our people. Or at least it makes a meaningful difference human resolution still plays a vital role in renewal. It is Tshuvah the individual process of turning/returning that makes us capable of receiving Yom Kippur s benefits. And so here we are, previewing death and reaching toward life. And we ask ourselves, what is this Life toward which we reach; this Life that Deuteronomy commands us to choose? We know that it s more than simply eating, breathing and sleeping for those we do instinctively. Let me suggest that the Life towards which Judaism directs us has two fundamental poles: the life within and centered on ourselves, and the life that we share with other people. Of course, Judaism sees God as involved with both; traditionally, commandments the mitzvoth are either ben adam l Makom: between the individual and God, or they are ben adam l chavero: between the individual and other human beings. If you will allow me to simplify, Judaism wants us to be both happy and good. The two relate to one another certainly, but I think it s helpful to examine them separately. The great Yom Kippur text about goodness, indeed one of the greatest of all religious texts for any occasion, is today s Haftorah from Chapters 57 and 58 of the prophet Isaiah. Over and over again each year, I am astounded by the chutzpah of the early rabbis in designating it as the prophetic reading for today. Here we are fasting and following prescribed public rituals, and they fling down the gauntlet by asking: Is a 4

5 5 fast like this the one I asked for? A day for self affliction, to bend the head like a reed in a marsh/ to sprawl in sackcloth on the ashes? And then trumpets forth the answer as from the Shofar: Is not this the fast I ask for:/ To unlock the shackles of evil,/ To loosen the thongs of the yoke,/ To send forth crushed souls to freedom,/ To tear every toke in two./ To tear up your loaves for the hungry,/ To bring the poor wandered home,/ When you see the naked, clothe them,/ When you see your own flesh and blood, do not turn aside. In the carefully orchestration of texts and teaching of Yom Kippur, Isaiah drives home the lesson of the indissoluble bond between the two biblical injunctions of And you shall love the Lord your God and Love your neighbor. The pious person must also be virtuous. The true worshipper of god will have charitable feelings and engage in acts of social justice. Isaiah tells us that if the people s reputation for justice precedes them, then the glory of god will follow close behind. Then when [they] call, Adonai will respond. As soon as [they]cry out, God will say Here I am : Hineni. If we do right by others, then, closeness to God will follow. But will we then have chosen Life, and to put this in more modern terms will we be happy? Isaiah himself knows it s not that simple; that we and other people have spiritual needs as well as physical ones. For those, Isaiah and Judaism s best answer is the Sabbath: If you restrain your foot from Sabbath violations,/ From pursuing your affairs on my holy day;/ If you call the Sabbath delight, / the Lord s holy day honored ;/ Then you will become God s delight/ And I shall lift you over the high places of the earth. As a confirmed Sabbath observer myself, I can affirm that this makes a big difference in my life and that of the Jewish community; also that the Sabbath idea contributes much beyond Judaism, especially as concern for the environment moves us towards a 5

6 6 more careful use of resources. But still, there is more to say about grasping our lives fully so that we live happily and well. I d like to bring this talk to its conclusion with a list taken from the Los Angeles Times of September 8, based on the work of Social Psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky, who teaches at UC Riverside. Professor Lyubomirsky is part of the Positive Psychology movement that s having a significant effect on both scholarly and popular circles. Here, then, in cursory fashion, is the list of twelve practices that could make the Jewish year 5769 a happier one for all of us. You will notice that several of the practices echo High Holy Day themes. Also notice that all are compatible with Jewish observance and values. 1) Count your blessings: express gratitude for what you have privately and also by conveying appreciation to others. 2) Cultivate optimism: keep a journal in which you write your best possible future. Practice seeing the bright side of every situation. 3) Avoid over thinking and social comparison: when you start to dwell on problems or compare yourself to others, distract yourself with positive thoughts or activities. 4) Practice kindness: do good things for others. 5) Nurture relationships: pick a relationship that needs strengthening, and invest time and energy in it. 6) Do more activities that truly engage you: increase experiences at home, at work, or in a third realm in which you lose yourself in total absorption. 6

7 7 7) Replay and savor life s joys: pay attention, delight in, and review life s momentary pleasures. 8) Commit to your goals: pick one or more significant goals, and devote time and effort to pursuing them. 9) Develop coping strategies: find and practice healthy ways to manage stress, hardship or trauma. 10) Forgive: keep a journal or write a letter in which you let go of anger and resentment toward those who have hurt you. 11) Practice spirituality: get more involved with your religious tradition or read spiritual books. 12) Take care of your body: exercise, mediate and laugh. There the list ended in the Times with take care of your body and this suits today. I began this talk with the body and its needs needs that, unmet, lead to death; needs that controlled, as today, help us understand both death and life better. From looking death in the eye, we moved toward the domain of life as indeed, while I am speaking, Yom Kippur is moving towards it s life affirming conclusion. In a moment, we will hear Sally chant the Kaddish Shalom and then begin the Torah Service. Let me end with a line from the Kaddish that sums it all up: May there be a great peace from heaven, and life, for us and all Israel. May the One who makes peace in the high places, make peace for us, Israel and all humankind. And let us say, Amen. 7

Isaiah 58:1-14 Literal Translation

Isaiah 58:1-14 Literal Translation Literal Translation ISAIAH - PART TWO Isaiah 40-66: The Book of Consolation THREE SECTIONS: Isaiah Chapters 40-48 The Message: The Promise of Deliverance Isaiah Chapters 49-57 The Messenger: The Promised