But The Heart Has Its Seasons And Evenings And Songs Of Its Own (Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia- "Eyes of the World")

           We just celebrated my father’s 81st birthday. As his children and grandchildren have watched him age, we are all very aware that he is just a little frailer, a little more fatigued, with a few more aches and pains than he used to have. It is part of growing old. Unlike twenty years ago, or even ten years ago, I am also becoming more aware of my aging father’s mortality. I call him more often, and I make more of an effort to visit. This awareness of our own mortal temporary existence is one of the themes of Sukkot and its corresponding text, Sefer Kohelet the book of Ecclesiastes. We read it in its entirety once a year on Shabbat Chol HaMoed Sukkot, the Intermediate Sabbath of Sukkot. According to the tradition, Shlomo HaMelech, King Solomon, towards the end of his life, wrote this Megillah, this scroll. Tradition has this perspective because the language is not one of optimism but rather realism. This is a person who has “seen it all” – Ein Kol Chadash Tachat HaShemesh – There is nothing new under the sun! And yet there is a certain harsh realism and a certain sense of harsh optimism. The author provides us with a no holds barred sense of comfort. He does not coddle us. He does not baby us. Rather the author shoves our faces in this “reality” and gives us a perspective on how to deal with a world that is not as wonderful a place as we might have thought of in our youth, or even a few weeks ago. The question that so many of our sages have asked, is why is such a text, a text that does not offer such explicit hope, a text that does not offer explicit comfort, and is universally recognized as a “downer” of a text, why is such a text read on the holiday that is commonly regarded as Zman Simchateinu – the time of our joy?

        In Eretz Yisroel, the Autumn Harvest is complete. In North America, the summer harvest has been completed as well. We unabashedly celebrate our joy on a physical level because of a successful harvest. We also unabashedly celebrate our joy for having been judged favorably by God, (Rosh HaShanah), and having been the recipients of God’s mercy (Yom Kippur). On Sukkot, we are commanded to Samachta b’Chagecha – celebrate in your holiday. Yet this text tempers our celebration. While the nature of the Sukkot holiday is to celebrate our unrestrained joy in receiving God’s blessing, we also know that very often it is human nature to forget God and celebrate our achievements and ourselves. Kohelet reminds us that, like the fragile nature of the Sukkah itself, not everything is as much in our control as we think. V’Zerach HaShemesh U’Vah HaShemesh – the sun rises and the sun sets- no matter what we do, no matter how much control we may perceive that we have, at the end of the day, we are ultimately powerless. God is the ultimate cause of all things. The sun rises and sets because of God, not mankind. Kohelet helps us maintain our perspective. Kohelet reminds us that we are not the center of the world. Kohelet reminds us that for all the physical pleasures we seek, for all the material comforts we work hard to afford, such things are fleeting.

        So how can such a text offer us comfort? Well if we have the perspective of Kohelet, then we can understand how an elderly person, who has seen everything: man’s goodness, man’s evil, the joy of life, and the futility of life, offers us comfort.  With control comes responsibility. With power comes responsibility. Kohelet teaches us that we should celebrate the fact that we have so little control. Kohelet teaches us that we should derive joy from the fact that we don’t need to worry about the sunrise or the sunset. We shouldn’t be so terribly joyous when life comes into the world or upset when life leaves the world. Intellectually speaking, life and death is not within our control. Living our life is within our control. Living the best possible life is within our control. Living a life that has spiritual meaning and the acquisition of wisdom is the crux of our existence, the purpose for our living. Struggling to acquire anything else is futile. Torah is the embodiment of Wisdom. Sof Davar Ha’Kol Nishmah et Ha’Elohim Y’rah v’Et Mitzvotav Shmor  Ki Zeh Kol HaYamim- The sum of the matter, when all has been considered: Fear God and keep his Commandments, for that is man’s whole duty. By doing so, we don’t need to worry about another Judgment on Rosh HaShanah; we don’t need to worry about God’s showing us mercy on Yom Kippur. We will have guaranteed that we have done everything in our control to make our lives meaningful. The joy in our celebration is the joy in our opportunity to acquire wisdom and internalize it.

Peace,
Rav Yitz

Shaking In The Garden, The Fear Within You Grows (Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia - "When Push Comes To Shove")

            Nearly four weeks ago, the Jewish people began the Jewish Holiday season. A new year was inaugurated, judgment was handed down, atonement was made, forgiveness was received, and thanks was given and we celebrated. Amid the pattern of eating sleeping and praying was the acknowledgment of cycles and seasons. We began these nearly four weeks during summer and concluded them with autumn in the air. We finished reading the Torah and now begin a new Torah reading cycle. I know that some people find transitions to be difficult, a time of angst, where we leave the familiarity of ”what was” to the anxiety of “what will be”. While we have experienced a transition from summer to fall, from the end of the Torah to the beginning of the Torah, from the conclusion of one year to the start of a new year, we have taken the time to ritualize and celebrate these transitions. Ritualizing transitions can be seasonal, “Spring Training” for example and it can also be developmental, a toddler going through “toilet training”, or a child finishing high school choosing and applying to universities. Well, I am too old to be dealing with a child going through “toilet training”. However, our son, our youngest child, is currently in grade 12. This year, with the conclusion of the Jewish Holidays, the season of visiting University campuses begins. So my son and took a drive and looked at a few campuses outside of Toronto. There will be more visits to campuses, in Montreal, upstate New York, New Jersey, and around Washington D.C. As we walked around those first couple of campuses, I forgot how much I enjoyed being on a University campus.     

           This morning we begin the Torah from the very beginning in Parsha Breishit. We are all familiar with the narrative of this Parsha. The first chapter focuses upon the narrative of creation from God’s perspective. The second chapter focuses upon the narrative of creation from a humankind perspective. The third chapter focuses upon Adam and Chava’s disobedience of God, their obedience to the serpent their partaking of the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, and the resulting consequences. The fourth chapter focuses upon the family’s growth, sibling rivalry as well as fratricide. The fifth chapter focuses upon ten generations of the family’s genealogy beginning with Adam and Chava and concluding with Noach and his sons. In the sixth chapter, God expresses disappointment with mankind’s behavior and God expresses disappointment in his creation.

          There is a moment after Adam and Chava ate from the Tree of Knowledge, and they realized that they had failed to follow directions. VaTipakachna Einei Shneihem VaYeidu Ki Eirumim Heim – then the eyes of both of them were opened and they realized that they were naked. By eating from the Tree of Knowledge, their eyes opened.  They had become enlightened. They had become “aware” of their existence in context. They were not like other aspects of creation.  Despite this enlightenment and this awareness what do they do? VaYitChabei Ha’Adam V’Ishto Mipnei Adoshem Elokim B’Toch Eitz Hagan – and the man and his wife hid from Hashem God among the trees of the garden.  They tried to lose themselves amid the trees. So when God asks Ayeka – Where are you? God knows where they are. The problem is that they do not know where they are. They don’t answer the question.  Et Kolecha Shamati BaGan VaIra Ki Eirom Anochi VaEichavei – I heard the sound of You in the garden and I was afraid because I am naked, so I hid. This answers the question of why did you hide? But the answer to “where are you” is simple. It is an answer that more spiritually mature and aware people will offer. The answer to the question “where are you?” is “here”.   However, the answer “here” assumes that one knows where they were before arriving “here”. On a deeper level, answering “here” suggests that one has arrived at a final destination or at a point along the journey. Such an answer suggests that the person is not so lost. Perhaps the answer to the question “where are you?” is  “I am here now,”. The answer could even be, “I don’ know”. All these answers suggest “enlightenment”.  If Adam is enlightened because he ate from the Tree of Knowledge, Adam’s response is disturbing. He is not as enlightened as his descendent Avraham who will respond “Hineini -Here I am”. Nor is he enlightened to know that he is lost. To be lost suggests at least knowing the destination but not knowing how to get there. Adam can’t answer the question because he doesn’t know where he is going nor does he know from where he comes. He only knows that he is naked and without purpose. 

          As our son walked around the campuses, I could see both a sense of excitement and trepidation in his eyes. We acknowledged these seemingly contradictory feelings, and he understood that it was perfectly normal to be excited by the future and as well as be a bit nervous. Our son also understood where he was coming from, a home, a family, and a community that stressed the importance of higher education. He also realizes that he has intellectual interests as well as career interests all of which are predicated upon attending University. So, where is our son? He is “here”, exactly where is supposed to be in this transitional time, laying the groundwork, and preparing to eventually be “there”.  I find it very reassuring and comforting in the seasonality and developmental transitions.

Peace,
Rav Yitz