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Rabbi David Wolpe, in “Teaching Your Children About God,” wrote the following:
“A woman once stood before God, her heart breaking from the pain and injustice in the world. “Dear God,” she cried out, ‘look at all the suffering, the anguish, and distress in your world. Why don’t you send help?’”*
God responded, “I did, I sent you.”
What a powerful message and a powerful reminder of our task on earth, as humans concerned about humanity. What an amazing way to explain the concept of being created b’tzelem elo-him, – created in the Divine image. We know the Holy One has no shape or form, even though we speak about God in human terms because, let’s face it, we’re limited by human language. Maimonides and Yehudah ha Levi both reminded us of this.
Although God created us, saying, na-aseh adam b’tzalmeinu, kidmutaynu, “let us create the human in our image,” it happened against the wishes of those attending angels to whom the Creator was presumably speaking.
There is a famous story in the midrash about the creation of humanity: When God began to create the first human, the angels banded into groups, some saying “Let him be created,” and others saying, “Let him not be created.” Lovingkindness said, “Create! Because humanity will perform acts of lovingkindness.” Truth said, “Don’t create! Because humanity will be full of falsehood.” Justice said, “Create! Because humanity will do justice!” Peace said, “Don’t create! Because humanity will be full of strife.”
What did God do? God took truth and threw it to the ground.
The midrash is a remarkable moment in which the sages take what is intended to be the apex moment of the creation story–the creation of humanity–and they question it.
Should humans have been created at all? Truth and peace square off against love and justice. When we hear that someone has died, our immediate response is supposed to be Baruch dayan ha-emet, “Blessed is the judge of truth.” So how can God have such disregard for the truth? And what about peace? After all, Peace sided with Truth against creating people.
The Chasidic master Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Kotsk was known for his relentless love and pursuit of truth over all else. He commented on this midrash, “Why did God throw down truth, but not peace? After all, peace, too, said that humanity should not be created. Rather, one should know that when one throws away truth, peace results.
His chasidim were stunned. What could he possibly mean, this man who has spent his entire life pursuing truth? The Kotsker rebbe explained: The source of strife is that each person fights for their own view of truth. Once that is no longer standing before them, there is no longer a cause to quarrel, and peace has nothing to complain about.
The Kostker rebbe’s elaboration reminds us that each of us can be blinded by our own perspective. Instead, we need to be aware that humans cannot see the full truth, as God does. Instead, we need to “throw down” that “truth,” because … it isn’t really the truth, and it prevents us from creating peace.**
We have the saying, “there are two (or more) sides to every story, and the truth is somewhere in the middle.” When we look at the war between Israel and Hamas, we see many different facets of what’s happening, depending on who is doing the reporting, or in this day and age, posting on social media. Same thing here in the US, and I imagine, other countries as well.
How often do we get into arguments or lose friends over what we believe to be the truth? I have a good friend who voted very differently from me in the last election. After a brief conversation one day, we had to agree to disagree. I want her to stay my friend, even if I’m concerned that she’s drunk a particular flavor of Kool-Aid. I haven’t asked, but she might be wondering what flavor I’m drinking.
When I’m on my knitting website, I see people whose avatars are Palestinian flags, or actually say, “Free Palestine,” and I have a visceral reaction. Then I realize that they might have a similar reaction to my Israeli flag avatar. I’d rather it be my cat, or a coffee cup, but having the flag there is a small way to say where I stand. And when one of those people shares a project, I make a nice comment. I did draw the line at the free knitting pattern for a Palestinian flag kippah.
There’s a part of me that would like to go on a rant right now about everything I think is wrong with the world, and how if I were in charge, things would be much simpler, and everyone would get along. There would be no more wars, everyone would have access to their basic needs of food, healthcare and shelter, the only purpose of social media would be to keep up with friends, and everyone would work together to continue to make the world a better place.
Basically, to share what I believe to be the truth. But since I really don’t like getting into arguments and certainly don’t want it to happen on the holiday, I’ll keep a lot of that to myself. However, I’d like to see more transparency and teshuva from a lot of people in high public offices. I’d like to know the truth of what’s happening in Gaza. Is it true that there are people starving there? No question. Is it true that Hamas is responsible for a large part of it? Also true. Is it true that Netanyahu is attempting to extend the war and is ignoring the hostages still being held in order to delay prosecution for wrongdoing, that would likely start when he’s out of office? Perhaps, I can’t speak for him. First Lady Melania Trump wrote a heartfelt letter to Vladimir Putin, asking him to end the war on Ukraine so that children will be able to grow up and live healthy lives. Why did he respond to by purposely bombing places where children were playing and learning? Why is the government of the United States declaring war on US cities and why does it seem that the department of Health and Human Services is doing the exact opposite of what it’s supposed to be doing, protecting the health of our citizens and residents?
I had a dream a few weeks ago that I was giving a sermon, or speaking to a group, and it was one of those fire and brimstone kinds of speeches that you expect from a Dr. King or Jesse Jackson, quite out of character for me. I have no idea what the content of that speech was, but it ended with me banging on the podium and saying, “And Mashiach won’t come until the day after we need him!”
I don’t know about you, but I’m not holding my breath waiting for the Messiah to come and bring about peace. As the Dali Lama once said, “Don’t ask God to fix problems people created, people need to fix them.”
Lovingkindness and justice knew that each of us has it in ourselves to bring about a better world, to advocate for what we believe to be just, to champion those who are underserved, even if you and I don’t agree on who they are. An updated version of Abraham Lincoln’s famous saying that “A house divided against itself cannot stand” is “The day we understand that the right wing and the left wing are both part of the same bird, only then can the eagle fly.”
When God responded to the woman in the story I began with, who wanted to know why he, she or they wasn’t doing anything about suffering and injustice, it was The Holy One’s reminder to her to her to think about what she can do to help make the world a better place, and to act on it. Today, Rosh Hashanah, is the birthday of humanity. The Torah tells us, in the second creation story,
וַיִּ֩יצֶר֩ יְהֹוָ֨ה אֱלֹהִ֜ים אֶת־הָֽאָדָ֗ם עָפָר֙ מִן־הָ֣אֲדָמָ֔ה וַיִּפַּ֥ח בְּאַפָּ֖יו נִשְׁמַ֣ת חַיִּ֑ים וַיְהִ֥י הָֽאָדָ֖ם לְנֶ֥פֶשׁ חַיָּֽה׃
“And YHWH God formed the human, of dust from the ground; blew into its nostrils the breath of life and the human became a living being.”
What do we do with the ruach hayim, the breath of life, that the Holy Creator blew into Adam, and by extension, into each of us? How do we use this ruach, this spirit, to put aside our personal truths and work towards peace?
Today we recited a prayer for our country a prayer for Israel and a prayer for peace. When we pray, we express our hopes and wishes for ourselves, for our family and community, for the greater good. But we know that thoughts and prayers don’t bring people back from the dead, or have any real influence on world events or the behaviors of others. What prayers can do, however, is help us to feel a little less helpless when prayer seems to be all we have. On Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, we pray to be inscribed and sealed in the Book of Life and Death for life and blessing, but how much control does each of us really have? We can eat right, exercise, get enough sleep, reduce stress and still not be the healthy specimens we want to me. People will still disappoint us, and we will disappoint them. But when prayer leads to action, it helps us to feel empowered. A call to an elected official, a postcard, getting out and voting in a local election, and yes, getting out of bed early to go for a walk.
When we pray, whether in synagogue, in nature, in our homes, we emulate the Holy Blessed One, which is what being created in the Divine image really means. How so?
The Talmud, in tractate Berakhot tells us, “Rabbi Yoḥanan said in the name of Rabbi Yosei: From where is it derived that the Holy Blessed One prays? As it is stated in Isaiah 56:7: ‘I will bring them to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in the house of My prayer.’ The verse does not say the house of their prayer, but rather, ‘the house of My prayer.’ From here we see that the Holy Blessed One prays.”
The sages asked, “What does God pray?” Rav Zutra bar Tovia said that Rav said: God says: “May it be My will that My mercy will overcome My anger towards Israel for their transgressions, and may My mercy prevail over My other attributes through which Israel is punished, and may I conduct myself toward My children, Israel, with the attribute of mercy, and may I enter before them beyond the letter of the law.
God may be the ultimate Judge, but we humans are constantly judging others and ourselves, and often not favorably. Those judgments get in the way of behaving in a merciful, compassionate and loving way towards others. Hashem, God, Adonai, put us on earth for a reason. As Mark Twain said: “The two most important days in your life are the day you were born and the day you find out why.” We can all easily answer the first question. The second one takes more time. Your homework for the coming year is to spend some time figuring that out, and then acting on it.
As we begin the new year of 5786, may we merit to emulate the Holy Blessed One by showing lovingkindness, mercy and justice, and above all, pursing peace.
- printed in the JewBelong High Holiday Guide for 2024
- ** from https://www.washingtonjewishweek.com/the-angels-disagreed-about-the-creation-of-humanity/
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