Yom Kippur/Parshat Haazinu: Deuteronomy 32:1-32:52 By: Rabbi Denise L. Eger

Tonight we will begin the most holy moment of the Jewish Year- Yom Kippur. The torah readings we will explore on Yom Kippur Day and the Parsha for this coming Shabbat bring us a profound message that in these uncertain times can help us cope!

On Yom Kippur Day in the morning we will read a section that we heard recently chanted in our synagogues-from Parshat Nitzavim in the book of Deuteronomy only two weeks ago. The passages we read on Yom Kippur morning remind us that the covenant made with Israel at Sinai is eternal. It is made not only with those who actually experienced the desert wanderings but is made with “those who are not with us here this day.” (Deut. 29:14). This reminds all of us that this covenant is still in force and made with each one of us. The Jewish people no matter our station in life, wood chopper, or water drawer, rich or poor, children, wives and even the resident aliens in our midst are a part of the grand covenant our people.

This is such an inclusive message! The covenantal promise is not exclusive to a small elite of rulers but everyone can access it—even those who might not be Jewish. What does this mean to be reminded of this message of hope on the holiest day of the Jewish year?

It teaches us that our station in life, our status is not the determinant of the covenantal promise but our actions. The Torah portion reminds us that we shouldn’t follow our willful hearts or whims, or the idolatry of our time—but that the covenant that is given to us—even in contemporary times is not too hard for us to follow. It is a guide, a pathway to hope and peace, prosperity and life. We can choose to follow this covenantal blueprint for life – or choose adversity. But the Torah reminds us to always “Choose life”. This is what God wants for us, what our tradition wants for us and what we should want for ourselves! And when the world is so upside down it is good to have a map for how to live.

On Yom Kippur afternoon we will read from the section in Leviticus, Chapter 19 that teaches us how to execute and live this blueprint. It teaches us how we will choose life. It teaches us how to be and live holy lives through very practical, ethical and moral choices. Be fair in your weights and measures; provide for the poor; don’t put a stumbling block before the blind. Love your neighbor as yourself. These put into human terms the ways in which we will affirm the choice of our covenant and how to live it out daily. It reaffirms for us that idolatry is our biggest challenge and worst enemy. In our day and time that idolatry is the singular pursuit of money over meaning; the pursuit of sex without love and caring and the pursuit of pleasure at the risk of our health and wellbeing.

The Shabbat following Yom Kippur we will read the second to last portion in the Torah from the Book of Deuteronomy-Haazinu. This beautiful poem attributed to Moses is his last address to the people of Israel before ascending Mt. Nebo and looking over the Promised Land. The verses that open this portion form part of a very important prayer that is recited at a Jewish funeral known as Tziduk Hadin. “The Rock –God’s deeds are perfect all God’s ways are just: A faithful God, never false, true and upright. (Deut 32:4)”
This imagery of God as a rock repeats through out this poem. Moses reminds Israel of the strength of God and that they can depend on God’s strength and foundation as he will soon leave them. They have placed so much in Moses through the years. Moses now wants them to place their faith in the Eternal because through the years of desert wanderings God has fought for them and brought them to this moment of deliverance as they prepare to enter the Promised Land.

This message is important during a funeral especially because it is a time when life has shifted beneath our feet. Our world is turned upside down by the death of a relative. And if we can depend on the strength and foundation of the Eternal then the ground will seem secure. Just as the Promise was true for ancestors-we pray God will judge us with justice and kindness and compassion and help us too toward the Promised Land and the promise of eternal peace for our loved ones.

So too in these tumultuous times we are living. For many in the last months life has swirled and shifted around them. Jobs have been lost. The volatility of the markets makes people scared. There seem to be no end to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the uncertainty of the days ahead makes us all a bit fearful and feeling like the ground is quaking beneath us. How comforting to think of God as the bedrock, strong and secure and helping us stand firm!

We are not measured by the cars we own, or the trappings we acquire. We are not our jobs or careers. To put our faith and identity in those is idolatry in our Jewish tradition. It is our challenge during this holy season of Yom Kippur and Sukkot to recognize that the true bounty of our lives is in the righteous and moral way we live. The true point of these holy days is to remind ourselves to live lives of integrity and goodness. This is what matters most.

Our challenge is to remind ourselves that our family and friends are the most important measure of our lives; neither the designer clothes nor the size of our home. But rather is our home filled with values of love and generosity, kindness (chesed) and compassion, love of our People and humanity. Then indeed we will come to know the Rock that is our God and that it is good—to choose life!

May you be inscribed in the Book of Life for goodness, sweetness, sustenance and blessing in the year ahead.

Posted by Jimmy at October 6, 2008 05:19 PM