Kol Nidre 5769

Let me begin by wishing you all a Shanah Tovah and a g'mar chatimah tovah- a good inscription in the Book of Life. Tonight we welcome home one another. We welcome the Jew by Birth and Jew by Choice. We welcome those who come to synagogue often and those who rarely make it. We welcome old and young. We welcome to this great convocation of the Jewish people, our family and friends who live within our community—the Ger Toshav—the Gentile who is part of our family circle and clan. The prophet Isaiah taught us well, (and this is inscribed on the walls of our synagogue on La Brea) "Ki beyti beit tefilah l'kol yikarei haamim ....My house shall be a house of prayer for all people."

This night of Kol Nidre has so many aspects to it. It is so rich and so mystifying. These first hours of Yom Kippur are mixed in both fear and awe as the boundaries between the earthly realm and the heavenly realm are removed. In Hebrew the word for fear and awe is the same –Yirah. Although they have distinctive undertones and nuances—when we are awed we are a bit overwhelmed and perhaps uncertain about that which we experience or see or hear! Tonight, in our awe tinged with a bit of fear, as we hope our repentance is accepted, the chanting of the Kol Nidre prayer has helped us remove the thin veil that keeps the world above and the world below separated. For on this night especially and throughout the Day of Yom Kippur, boundaries are blurred so that our true selves – the essence of our selves may emerge-purified and renewed in vigor and spiritual strength and morally grounded for a new year of life. Even as we experience the pangs of hunger and weakness of physical fasting by the close of Neilah tomorrow-our spirit is nurtured and comes out stronger.

Yom Kippur is a day filled with ironies, twists, paradoxes and the removal of many coverings on this night and through out the next 26 hours.

According to the Kabbalah, the writings of the 16th century great teacher, Rabbi Isaac Luria, the Ari (1534-1572), we are all vessels of light — divine light. This light is the remnant of the first act of creation by God. As God began to create the Universe, God said "Let there be Light" And that light was to be contained in seven sacred vessels. But the light was so beautiful, so powerful it shattered the vessels. The shattering, the big bang that created the Universe sent the divine sparks, throughout the Universe and they floated outward in every direction and settled in the physical world of matter.

These holy sparks of light are in everything in the world – plant, animal, mineral and yes, human. These sparks or nitzotzot – are even in the bread we eat and the tools we use. Our human task is to help repair the world—to make a tikkun- a repair in the Universe, by releasing these divine and holy sparks so that they may rise up again to the Holy Source of All. When we say a blessing over bread, the Motzi-we release the divine spark inside. When we do a mitzvah, a commandment, or observe a Jewish holy day we release a divine spark in ourselves. When we honor our parents—Kibud av v'em—we release a divine spark in them. When we care for our animals and treat them with kindness and gentleness we free and redeem the holy spark inside that being. When we affirm the godliness in a homeless person rather than turn our heads and turn from our concern and see their true humanity-we release a holy spark.

As Martin Buber writes:

The Holy Sparks that fell when God built and destroyed the worlds, (hu)man(ity) shall raise and purify upward from stone to plant, from plant to animal, from animal to speaking being -- purify the Holy Sparks that are imprisoned in the world of Shells . . . And the one who, with the good strength of spirit, is able to raise the Holy Spark from stone to plant, from plant to animal, from animal to speaking being, leads it into freedom; and no setting free of captives is greater than this."

(Instructions on Intercourse with God, p. 188 in Hasidism and Modern Man by Martin Buber.)

On this night the shell that normally covers up our Divine essence, our divine spark is uncovered –so that we can look deeply into the recesses of our being and lift up those Divine sparks and return them to the Heavenly Realm.
The great Hasidic master, the Baal Shem Tov said:

In all that is in the world dwell holy sparks, no thing is empty of them. In the actions of (hu)men(s) also indeed in even in the sins of that (hu)man, does dwell holy sparks of the Glory of God.

By sincere Teshuvah, sincere confession, repentance and commitment to a New Beginning for yourself – you not only uncover that spark within you-but you are offering it up on Yom Kippur and this allows it to return to the Divine One and reunite and affect a repair. A repair in you. A repair in the world. A repair in the Eternal Source of All. A tikkun. A healing.

The word Kippur although it means Atonement has deeper meaning. And for all of you that hunger to unlock the secrets of the mystical realm of our tradition this is one of the teachings. The Hebrew word Kippur has a root – which is kuf, fay, resh – which also means kafar—to cover or conceal. On Yom Kippur Day God comes to conceal or literally cover for your transgressions. God covers for you—for your weakness, for your failures—God offers you grace and compassion and kindness to cover up the less than holy-the dimmed light.

Thus even as you uncover and reveal your essence and free your holy sparks—the Day of Atonement, the chanting of the Kol Nidre prayer, your fasting, your Teshuvah, your turning, your tzedakah --covers over and conceals that which befouls your spirit and soul.

So tonight is a night of uncovering and covering, of boundaries blurred, of release, repair and reconciliation, of facing our sins and accepting our purification. Point and counterpoint all in one day.
In a world that tries so hard to diminish and extinguish the light and holy sparks in a person, the Jewish job is to release and elevate and free those holy divine nitzozot—holy divine sparks of creation! We are taught that Israel's mission is "Or lagoyim" — to be a light unto the nations. We are not trying to convert others but to live as a people with integrity, honesty, compassion, justice and love and to release these divine and holy sparks so that the world, no, the universe can be healed, repaired and filled with the divine light.

On this Yom Kippur eve we come to recharge our own light and join our divine sparks together into a prayer of healing and transformation for ourselves and our world. We seek to release our holy sparks, uncover our essence. We seek to ask for forgiveness from that which dimmed and sullied and covered the Divine light within us. As it is taught in Serigi Nefishi,
"On Yom Kippur we ask forgiveness and pardon for all the wrongs we have done. These wrongs damaged our Godly souls, our precious vases. Their effect reverberated up to the highest heavens and caused God's light to be hidden from the world. How can we now ask forgiveness if we have refused to forgive our fellow human beings for the tiny wrongs they may have done us?!" (Wallach, The Palace Gates, p. 280).

And how much the more so to forgive ourselves and our friends?
All too often we walk around with such grudges and baggage that we have covered up the divine light of our souls and it can take a sledge hammer to even crack the shell, the covering inside us. We feel we are hurt, victimized, damaged. I see it all the time. We get our noses bent out of shape. With a thoughtless word or inconsiderate gesture the dance of relationship can shatter. But tonight is about forgiving and changing the direction and the way we respond.

We can learn as the Baal Shem Tov taught that there are holy sparks to be released even in a sin. Our challenge is to find the holy sparks around us even when someone is angry, rude, or insensitive. How can you see their holiness?

Colin Greer, president of the New World Foundation wrote: "Moral living requires successfully resolving conflicts between selfish and selfless behavior, conflicts such as spending more time with one's family versus spending more time pursuing a career, helping the homeless versus ignoring their plight and publically opposing bigoted remarks versus keeping safely silent. The qualities possessed by moral people as evidenced by their choices and behavior, might be called character.:" ("Awakening Our Moral Imagination" in THE POWER OF CHARACTER, ed. Michael Josephson and Wes Hanson, p. 225)
One such story of a person of character was told by Rabbi Sidney Greenberg of Philadelphia who was a great preacher and writer. He told the story of a businessman who had been selected for a community award for his generosity. He ran a hugely successful chain of shoe stores. He was interviewed by a reporter from the local Jewish paper. The reporter came by the store to ask the usual questions. Why had he, the awardee, been so dedicated and generous?
He asked the reporter to turn around. Upon doing so the young woman saw, over the doorway through which she had entered, a sign which was invisible to the person walking beneath it, but easily seen by the sales person behind the desk. The sign read.
PEOPLE FIRST, SHOES SECOND

The entrepreneur went on to say that good human relations was the basis not only of his personal life, but of his business as well, and he didn't want to forget that so he installed that sign "to keep my priorities straight".

Yom Kippur comes to shore up our character. This day is a reminder to keep is priorities in the right order. It reminds us of the old-fashioned, simple Torah values with which we were raised. Thou shall not covet, Thou shall not steal, thou shall not murder, thou shall not swear falsely, thou shall not lie, and thou shall not commit adultery. Honor your parents, remember the Sabbath Day and keep it holy, do not worship Idols, Make no graven images, Remember I am Adonai your God who brought you out of Egypt.

These are the ten basic lessons for getting along in the world and keeping your priorities in order and more importantly, you in order. These are ten lessons for helping to release divine sparks.

And perhaps, just perhaps, Rabbi Hillel said it best while standing on one foot— "Ahavta rayacha Camocha—Love your neighbor as your self." (Shabbat 31a). These same words will be read aloud in our Torah portion toward the close of the day tomorrow. For when we do this-- love our neighbor—we will raise up the holy sparks—we will see the divinity in someone else. And even if that neighbor has been less than neighborly—when you can love that neighbor despite their attitude—again you will be affecting a great tikkun, a great healing for the world!

This is no easy task. It is hard. It takes practice. But tonight let this begin with you.

Find someone this year who you have had a less than cordial relationship. Find someone who you insulted or had a misunderstanding with. And ask for forgiveness, try and make amends. And when asked by others to be forgiven—let the baggage of that hurt go—it will heal your own soul and you will be freed from the burden of it. Does that mean the memory won't still be there? It will. But by truly forgiving one who sincerely apologizes you will be free in a new way—a different way—because you will have created and added your light and released their sparks to the original light of God.

As Rabbi Harold Kushner writes,

Forgiveness is not a favor we do for the person who offended us. It is a favor we do for ourselves, cleansing our souls of thoughts and memories that lead us to see ourselves as victims and make our lives less enjoyable. When we understand we have little choice as to what other people do but we can always choose how we will respond to what they do, we can let go of those embittering memories and enter the New Year clean and fresh.

Rabbi Chayim of Volozhin told the story of what happened once to his brother Rebbe Zalman of Vilna. Zalman was sitting in the great Beit Midrash—the great Academy of Vilna. A fellow approached him and said, " Let me share with you a good and convincing explanation of a section of the Talmud in Masechet Demai. (Demai is the produce of the Land of Israel which was picked by an ignorant man who cannot be trusted to have taken off a tenth for tithes and which therefore requires tithing.) Now, this fellow had a slight lisp and his words sounded jumbled to Reb Zalman.

The fellow began his discourse, but Reb Zalman could not make much sense of it. It sounded to him like a lot of silly talk and suddenly he grew irritated over the fact that this fellow was grossly distorting the Torah, and wasting his precious time as well. He therefore turned him away with the insulting remark, " It seems to me that your fruits are demai, meaning the produce of an ignorant man...
The fellow fell silent and went his way.

The moment he disappeared, however, Reb Zalman regretted what he had said; What have I done?! I have caused pain to another Jew. Even if his explanation of the mishnah was slightly askew or even completely unfounded, so what" I should have spoken to him amiably an led him gently towards the proper explanation. I should never have made fun of him and insulted him!

Reb Zalman wept genuine tears over what he had done. He went out to the street to look for the fellow, but he could not find him. He went searching from one synagogue to another, from one study hall to another all for naught. Each day he would go to every single one of the tens of study halls in Vilna. He would go from person to person, and look each one in the face, all on the chance that he would find the person he had insulted. He wanted only to ask his forgiveness.

A month passed, two months. A year. Reb Zalman could find no peace for his soul. He was so depressed about not find the man he almost became bedridden.

His brother in law. Reb Michel Pesles saw this and asked a friend from another city to appear before Reb Zalman as the person he had insulted and forgive him for the sin.

The friend agreed. He came before Zalman and said.

"Don't you recognize me?"

"No" said Reb Zalman.

He smiled with a lisp, "Everyone says that you have a phenomenal memory. Don't you remember how I told you an explanation of a mishnah in Masechet Demai. And you insulted me?

Reb Zalman jumped for joy but then immediately suspected that the man in front of him was not the same gentleman. He held his hand warmly and said, "Swear to me now and tell me the truth. Are you the same fellow? I beg you not to do me a false kindness. Do not console me with vain consolation. Are you really he?"

The man could not stand up before Reb Zalman's powerful words. He admitted that he was not the man.

"I thank you for you wanting to help me, but how could it have worked? I insulted another person. This is not a sin for which neither repentance nor Yom Kippur can suffice to bring Atonement, until forgiveness is granted..."

Reb Zalman cried. He decided that he had no choice but to continue to go from synagogue to synagogue and from study hall to study hall searching for the man. He would stand up and tell his story before the people. He would ask that the man he had insulted forgive him if he was among those he was addressing.

The story finally reached the Gaon of Vilna—the chief of the community. He sent a message to appear at his study.

Our sages say (Sukkah 52a)" Began the Gaon, "that a man's Yetzer ha Rah-Evil Inclination becomes stronger every day and wishes to kill him. Were it not that the Holy One comes to his rescue. What difference does it make whether we overcome the Evil Inclination with God's help or own our own?" The Great Chief rabbi paused and then continued. "Rather If a man does everything in his power and still does not succeed, God will finish the job for him. You, Reb Zalman, have done everything in your power to find the man you insulted and ask his forgiveness. You did not succeed but God will finish the job for you!"

"How is that possible?" asked the incredulous Reb Zalman.
The Gaon opened the book Hovvot Halevavot-Duties of the Heart by the great Bachaya ibn Pakuda and showed him the tenth chapter.—"And if he harmed his fellow either bodily or monetarily, the blessed Creator will fill the wronged person's heart with good will and love so that he will forgive the wrongdoer for the offense committed. As it is written in Proverbs (16:17) "When a person's ways please the Holy One, God even causes his enemies to make peace with him." And Reb Zalman was relieved and forgiven. (Adapted Toldot Adam 45 b as told in The Palace Gates, Wallach p. 280-283)

Reb Zalman tried to make a tikkun, a healing, and a repair and finally God helped uncover his transgression when he made sincere teshuvah and effort.

This is an example for each one of us. We must still make a sincere effort to seek forgiveness from those we have harmed - eyn Adam l'chavero or the redress must first come from the other person — and only if we can't reach them and find them after our efforts, then and only then will the divine sparks be released by God.

So if you have been waiting to make amends, heal a relationship, begin again— on't wait. Take advantage of Kol Nidre—of the union of the heavenly abode and the earthly abode; take advantage that in these next hours that unfold, your soul will awaken to itself, to its essence and you have a chance to make a divine healing-a divine tikkun, a divine repair and release those Holy Sparks. Do not tarry—because waiting might make it too late to take care of the soul work you must do.

And then you can hold on to your loved ones a little longer. Enjoy their smiles; their touch; their laugh; and put your relationships in order. For we know life is too short to go to bed angry at night. Or to live with such disappointments and hurts by friends and co-workers. Life is too short –to hold on to such grudges which eat away at your soul and cover up the divine sparks in you. Release them—for your well being – nd for the healing of the world.
Ken Yehi Ratzon—so may it be God's will.

They're Not Always Gonna Be There, by Jud Friedman and Allan Rich
Look around you
Think of everyone you love
All the people that you treasure
We close our eyes
And we make believe
It's gonna last forever
Look around you
One day this will all be gone
No matter how you try to hold on
CHORUS
So love them just a little bit stronger
Look into their eyes just a little bit longer When you say goodbye - remember why Hold them just a little bit tighter
Find a way to make their days a little brighter
Show how much you care
Cause they're not always gonna be there
We have only this day
That is all there is
Nothing more is ever given
As we rush from place to place
Some imaginary race
What are we really winning
Look around you
Every minute that you spend
Is time you can't get back again
CHORUS
So be there for them
When they're down and they're low
Let them know that you care
Oh yeah - be there for them
Even though they may say
They don't need you to stay
Don't walk away
CHORUS

Posted by Eric at October 8, 2008 09:17 AM