Oseh Shalom Peace- Rosh Hashanah Sermon 2010
One of our most beautiful holiday customs takes place at the holiday table on Rosh Hashanah, when all of those present are asked to extend a special blessing or good wish to each other.
If you don’t already practice this custom I would urge you to do so. Now let’s suppose that we are extending our good wishes not to any individual, but to the world with all of its’ myriads of peoples and cultures faiths and factions.
What would our blessing consist of what would be your wish for humanity?
For most of us I think our wish would echo the ancient word of the Machzor “besefer chaim bracha v’shalom.. nizacher v’nikatev” In the book of life blessing and peace may we be remembered and inscribed. Of those three
life blessing and peace is the foremost because without peace many lives are lost how then can there be any blessing..
The Torah and the works of our tradition have a lot to say about peace “Ilemaleh hashalom lo nitkaimu shamayim vaaretz.” If not for peace the heavens and
the earth, the cosmos itself, could not endure. We are asked to be disciples of Aaron the high priest who “loved peace, pursued peace and brought about
reconciliation between one person and another” Aaron realized that peace doesn’t just happen. He had to work to bring it about.
One of our best known prayers reads “Oseh Shalom bimromav hu ya’aseh shalom alenu vak kol yisrael" He who makes peace in the heavens above, may he make
peace for us and all Israel” some of commentators state this expresses our amazement and gratitude the multitudes of planets and stars that are constantly
whirling through space do not crash into each other and destroy each other. These words picture peace not as quiet or static but as dynamic pulsating with
power each planet going its’ own way part of a harmonious whole.
The Hebrew word for peace is of course Shalom. Its root is the letters Shin, Lamed mem which spells the word Shalem wholeness, completeness. In order
for there to be shalom you have to be shalem, whole. Real peace implies a peace without holding back, saying one thing while meaning another or looking at peace
as a step towards victory in an elaborate chess game, not peace.
It is the kind of peace suggested in the writings of the philosopher Isaiah Berlin who said that peace is not achieved through moral relativism which in effect says
that there is no right and wrong and no truth but rather through pluralism based on the idea that we are children of G-d united by our common humanity. He
taught that we can hold different beliefs, ideas and ideals; we can maintain that we are right and the other wrong while at the same time recognizing our common
humanity, which leads us to respect, honor and even learn from each other on a human level.
Inner peace, living at peace with oneself requires self knowledge. We need to know who we are; to know what our moral code is so that we do not find
ourselves at war with ourselves. Inner turmoil results from feeling compelled by circumstances to act in a way which is contrary to how we believe life should
be lived. When on the other hand, we are tocho k’voro when our actions are in harmony with our beliefs we feel a kind of internal unity that allows us to face the
world with strength and equanimity.
In today’s world there are so many conflicts, revolutions, civil wars, succession movements and armed or unarmed struggles that it would be hard to count them
while. Our own country is riven by bitter political dispute. We are involved in some of these conflicts, in some of them personally in others
by identifying with one of the partiers involved. Our quest is twofold, on one hand it is for peace the cessation of armed conflict and violence, on the other
hand it is also for inner peace. If we loose who we are, if we our most cherished ideals and ideas are lost in the course of both armed and political struggles we are
changed into lesser beings even if we are victorious.
One of today’s central conflicts is the Arab-Israeli conflict. We are parties to the conflict in two different ways. One, we support Israel; we believe that Israel is
right that its actions are justified and we try to persuade other people the same. Perhaps more importantly we are parties to the conflict because Israel’s existence
is central to the continued existence of the Jewish people and their history, of which we form a part.
Israel was created at least in part to help solve the problems of Diaspora Jews like us. It is based on the premise that we Jews are not only a faith we are also
a nation. The Jews people before the creation of the state of Israel had many but not all the features of nationhood. We are in fact the cultural spiritual and
yes the physical descendants of the Jews of ancient times who were exiled from their homes. Though we lived in communities scattered around the world, we
have continuous history from the time of our exile till the present. For most of that time we maintained distinct and often self-governing communities which
facilitated the development of our culture and way of life.
In the late nineteenth century, many people began to believe that very existence of the Jewish nation was in danger because of two forces. One was the rise of
anti-Semitism. Powerful nationalist movements were beginning to sweep Europe labeling Jews as outsiders and limiting their economic opportunities causing mass
poverty. From time to time there were violent outbreaks the pogroms. Many observers sensed that this was only the beginning and that rising anti-Semitism
would lead to mass murder.
The other force was assimilation in which the Jews gradually amalgamate with the on-Jewish population until they loose their distinct Jewish identities
The result of both of these opposite processes would be same the disappearance of the Jewish faith and people. The Zionist thinkers thought that these problems
could be best answered through the creation of a Jewish state which would provide the Jewish people with a state capable of defending them and a cultural
center from which Jewish culture could be regenerated.
The first part of this picture has already come to pass. The Holocaust exceeded even the worst nightmares of the Zionist thinkers resulting in the elimination of
the historical center of the Jewish people through mass murder. The people of these communities were unable to resist in any effective manner because they
had no state, no country supporting them. They thus lacked the military means for self defense. At the same time since Jews had no state they had no political
power and no voice in the councils of nations to bring their plight to the attention of the world and demand that something be done. Hence our reluctance to
put ourselves back into a position of powerlessness and dependency. We would like to believe that “genocide could never happen again” that the
world would simply not allow it. That is probably what the Tutsis of Uganda thought until it happened to them while the world watched and did little more
than express regret. Peoples without a state do not fare well in today’s world. Just last week thousands of Roma Gypsies were rounded up in Italy and France
and deported to Rumania and Bulgaria. (the case of the Palestinians now)
As of yet we don’t know about the second prediction concerning assimilation.There are those see the Jewish communities of the Diaspora including our own
just melting away. Jews are now welcomed in places where once we were shunned. When the most prominent families in our country such as the Clintons
and the Kennedys welcome Jews into their midst it is hard to resist. In the more affluent and well educated circles that many Jews find themselves in, religion and
ethnic identify is often disparaged as out dated and parochial. In our increasingly globalized world the goal is for everyone to somehow blend together into one
harmonious orchestra or vegetable soup. While ones identity is not denied or disparaged it is not considered very important either. Israel thus provides
a center where a vital and natural Jewish culture can develop which can then spread out and energize Jewish communities, including our own throughout the
world.
The Arab Israeli conflict is about us as much as it is about as it is about Israel and Israelis. Our support for Israel is ultimately about our own identities and our
vision of the future, our history. The continued existence of Israel is about our continuing to exist as Jews wherever we are in the world.
The criticism, indeed the defaming of Israel, which we hear and read about so often touches a nerve. We ask ourselves whether our support of Israel
is contrary to some of our ideas about how life should be lived and nations should act. It causes some of us inner dissonance disturbing our inner peace.
We should realize that Israel struggles with this issue more than we do. Israeli leaders agonize over the question of at what price survival. They try to balance
the need to protect the lives of its citizens with concern for maintaining Israel as a nation based on individual freedom and human values.
We should also realize that public opinion is part of any struggle. The opponents of Israel want to make us turn against Israel. They want the world to think
that Israel as a pariah nation, the equivalent of apartheid South Africa. They exaggerate every possible misdeed of the Israelis, while never examining any of
their own.. They act as if the whole conflict is the fault of Israel and if Israel were only brow beaten into doing what they want the world would be at peace. Their
purpose is to render Israel voiceless and defenseless as Jews have been for most of history.
It is important for us to educate ourselves and others as to the facts of the conflict, so that we can understand the prospects for peace and so that we can be
at peace with our support of Israel.
The Jewish people anywhere in the land of Israel are not colonial settlers. They are the physical and cultural descendents of the ancient inhabitants of that
land who have rightly returned. The Bible, holy to Christians and Jews, and the Koran holy to Islam all state that G-d has given that land to the Jewish people
recognizing the special connection of the Jewish people to that land.
Most Jews have wanted to live in peace with the Arabs of Palestine, though not to the point that they were willing to give up their right to live there. The Israeli
Declaration of Independence of 1948 states “We appeal to the Arab inhabitants of the State of Israel to preserve peace and participate in the up building of the
state on the basis of full and equal citizenship”. Had the Arabs of Palestine accepted the Partition Plan of 1948 there would have been no refugees. I believe
that the overwhelming majority of Israelis would accept the two state solution if they were convinced that it is based on a real willingness for peace and not a
move in an international chess game moving closer to Israel’s destruction.
Israel has shown a great deal of restraint in its use of force in order to avoid harming civilians, more so than NATO in Kosovo or the US in Afghanistan. Israel
had done so not only because of fear of international censor but because of its own value placed on human life. Israel is not fighting for power or territory
but for its very existence against nations and groups who are quite open about their desire to wipe Israel off the map. The checkpoints and the security
barrier began to appear only after 2000 with the second intifada and terrorism which means that for the first 33 years of Israeli control they did not exist.
Jews are not taught to hate Arabs, Muslims or Islam. Israel and Jewish communities around the world have no innate hatred of Arabs their culture or
religion. Acts like the planned burning of the Koran this Sunday in Florida would never be tolerated in Israel. What hostility there is exists because of over 60
years of existential conflict against those who see it as intrinsically unjust and impermanent.
In the Arabic language, I am told, there are three different words that are translated as peace. One is Salam, shalom, another is Sulcha which is probably
related to the Hebrew word selicha meaning forgiveness. It can be understood as reconciliation. The other is Hudna which is probably better translated as truce.
It connotes a temporarily advantageous cessation of hostilities. It may last for a long time but the premise is that if conditions change it can readily be broken
in order to seize the advantage. If there were somehow peace between Jews and Arabs it would be “Atchalta d’geula” the beginning of the redemption of the
world. Together we could bring so much good to the world. It depends however on what word you use for peace. We would like to see Sulha, reconciliation, we
would settle for Salam, shalom. Hudna however is a peace which is merely the prelude to more war and bloodshed must be completely unacceptable.
If there were somehow peace between Jews and Arabs it would be “Atchalta d’geula” the beginning of the redemption Together we could bring so much good
to the world. It depends how ever on what word you use for peace.
Last week President Obama along with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Palestinian President Abas has once again begun to negotiate in the hope of
finding a solution. All of the leaders said all of the right things. On Tuesday President Obama got on the phone in a conference call with hundreds of Rabbis
besides wishing us all a Happy New Year a Shana Tova. He asked us to support his peace process. If Obama succeeds and he talks about completing an agreement
within a year, we may by next Rosh Hashanah, be living in different and vastly improved world. We however have reason for skeptisim.
The peace process has a very bad record. The peace process became the arena in which the conflict was played out rather than providing a solution.
Dear Mr. President I’d like to tell you that peace depends on both sides. Don’t think that all you have to do is pressure Israel to make enough concessions and
there will be peace. Don’t think that peace between Israel and the Arabs will lessen violence all over the world. Don’t see the negotiations as a matter of
the personalities and political standings of Abbas and Netanyahu. They are not Hollywood celebrities but leaders of peoples whose conflicts impinge on many
lives and effect history.
The issues to be negotiated have been wisely framed by Netanyahu. They are that the Arab world recognize Israel as the national state of the Jewish People,
that they agree that the conflict is over with no additional claims and that the Arab refugees of 1948 solutions other than their returning to their former homes
in what is now Israel. Abbas has also been clear. What he wants is that Israel return to the 1967 borders, remove all Jews from within what will be the fully
sovereign Palestinian state, divide Jerusalem, and agree to the return of the 1948 refugees and their descendents who now number 31/2 million to their former
homes in what is now Israel.
It doesn’t sound very promising does it? The question is why bother? The answer is our dream to be a nation among nations whose energies are not
focused on war, terror, defense and security but rather on cures for cancer, clean technologies, outer space travel and spiritual direction for a world that sorely
needs it.
Then they shall come and sing joyously on the height of Zion and shall stream to the Lord’s goodness. Then their soul shall be like a well watered garden and they
shall no more agonize. Then the maiden shall rejoice in the dance and young boys and old men will join together. I will transform their mourning into joy and I will
comfort them and gladden them and my people shall be sated by my goodness.
If you don’t already practice this custom I would urge you to do so. Now let’s suppose that we are extending our good wishes not to any individual, but to the world with all of its’ myriads of peoples and cultures faiths and factions.
What would our blessing consist of what would be your wish for humanity?
For most of us I think our wish would echo the ancient word of the Machzor “besefer chaim bracha v’shalom.. nizacher v’nikatev” In the book of life blessing and peace may we be remembered and inscribed. Of those three
life blessing and peace is the foremost because without peace many lives are lost how then can there be any blessing..
The Torah and the works of our tradition have a lot to say about peace “Ilemaleh hashalom lo nitkaimu shamayim vaaretz.” If not for peace the heavens and
the earth, the cosmos itself, could not endure. We are asked to be disciples of Aaron the high priest who “loved peace, pursued peace and brought about
reconciliation between one person and another” Aaron realized that peace doesn’t just happen. He had to work to bring it about.
One of our best known prayers reads “Oseh Shalom bimromav hu ya’aseh shalom alenu vak kol yisrael" He who makes peace in the heavens above, may he make
peace for us and all Israel” some of commentators state this expresses our amazement and gratitude the multitudes of planets and stars that are constantly
whirling through space do not crash into each other and destroy each other. These words picture peace not as quiet or static but as dynamic pulsating with
power each planet going its’ own way part of a harmonious whole.
The Hebrew word for peace is of course Shalom. Its root is the letters Shin, Lamed mem which spells the word Shalem wholeness, completeness. In order
for there to be shalom you have to be shalem, whole. Real peace implies a peace without holding back, saying one thing while meaning another or looking at peace
as a step towards victory in an elaborate chess game, not peace.
It is the kind of peace suggested in the writings of the philosopher Isaiah Berlin who said that peace is not achieved through moral relativism which in effect says
that there is no right and wrong and no truth but rather through pluralism based on the idea that we are children of G-d united by our common humanity. He
taught that we can hold different beliefs, ideas and ideals; we can maintain that we are right and the other wrong while at the same time recognizing our common
humanity, which leads us to respect, honor and even learn from each other on a human level.
Inner peace, living at peace with oneself requires self knowledge. We need to know who we are; to know what our moral code is so that we do not find
ourselves at war with ourselves. Inner turmoil results from feeling compelled by circumstances to act in a way which is contrary to how we believe life should
be lived. When on the other hand, we are tocho k’voro when our actions are in harmony with our beliefs we feel a kind of internal unity that allows us to face the
world with strength and equanimity.
In today’s world there are so many conflicts, revolutions, civil wars, succession movements and armed or unarmed struggles that it would be hard to count them
while. Our own country is riven by bitter political dispute. We are involved in some of these conflicts, in some of them personally in others
by identifying with one of the partiers involved. Our quest is twofold, on one hand it is for peace the cessation of armed conflict and violence, on the other
hand it is also for inner peace. If we loose who we are, if we our most cherished ideals and ideas are lost in the course of both armed and political struggles we are
changed into lesser beings even if we are victorious.
One of today’s central conflicts is the Arab-Israeli conflict. We are parties to the conflict in two different ways. One, we support Israel; we believe that Israel is
right that its actions are justified and we try to persuade other people the same. Perhaps more importantly we are parties to the conflict because Israel’s existence
is central to the continued existence of the Jewish people and their history, of which we form a part.
Israel was created at least in part to help solve the problems of Diaspora Jews like us. It is based on the premise that we Jews are not only a faith we are also
a nation. The Jews people before the creation of the state of Israel had many but not all the features of nationhood. We are in fact the cultural spiritual and
yes the physical descendants of the Jews of ancient times who were exiled from their homes. Though we lived in communities scattered around the world, we
have continuous history from the time of our exile till the present. For most of that time we maintained distinct and often self-governing communities which
facilitated the development of our culture and way of life.
In the late nineteenth century, many people began to believe that very existence of the Jewish nation was in danger because of two forces. One was the rise of
anti-Semitism. Powerful nationalist movements were beginning to sweep Europe labeling Jews as outsiders and limiting their economic opportunities causing mass
poverty. From time to time there were violent outbreaks the pogroms. Many observers sensed that this was only the beginning and that rising anti-Semitism
would lead to mass murder.
The other force was assimilation in which the Jews gradually amalgamate with the on-Jewish population until they loose their distinct Jewish identities
The result of both of these opposite processes would be same the disappearance of the Jewish faith and people. The Zionist thinkers thought that these problems
could be best answered through the creation of a Jewish state which would provide the Jewish people with a state capable of defending them and a cultural
center from which Jewish culture could be regenerated.
The first part of this picture has already come to pass. The Holocaust exceeded even the worst nightmares of the Zionist thinkers resulting in the elimination of
the historical center of the Jewish people through mass murder. The people of these communities were unable to resist in any effective manner because they
had no state, no country supporting them. They thus lacked the military means for self defense. At the same time since Jews had no state they had no political
power and no voice in the councils of nations to bring their plight to the attention of the world and demand that something be done. Hence our reluctance to
put ourselves back into a position of powerlessness and dependency. We would like to believe that “genocide could never happen again” that the
world would simply not allow it. That is probably what the Tutsis of Uganda thought until it happened to them while the world watched and did little more
than express regret. Peoples without a state do not fare well in today’s world. Just last week thousands of Roma Gypsies were rounded up in Italy and France
and deported to Rumania and Bulgaria. (the case of the Palestinians now)
As of yet we don’t know about the second prediction concerning assimilation.There are those see the Jewish communities of the Diaspora including our own
just melting away. Jews are now welcomed in places where once we were shunned. When the most prominent families in our country such as the Clintons
and the Kennedys welcome Jews into their midst it is hard to resist. In the more affluent and well educated circles that many Jews find themselves in, religion and
ethnic identify is often disparaged as out dated and parochial. In our increasingly globalized world the goal is for everyone to somehow blend together into one
harmonious orchestra or vegetable soup. While ones identity is not denied or disparaged it is not considered very important either. Israel thus provides
a center where a vital and natural Jewish culture can develop which can then spread out and energize Jewish communities, including our own throughout the
world.
The Arab Israeli conflict is about us as much as it is about as it is about Israel and Israelis. Our support for Israel is ultimately about our own identities and our
vision of the future, our history. The continued existence of Israel is about our continuing to exist as Jews wherever we are in the world.
The criticism, indeed the defaming of Israel, which we hear and read about so often touches a nerve. We ask ourselves whether our support of Israel
is contrary to some of our ideas about how life should be lived and nations should act. It causes some of us inner dissonance disturbing our inner peace.
We should realize that Israel struggles with this issue more than we do. Israeli leaders agonize over the question of at what price survival. They try to balance
the need to protect the lives of its citizens with concern for maintaining Israel as a nation based on individual freedom and human values.
We should also realize that public opinion is part of any struggle. The opponents of Israel want to make us turn against Israel. They want the world to think
that Israel as a pariah nation, the equivalent of apartheid South Africa. They exaggerate every possible misdeed of the Israelis, while never examining any of
their own.. They act as if the whole conflict is the fault of Israel and if Israel were only brow beaten into doing what they want the world would be at peace. Their
purpose is to render Israel voiceless and defenseless as Jews have been for most of history.
It is important for us to educate ourselves and others as to the facts of the conflict, so that we can understand the prospects for peace and so that we can be
at peace with our support of Israel.
The Jewish people anywhere in the land of Israel are not colonial settlers. They are the physical and cultural descendents of the ancient inhabitants of that
land who have rightly returned. The Bible, holy to Christians and Jews, and the Koran holy to Islam all state that G-d has given that land to the Jewish people
recognizing the special connection of the Jewish people to that land.
Most Jews have wanted to live in peace with the Arabs of Palestine, though not to the point that they were willing to give up their right to live there. The Israeli
Declaration of Independence of 1948 states “We appeal to the Arab inhabitants of the State of Israel to preserve peace and participate in the up building of the
state on the basis of full and equal citizenship”. Had the Arabs of Palestine accepted the Partition Plan of 1948 there would have been no refugees. I believe
that the overwhelming majority of Israelis would accept the two state solution if they were convinced that it is based on a real willingness for peace and not a
move in an international chess game moving closer to Israel’s destruction.
Israel has shown a great deal of restraint in its use of force in order to avoid harming civilians, more so than NATO in Kosovo or the US in Afghanistan. Israel
had done so not only because of fear of international censor but because of its own value placed on human life. Israel is not fighting for power or territory
but for its very existence against nations and groups who are quite open about their desire to wipe Israel off the map. The checkpoints and the security
barrier began to appear only after 2000 with the second intifada and terrorism which means that for the first 33 years of Israeli control they did not exist.
Jews are not taught to hate Arabs, Muslims or Islam. Israel and Jewish communities around the world have no innate hatred of Arabs their culture or
religion. Acts like the planned burning of the Koran this Sunday in Florida would never be tolerated in Israel. What hostility there is exists because of over 60
years of existential conflict against those who see it as intrinsically unjust and impermanent.
In the Arabic language, I am told, there are three different words that are translated as peace. One is Salam, shalom, another is Sulcha which is probably
related to the Hebrew word selicha meaning forgiveness. It can be understood as reconciliation. The other is Hudna which is probably better translated as truce.
It connotes a temporarily advantageous cessation of hostilities. It may last for a long time but the premise is that if conditions change it can readily be broken
in order to seize the advantage. If there were somehow peace between Jews and Arabs it would be “Atchalta d’geula” the beginning of the redemption of the
world. Together we could bring so much good to the world. It depends however on what word you use for peace. We would like to see Sulha, reconciliation, we
would settle for Salam, shalom. Hudna however is a peace which is merely the prelude to more war and bloodshed must be completely unacceptable.
If there were somehow peace between Jews and Arabs it would be “Atchalta d’geula” the beginning of the redemption Together we could bring so much good
to the world. It depends how ever on what word you use for peace.
Last week President Obama along with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Palestinian President Abas has once again begun to negotiate in the hope of
finding a solution. All of the leaders said all of the right things. On Tuesday President Obama got on the phone in a conference call with hundreds of Rabbis
besides wishing us all a Happy New Year a Shana Tova. He asked us to support his peace process. If Obama succeeds and he talks about completing an agreement
within a year, we may by next Rosh Hashanah, be living in different and vastly improved world. We however have reason for skeptisim.
The peace process has a very bad record. The peace process became the arena in which the conflict was played out rather than providing a solution.
Dear Mr. President I’d like to tell you that peace depends on both sides. Don’t think that all you have to do is pressure Israel to make enough concessions and
there will be peace. Don’t think that peace between Israel and the Arabs will lessen violence all over the world. Don’t see the negotiations as a matter of
the personalities and political standings of Abbas and Netanyahu. They are not Hollywood celebrities but leaders of peoples whose conflicts impinge on many
lives and effect history.
The issues to be negotiated have been wisely framed by Netanyahu. They are that the Arab world recognize Israel as the national state of the Jewish People,
that they agree that the conflict is over with no additional claims and that the Arab refugees of 1948 solutions other than their returning to their former homes
in what is now Israel. Abbas has also been clear. What he wants is that Israel return to the 1967 borders, remove all Jews from within what will be the fully
sovereign Palestinian state, divide Jerusalem, and agree to the return of the 1948 refugees and their descendents who now number 31/2 million to their former
homes in what is now Israel.
It doesn’t sound very promising does it? The question is why bother? The answer is our dream to be a nation among nations whose energies are not
focused on war, terror, defense and security but rather on cures for cancer, clean technologies, outer space travel and spiritual direction for a world that sorely
needs it.
Then they shall come and sing joyously on the height of Zion and shall stream to the Lord’s goodness. Then their soul shall be like a well watered garden and they
shall no more agonize. Then the maiden shall rejoice in the dance and young boys and old men will join together. I will transform their mourning into joy and I will
comfort them and gladden them and my people shall be sated by my goodness.
Shana Tova Message
In a few weeks the setting sun will mark the beginning of Rosh Hashanah. Whether it is in the cities of Jerusalem, New York, Buenos Aires, Moscow, or small towns and villages such as Kota Reddy Palem in India or Saa in Cameroon, Jewish homes will be graced with a mood of hope and expectation. In some homes there will be apples dipped in honey and wishes of Gut Yohr, and Shana Tova. In others, different customs may prevail. Even those individuals who are far from Jewish traditions and rituals will still somehow acknowledge that a new Jewish year has begun.
We have much to reflect upon with pride! We are the physical and spiritual descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and of the prophets and kings who gave the world the Bible. Over thousands of years, we have tried to preserve and enhance its teachings. We have, despite the difficulties, done a pretty good job of it. We have preserved the language and much of the culture of those who have gone before us. We celebrate the same festivals, try to keep the same Sabbath and even preach the same kind of lessons about justice and compassion for the poor. It is true that not everything has remained the same. There are those who even think that we have, through the many generations, improved the ancient lessons. Nevertheless, it is the continuity through so many generations and so many places that is remarkable.
What is doubly wondrous is that we have done all of this without political power. For most of our history we have not had an Empire or strong rulers who could use their authority in the service of Judaism. Through most of our history we have not even had a state to enforce the rules of our religion. Our faith and way of life have continued solely because of our uncoerced love for the Torah and the way of life it enjoins us to follow.
We have remained a people and faith focused on the positive. Despite all of the suffering we have endured, we have never felt the need for revenge or have been consumed by hatred. We as a people have experienced darkness. Our reaction has, however, been to be even more determined to bring light to the world. We have participated in just about every movement for human freedom and dignity and have been part of every scientific and technological advance that has led to a better life for humanity.
We Jews, I believe, often overdo it when it comes to self-criticism. We tend to focus on the negative to the extent that the positive is overlooked and we think that the sky is perpetually falling. We have absolutely no reason to feel ashamed about anything we have done or to feel embarrassed by any area of our culture and belief. As we prepare for the new year, let us thank G-d for having allowed the Jewish people to continue on their path through our long history and for giving us the privilege of writing the next chapter of that unfolding story.May we be blessed with health and happiness, love of the Torah and opportunities to do Mitzvahs. May our world be blessed with Peace.
We have much to reflect upon with pride! We are the physical and spiritual descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and of the prophets and kings who gave the world the Bible. Over thousands of years, we have tried to preserve and enhance its teachings. We have, despite the difficulties, done a pretty good job of it. We have preserved the language and much of the culture of those who have gone before us. We celebrate the same festivals, try to keep the same Sabbath and even preach the same kind of lessons about justice and compassion for the poor. It is true that not everything has remained the same. There are those who even think that we have, through the many generations, improved the ancient lessons. Nevertheless, it is the continuity through so many generations and so many places that is remarkable.
What is doubly wondrous is that we have done all of this without political power. For most of our history we have not had an Empire or strong rulers who could use their authority in the service of Judaism. Through most of our history we have not even had a state to enforce the rules of our religion. Our faith and way of life have continued solely because of our uncoerced love for the Torah and the way of life it enjoins us to follow.
We have remained a people and faith focused on the positive. Despite all of the suffering we have endured, we have never felt the need for revenge or have been consumed by hatred. We as a people have experienced darkness. Our reaction has, however, been to be even more determined to bring light to the world. We have participated in just about every movement for human freedom and dignity and have been part of every scientific and technological advance that has led to a better life for humanity.
We Jews, I believe, often overdo it when it comes to self-criticism. We tend to focus on the negative to the extent that the positive is overlooked and we think that the sky is perpetually falling. We have absolutely no reason to feel ashamed about anything we have done or to feel embarrassed by any area of our culture and belief. As we prepare for the new year, let us thank G-d for having allowed the Jewish people to continue on their path through our long history and for giving us the privilege of writing the next chapter of that unfolding story.May we be blessed with health and happiness, love of the Torah and opportunities to do Mitzvahs. May our world be blessed with Peace.
