Sermon Rosh Hashanah 5771

Time for coalition building

This sermon was delivered at Menorah Synagogue, Manchester, on 8th September 2010.

Erev Rosh Hashanah is the beginning of a journey. It is the beginning of my journey with Menorah – a journey to which I greatly look forward to. But more importantly it is the beginning of our journey through the Days of Awe into a new year.

When I was a child, probably thanks to the orthodox cheder that I was attending at the time, I truly believed in the notion that between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur my fate would be sealed for the next year. That short time period must have been the most peaceful ten days of the year for my parents because my sisters and I tried our very best not to argue with each other, we made an effort to help and to ask those we had hurt for forgiveness.

I remember my childhood faith with a certain fondness, but I just can’t believe in it anymore. In our world, far too often bad things happen to good people – good people who tried their hardest not just for ten days of the year but each day of the year. This seemingly simple theology of two heavenly books, the Book of Life and the Book of Death, just does not pass the test of real life experience. Facing reality and the mysteries of life and death, I cannot hold onto this theology for the yamim nora’im – the Days of Awe.

But while I reject the heavenly-book theology, I must acknowledge that my childhood faith motivated me to behave as a better person, to make a real effort at asking forgiveness and granting forgiveness, at least for ten days a year.

So, having successfully deconstructed my High Holy Day theology; where can I find words of inspiration? Words that can motivate me and you to make a serious effort at being better people... at least for ten days...

I have spent the last months thinking of a new theology for the yamim nora’im. A theology that employs a metaphor that does justice both to our human experience in this world and to the intensity and importance of this special time period; a metaphor that has the strength to motivate us to strive for the better.

Well, inspiration often comes when it is least expected. In this case, inspiration came from the results of this year’s general elections. Anyone want to take a guess what metaphor I might be talking about? Yes, you’re right: it is the “coalition”, or more precisely “coalition building”. And yes, I admit that it is somewhat daring of me to suggest “coalition building” as a new metaphor for the Days of Awe, seeing the word “coalition” has become nearly a dirty word in the English language. So, before you reject this new metaphor, bear with me for the next few minutes while I try to make myself clear.

What are the prerequisites for a coalition? For one, even though in politics nobody will say so, all parties have lost the elections. Two, in order to govern, at least two parties with enough votes are prepared to compromise. Three, each party planning to join the coalition must determine what is non-negotiable and where compromise is possible, so that, finally, the parties can meet to begin building a coalition.

But how does this relate to the Days of Awe, you might be wondering?

Let’s face it: both God and humanity have lost the elections. I believe in a God who stands for justice, for fairness, for compassion. I do not believe in a God who acts in history. I think, Jewish history and our life experiences teach us that God cannot save us from persecution, earthquakes, floods, illness and other evils in the world. On Her own, God cannot govern our fate on earth. But similarly, I don’t think that humanity on its own can secure our survival. Watching the news, one might think that we are investing more into trying to find new ways of destroying humanity and our planet rather than saving it. So it seems to me that the first condition for a coalition has been fulfilled.

As to the second condition: are both God and humanity prepared to compromise?

Now, it is much easier to stand here and declare that God has lost the elections but who am I to claim that God is prepared to compromise?

I think, already in the Torah, we can find evidence that God is prepared to compromise in His relationship with humanity. Probably the earliest example is Abraham arguing with God on behalf of Sodom and Gomorrah. But I think there is an even more relevant biblical story for my argument.

It is the story of the two sets of tablets. Most of you will recall that when Moses first ascended onto Mount Sinai, he received a set of stone tablets which had personally been engraved by God with the commandments. But when Moses descends from Mount Sinai, seeing the people around the golden calf, he smashes the tablets. And so he is forced to return onto the mountain for the second set of tablets. But unlike the first set, these are not engraved by God – no, the second set of tablets Moses must engrave himself, listening to the word of God.

Why is Moses not punished for destroying the first set of tablets? Could one imagine a holier object than a set of tablets personally engraved by God?

I want to suggest that Moses was not punished because God realised that the first tablets could not survive. I think the story of the two sets of tablets teaches us that if God’s word directly meets reality it shatters just like the first tablets. Let me repeat that because I want you to appreciate the importance of what I am saying: if God’s word directly meets reality it shatters just like the first tablets. God’s words in the world can only survive when they are transmitted through humans. And even though the second set of tablets is less magical than the first one, it is a compromise that God is prepared to make for Torah to remain alive in this world.

So, hopefully I have convinced you that God is prepared to compromise. But are you, am I, prepared to compromise? Maybe being here tonight is a first step towards giving a positive reply to that question.

Tonight, on the eve of a new year, I want to invite you to join me in starting to think about a coalition with God and I want to encourage you to use the next ten days until Yom Kippur to engage with this challenge further.

Let us begin to build a coalition with God – or if you can’t believe in God – with our Jewish tradition. But let me be a little more concrete.

We all have values that are non-negotiable but it might be difficult to articulate what these values are. The Days of Awe offer us the opportunity to reflect upon these vales more deeply. I, for myself, believe that every human being has a fundamental right to strive for personal happiness as long as it is not at the expense of others. I believe in this fundamental right even in cases when it clashes with values held by the Jewish tradition – I am talking about the right of gays and lesbians to the lifestyle of their choice without having to face prejudice and the right of women to choose whether to continue or terminate a pregnancy but where would I draw the limits? I too will spend the next ten days thinking about my non-negotiable values further.

But just like we have non-negotiable values, many areas in our life are open to compromise. This certainly does not mean that these values are less important but maybe they are a little more fluid. In politics, a compromise is often considered a negative thing – something less than ideal. But on a personal level, I think we all realise that it can be positive to compromise; through compromises we build true relationships; through compromises we are forced to look beyond ourselves, and, compromises drive us to explore and reassess our own position and to grow as human beings.

Now, I just want to talk about two areas that I believe leave room for compromises, room for coalition building with God and our Jewish tradition – Kashrut and Shabbat. I don’t believe that the only way to keep Kashrut and Shabbat is to follow word for word the instructions of the Shulchan Aruch, the Code of Jewish law written in the 16th century. But I believe that we should all embrace the values of Kashrut and Shabbat. I can understand that you might not choose to observe every detailed law concerning food – but I believe that we must reflect upon what we eat: where does our food come from and how was it made? I also think that we should be truly grateful for our food – appreciate that not every person has a warm meal a day, even in England – appreciate the blessing of having enough food and be thankful. And maybe even think about how we can help others to have enough food.

Similarly, with Shabbat – I don’t believe that a Shabbat observance should necessarily exclude a visit to the cinema, the theatre or a concert. But I think it is essential that each and every one of us takes time out from our normal flow of life at least once a week. Rather than working in some form or another for seven days a week, Shabbat offers us the opportunity to find time for ourselves, our friends, our families and our community. Shabbat is our weekly reminder that we can be so much more than what is reflected in our daily chores.

I hope that together, we can seriously and honestly embark on a journey through the Days of Awe - a journey of coalition building with God and our Jewish tradition. It won’t be an easy journey and each of us will probably encounter times when we believe that the coalition is doomed to fail. But I believe that our future depends on the success of this coalition and so we must strive to work harder on it.

Our tradition teaches that the gates of repentance are never closed; before we reach Ne’ilah, the closing service on Yom Kippur when the gates of mercy are closing; let us make sure to open the gates to our heart to allow God and our Jewish tradition to enter.

I wish us all much strength for embarking on this journey into the new year. And of course, shana tova umetuka – a happy and sweet year.

כן יהי רצון.– may this be God’s will.