A Soulful Journey

Why is Hallel (psalms) not recited on Rosh Hashanah? Rabbi Abbahu taught, “The ministering angels said to the Holy One, blessed be He, “Master why does Israel not sing hymns of praise on Rosh Hashanah? God answered, “Can the King be seated on his throne of judgment with the books of life and death open before him and Israel sing songs?” – Talmud, Rosh Hashanah 32b

“While you may seem small in your own eyes, remember you are the leader of the tribes of Israel.”  - Prophet Samuel to the king Sometimes we need to be reminded that represent more than we think.

In Russia, the Czar had absolute power. Once the czar was on an army maneuvers but had to return in the evening for a party. Alas, the bridge was washed away by storm and the Czar could not cross the river. What could be done? Would the Czar then miss his entertainment? Not at all. The order to march was given. Thousands of soldiers burdened with heavy supplies and weapons marched into the river. The current carried many of them to their deaths. Hundreds died, their corpses floated with the current until bodies snagged by the rivers obstacles formed a huge pile, and the Czar drove across the bridge of dead soldiers to his party. As terrible as it was, people saw a king knew what fear was, what fear of judgment was. We have little comprehension of what it means when we call God a "melekh."

We must learn to respect God and stand in awe of Him by knowing Him through prayer and Torah study. This is very hard, and, indeed never in our history have we had such difficulty in approaching Rosh Hashanah. We simply don't have the concept of being judged by a king . –unknown

Rabbi Samuel ben Isaac taught in the name of Rabbi Samuel ben Eleazar: ‘The seven “vanities” mentioned in Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) correspond to the seven worlds that a man beholds.  At age one, he’s like a king, seated in the litter while all hug and kiss him.  At two and three he is like a pig, sticking his hands in the gutters.  At ten he skips like a kid.  At twenty he is like a horse, adorning himself and seeking a wife. Having married, he is like an ass, that is, the beast of burden. When he has had children he becomes brazen like a dog, in order to bring in bread and food…

Bahya Ibn Pakuda compared the Torah to a letter sent by a king to a subject whom he loves.  When the letter is finally received, some of the words have faded, the writing is unclear and much is left to be deciphered by the reader.  Still, if the subject  loves the king as much as he is loved by him, he will be undeterred in his effort to decipher it. So the letter falls to our hands.  May our hearts be worthy and unyielding in our efforts to make it clear what the King wants to communicate.

We embrace Mother Theresa.  We embrace Martin Luther King.  We embrace Gandhi. Question: Why don't we emulate them?

Rabbi Shnuer Zalman paused to look around at the sea of faces listening to his story.  He went on.  "This is how we understand Ellul, the month leading up to Rosh Hashanah.  In Ellul, God is a melech ba-sadeh , a king in the field.  This is when he is accessible to all."   -Rabbi Arye Forte

A king entered a province and asked the people to accept him as their king. "Why?" the people asked.  "Why should we accept you as our king?  Have you done anything for us?" So the king built a fortress to protect the country against invasion, waged war against its enemies, and created a water supply.  When he came again to the people to ask if they would have him as their king they answered, "Yes." So it is with God.  First God dried the Reed Sea for Israel, then He supplied them with manna, quails and water, and finally fought on their behalf.  Only then did God come and say, "I am the Lord your God." Exodus 20:2  -Mechilta bhodesh 5:II

Bernard Baruch was quoted as saying: A man sentenced to death obtained a reprieve by assuring the king he would teach his majesty’s horse to fly within the year, on the condition that if he didn’t succeed he would be put to death at the end of the year. “Within a year, the man explained later, “the king may die, or I may die, or the horse may die.   Furthermore, in a year, who knows?   Maybe the horse will learn to fly.” My philosophy is like that man’s. I take the long range view.” Take you time.   Any thing is possible. Do not give up. - Leonard Lyons, New York Post

“America is a brutal land. Its language is violence and bloodshed. That is why (Rodney) King was beaten; that is why another King was assassinated.” Walter Mosely in the LA Times It is easy to become discouraged. What is fundamental to real living (and not just existing) is that we are at once challenged by life to make it better and not depressed by it in thinking that nothing will ever get better. God gave us the gift to conquer the worst part of our self.

In 1963 was a convention of the national Conference on Race and religion. Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel was reluctant but finally agreed to speak. At that Chicago convention, Heschel stood next to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.. That was the first time Dr King ever spoke before such a wide spectrum of religious leaders. Before 1700 people Heschel’s opening remarks began, “The First National Conference on Race and Religion took place in the palace of Pharaoh of Egypt when Moses said to Pharaoh “Let my people go!” The conference delegates, especially the Black delegates, exploded enthusiastically in their response. Time moves. The political landscape changes. There is progress. Yet, beyond all that is the critical notion that we have a basic responsibility for one another. We must ne the guardian’s of our brethren. We have experienced the same pains – all we have to do is remember and then we will respond to the rallying call against injustice.