“The road is very pretty - said the boy
The road is very hard - said the youth
The road is very long - said the man
The old man sat by the road to rest
The sunset dyes his white hair with gold and red
The grass shimmers at his feet with evening dew
The last bird of the day sings above,
Can you remember
how hard, how long the road was?
You said day follows day, and night - night.
The days progress - you said in your heart,
and you saw evenings and mornings in your windows,
and you said, there is nothing new under the sun”[1]
On Rosh Hashanah we celebrate, we recreate the creation of the world. God, the Almighty King sits on His throne of mercy and counts and recounts, scrutinizes and judges His entire creation.
The core of the religious service of Rosh Hashanah -and actually of any religious service- is the Torah reading. And what is the Torah reading for today and tomorrow? Is it the first chapters of the book of Genesis, which describe the creation of the universe? Or is it in the book of Isaiah or Ezekiel, where the Prophets describe how the celestial hosts enthrone God with songs of praise?
Not at all! The reading is taken from chapters 21 and 22 in the book of Genesis, and it tells us a pastoral story, a story of a husband and a wife, a child of an old age, a stepson and a concubine. It is a story of love and concern, but also jealousy and fear. It is basically the story of one man and his family, one man and his own tribulations, a man who could have been any one of us, here today.
It is the story of Abraham, who needs to be awakened.
But let us first briefly review the story. We read in the Torah:
“And Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the time of which God had spoken to him” (Genesis 21:2)
“And Abraham was a hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born to him” (Genesis 21:5) …”And Sarah said to Abraham, "Drive out this handmaid and her son, for the son of this handmaid shall not inherit with my son, with Isaac. But the matter greatly displeased Abraham, concerning his son” (Genesis 21:10-11)
Nevertheless,
“Abraham arose early in the morning, and he took bread and a leather pouch of water, and he gave [them] to Hagar, he placed [them] on her shoulder, and the child, and he sent her away; and she went and wandered in the desert of Beer Sheba” (Genesis 21:14).
“And it came to pass after these things, -after Abraham had sent his son away, after one hundred and thirty seven years of life, of a life full of tribulations-, that God tested Abraham, and He said to him, "Abraham," and he said, "Here I am." And He said, "Please take your son, your only one, whom you love, yea, Isaac, and go away to the land of Moriah and bring him up there for a burnt offering on one of the mountains, of which I will tell you." (Genesis 22:1-2)
“And it came to pass after these things, that God tested Abraham”, an Abraham who needs to be awakened, an Abraham who needs to be called to action, an Abraham who believes that nothing else in life could surprise him, or amaze him, or scare him…
Abraham experienced many tribulations during his life. He was taken away from his homeland, from his family, from his parents’ house. In return he obtained only a promise, which took time to materialize. He had to fight against powerful kings, argue with God on behalf of the evil cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, cities which didn’t deserve his concern. He plowed an arid land and was forced to descend to Egypt in search of food. He had a first son with Hagar, whom Sarah his wife and God ordered him to expel.
Finally the miracle arrived: a son of old age, a future at last! In Isaac were now placed all the hope.
Abraham had a difficult life. Why call him, then? What’s the need to be awakened, to be shaken? Doesn’t he deserve perhaps to live his last days in tranquility? Why is God infuriated with Abraham? Why bother a poor old man who only wants a bit of peace?
What happens is that God still has something to teach Abraham. If there is something Abraham cannot allow himself, it is to sit down to wait for death to take him away. It doesn’t matter how old he is. It doesn’t matter if he is 40, 60, 80 or 100 years old.
We cannot let ourselves die. We cannot sit down to see things happen in life without participating in them. Even though we sometimes lack the strength, even though we don’t have the energy we used to have ten, twenty or fifty years ago. Even if we have struggled enough already, we should not permit routine to seize us, or circumstances to conquer us, or fear to paralyze us.
“And here you are, aged, old and gray
and your days are numbered, increasingly precious
And you know, each day is the last under the sun
And you know, each day is a new day under the sun”[2]
And so we too, like Abraham, our forefather, are called day after day to respond “Hineni” – Here I am! We too - like Abraham, our forefather, are being awakened, day after day, test after test, shock after shock, and surprise after surprise, to give testimony that we are still alive, that life goes on and that we need to be part of it.
And if this is true every day of our life, it is even more so on Rosh Hashanah, a day which encapsulates the potential of the entire year ahead.
Today and tomorrow we are going to sound the Shofar.
Why do we sound the Shofar? Part music, part siren, part animal cry, the Shofar blasts focus us as no other part of the service does. Children are lifted onto shoulders to watch the climax of this drama.
What is the Shofar sound supposed to accomplish? The Sefer HaChinuch tells us that we must understand the nature of "man", human beings. As 'man' is a creature from the physical realm, he is only aroused and inspired to action by something stirring, something that will cause him to snap out of the ordinary routine. We see this concept in practice at a time of war: In order to stir up the troops, trumpets are sounded, in hopes that this arouses and motivates the soldiers to action. On Rosh Hashanah, we do the same. We "awaken", by means of the Shofar.
And as we are shaken by the broken sounds of the Shofar, we pray:
“Teach me, my god, bless and pray
The secret of wilting leaves, the brilliance of ripe fruit
This freedom: to see, to feel, to breath
To know, to hope, to fail
Teach my lips a blessing and a song of praise
When your time renews with morning and night
So that my day won't be as yesterday and the day before it
So that my day would not become of habit.”[3]
So we’ll know, that each day is the last under the sun
So we’ll know, that each day is a new day under the sun”
The test is over.
“And an angel of God called to him from heaven and said: now I know that you are a God fearing man" (Genesis 22:11-12)
The angel of God seems to imply to Abraham: “now I know that you are a God fearing man”, but regarding tomorrow, who knows! It is up to you, Abraham, to decide how your tomorrow will be. Today you passed the test. Tomorrow I may present you with another one, with a different one.
God tested Abraham. God said to him, "Abraham," and he said, "Here I am!” "Here I am, standing in front of you, ready to hear your voice again, ready to live fully each day, each hour you are going to give me as a gift.
May each sound of the Shofar awaken us to the sacred presence. May we be able to respond "Here I am!” to the call of life itself, and may God bless us and our families with a year of long lasting experiences, with health, sustenance and peace, with a good, sweet and blessed year!
[1] Leah Goldberg, End of the Road Songs
[2] Leah Goldberg, End of the Road Songs
[3] Leah Goldberg, End of the Road Songs
The road is very hard - said the youth
The road is very long - said the man
The old man sat by the road to rest
The sunset dyes his white hair with gold and red
The grass shimmers at his feet with evening dew
The last bird of the day sings above,
Can you remember
how hard, how long the road was?
You said day follows day, and night - night.
The days progress - you said in your heart,
and you saw evenings and mornings in your windows,
and you said, there is nothing new under the sun”[1]
On Rosh Hashanah we celebrate, we recreate the creation of the world. God, the Almighty King sits on His throne of mercy and counts and recounts, scrutinizes and judges His entire creation.
The core of the religious service of Rosh Hashanah -and actually of any religious service- is the Torah reading. And what is the Torah reading for today and tomorrow? Is it the first chapters of the book of Genesis, which describe the creation of the universe? Or is it in the book of Isaiah or Ezekiel, where the Prophets describe how the celestial hosts enthrone God with songs of praise?
Not at all! The reading is taken from chapters 21 and 22 in the book of Genesis, and it tells us a pastoral story, a story of a husband and a wife, a child of an old age, a stepson and a concubine. It is a story of love and concern, but also jealousy and fear. It is basically the story of one man and his family, one man and his own tribulations, a man who could have been any one of us, here today.
It is the story of Abraham, who needs to be awakened.
But let us first briefly review the story. We read in the Torah:
“And Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the time of which God had spoken to him” (Genesis 21:2)
“And Abraham was a hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born to him” (Genesis 21:5) …”And Sarah said to Abraham, "Drive out this handmaid and her son, for the son of this handmaid shall not inherit with my son, with Isaac. But the matter greatly displeased Abraham, concerning his son” (Genesis 21:10-11)
Nevertheless,
“Abraham arose early in the morning, and he took bread and a leather pouch of water, and he gave [them] to Hagar, he placed [them] on her shoulder, and the child, and he sent her away; and she went and wandered in the desert of Beer Sheba” (Genesis 21:14).
“And it came to pass after these things, -after Abraham had sent his son away, after one hundred and thirty seven years of life, of a life full of tribulations-, that God tested Abraham, and He said to him, "Abraham," and he said, "Here I am." And He said, "Please take your son, your only one, whom you love, yea, Isaac, and go away to the land of Moriah and bring him up there for a burnt offering on one of the mountains, of which I will tell you." (Genesis 22:1-2)
“And it came to pass after these things, that God tested Abraham”, an Abraham who needs to be awakened, an Abraham who needs to be called to action, an Abraham who believes that nothing else in life could surprise him, or amaze him, or scare him…
Abraham experienced many tribulations during his life. He was taken away from his homeland, from his family, from his parents’ house. In return he obtained only a promise, which took time to materialize. He had to fight against powerful kings, argue with God on behalf of the evil cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, cities which didn’t deserve his concern. He plowed an arid land and was forced to descend to Egypt in search of food. He had a first son with Hagar, whom Sarah his wife and God ordered him to expel.
Finally the miracle arrived: a son of old age, a future at last! In Isaac were now placed all the hope.
Abraham had a difficult life. Why call him, then? What’s the need to be awakened, to be shaken? Doesn’t he deserve perhaps to live his last days in tranquility? Why is God infuriated with Abraham? Why bother a poor old man who only wants a bit of peace?
What happens is that God still has something to teach Abraham. If there is something Abraham cannot allow himself, it is to sit down to wait for death to take him away. It doesn’t matter how old he is. It doesn’t matter if he is 40, 60, 80 or 100 years old.
We cannot let ourselves die. We cannot sit down to see things happen in life without participating in them. Even though we sometimes lack the strength, even though we don’t have the energy we used to have ten, twenty or fifty years ago. Even if we have struggled enough already, we should not permit routine to seize us, or circumstances to conquer us, or fear to paralyze us.
“And here you are, aged, old and gray
and your days are numbered, increasingly precious
And you know, each day is the last under the sun
And you know, each day is a new day under the sun”[2]
And so we too, like Abraham, our forefather, are called day after day to respond “Hineni” – Here I am! We too - like Abraham, our forefather, are being awakened, day after day, test after test, shock after shock, and surprise after surprise, to give testimony that we are still alive, that life goes on and that we need to be part of it.
And if this is true every day of our life, it is even more so on Rosh Hashanah, a day which encapsulates the potential of the entire year ahead.
Today and tomorrow we are going to sound the Shofar.
Why do we sound the Shofar? Part music, part siren, part animal cry, the Shofar blasts focus us as no other part of the service does. Children are lifted onto shoulders to watch the climax of this drama.
What is the Shofar sound supposed to accomplish? The Sefer HaChinuch tells us that we must understand the nature of "man", human beings. As 'man' is a creature from the physical realm, he is only aroused and inspired to action by something stirring, something that will cause him to snap out of the ordinary routine. We see this concept in practice at a time of war: In order to stir up the troops, trumpets are sounded, in hopes that this arouses and motivates the soldiers to action. On Rosh Hashanah, we do the same. We "awaken", by means of the Shofar.
And as we are shaken by the broken sounds of the Shofar, we pray:
“Teach me, my god, bless and pray
The secret of wilting leaves, the brilliance of ripe fruit
This freedom: to see, to feel, to breath
To know, to hope, to fail
Teach my lips a blessing and a song of praise
When your time renews with morning and night
So that my day won't be as yesterday and the day before it
So that my day would not become of habit.”[3]
So we’ll know, that each day is the last under the sun
So we’ll know, that each day is a new day under the sun”
The test is over.
“And an angel of God called to him from heaven and said: now I know that you are a God fearing man" (Genesis 22:11-12)
The angel of God seems to imply to Abraham: “now I know that you are a God fearing man”, but regarding tomorrow, who knows! It is up to you, Abraham, to decide how your tomorrow will be. Today you passed the test. Tomorrow I may present you with another one, with a different one.
God tested Abraham. God said to him, "Abraham," and he said, "Here I am!” "Here I am, standing in front of you, ready to hear your voice again, ready to live fully each day, each hour you are going to give me as a gift.
May each sound of the Shofar awaken us to the sacred presence. May we be able to respond "Here I am!” to the call of life itself, and may God bless us and our families with a year of long lasting experiences, with health, sustenance and peace, with a good, sweet and blessed year!
[1] Leah Goldberg, End of the Road Songs
[2] Leah Goldberg, End of the Road Songs
[3] Leah Goldberg, End of the Road Songs
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