Hineni - Here I Am

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Hineni – Here I Am! Rabbi Donald Goor Rosh Hashanah 5773/2012 – Temple Judea Wow – what a moment – for us, for me. This is the second time we enter our new synagogue home to celebrate our High Holy Days, taking the journey together from the majesty of Rosh Hashanah through the joyous celebration of Simchat Torah. After a year, we’ve begun to settle in and feel at home. Last year was quite unique - experiencing this holy space for the first time. And this year is unique as well. This year is seasoned by the bittersweet realization that this is our last journey through these High Holy days together with me as your rabbi. Next year, another rabbi will have the blessing of standing here and addressing you. And that realization brings me a feeling of sadness as I contemplate how much I appreciate my 26 years as rabbi of Temple Judea, and how much I will miss you all. And, at the same time, I feel such great anticipation as I dream about what Evan and I will create in our new home in the Holy City of Jerusalem, and I’m filled with incredible excitement as I imagine the wonderful future that lies ahead for our congregation under the inspiring and dynamic leadership you will choose. *** There are those who suggest that every rabbi has only one sermon. The words and delivery may change according to the needs of the community or the needs of the day. I read over my sermons from the last 26 years. What is the one sermon that is deeply embedded in my soul, the one sermon that I’ve delivered repeatedly? It jumped out at me as I read through the Torah portion for tomorrow morning: God calls out to Abraham and Abraham answers – “Hineni – here I am!” In reading through all my sermons, I realized that just as in our Torah portion tomorrow, over the past 26 years I've challenged you, this holy congregation to say “Hineni - here I am!” Hineni is the Biblical response to a call from God. God calls out three times in our Torah portion tomorrow morning “Abraham, Abraham”. And Abraham responds to God’s call with the word: “Hineni – here I am”. Elsewhere in the Torah God also calls out “Jacob, Jacob” and Jacob responds to God’s call with an emphatic “Hineni – here I am.” And finally, standing at the burning bush, God calls out “Moses, Moses”. And how does Moses respond? Hineni – here I am.” Our tradition pays careful attention to the words of the Torah. God calls out to Abraham, Jacob and Moses, repeating their names twice, emphasizing the importance of the call, and according to Rashi, our great commentator, demonstrating God’s deep affection for each of them. Rashi continues by clarifying that “Here I am” is more than simply a statement of location. He helps us to understand that this hineni is a statement of readiness – readiness to respond to God’s call, readiness to act.

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I’ve come to realize that “hineni” is very much the theme of my life and of my rabbinate. Over 26 years I’ve done my utmost to be able to respond “hineni” whenever called upon. Whether in a hospital room or a classroom; whether at camp on retreat, in Israel, or in city hall, I’ve devoted my rabbinate to saying “hineni – here I am!” From the cemetery, to the maternity ward, on the bimah each Shabbat, at Bnai Mitzvah, and on these High Holy Days, I’ve been moved to open my heart and my soul to you – saying “hineni – here I am.” And in one way or another, each sermon I’ve delivered was a call to you, a call of deep affection born of 26 years of relationship. I’ve been calling out to you, challenging you to respond “hineni” – a response of readiness…readiness to move forward as Jews, as a holy congregation. Tonight, as we share Rosh Hashanah together one last time, with great affection and devotion to this community that I will always call home, I call to you again – will you answer “hineni?” Your personal legacy is calling out to you – will you answer “hineni?” As a rabbi I have the distinct blessing of learning from everyone I meet. I buried an 87 year old man, a truly beautiful soul. At a Shiva minyan, his grandson shared: “My Papa taught me that we can create a legacy by valuing every single day. He used to chuckle at people who were obsessed about what was going to happen next month or next year because he always focused on today. And on each today that he lived he touched a life. And here we all are – blessed because of each day that he lived.” Each day we should ask, “What legacy will we create?” In my own life, I’ve discovered there is no greater statement of hope than to wake up each morning committed to adding value to our lives, to add value to our world – that is what I would call living a life of Kedushah – of holiness. I try to practice what I preach. Each morning I look forward to the holiness I will help create that day. And each night before I fall asleep, I reflect on the holiness that infused my day. When I go into a nursery school classroom and look into the eyes of a 3 year old as I blow the shofar, I know I’ve brought holiness into the world. When I walk the halls of congress with my 10th grade confirmation class and hear them lobby passionately, I know I have brought holiness into the world. While teaching a Talmudic text about the messiah to a group of adult learners, I feel I have brought holiness into the world. Even sitting with a grieving widow as she shares her loneliness, brings a sense of holiness in the world. It’s not just rabbis who have the chance to bring holiness into the world and into people’s lives. In our everyday life there are potential acts of holiness: We don’t have to start out with curing a disease or saving the entire world. Bringing water on a hot day to your gardener; tutoring a homeless child at the shelter we’ve adopted; even tipping generously at the carwash for a job well done is an act of holiness. Each of us has the ability to create holiness every single day.

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Rosh Hashanah calls upon us to search our souls, to ask ourselves in this New Year, what meaning, what holiness have we created? Have you brought a smile to a child’s face? Brought water to a thirsty gardener? Have you comforted the bereaved? Whose life have you touched? Hineni – here I am – I care about the personal legacy I will create. The Jewish community is calling – will you answer “hineni”? How many people does it take to hold a service? 10. What is the first thing Jews do when they move to town? They build a Mikveh, a Hevrah Kadisha to bury their loved ones, a Bet Midrash, a school to teach their children and a synagogue as the center of the community. Jews create institutions of community. Jews create institutions that require involvement. The Rabbis knew this thousands of years ago when they taught: Al t'frosh min hatzibur– Do not separate yourself from your community. We belong to many communities, from the gym, to the PTA, to book groups, mah jong, bridge clubs. Synagogue provides us with a different model – a community based upon relationships of meaning. It’s in this community that we share the entirety of our lives, from the joy of birth, to the celebration of Bnai Mitzvah and the marriages of our loved ones. It is in this community at the end of life that we find comfort, saying Kaddish at funerals and at Shiva. Ours is not simply a social community, ours is a community of meaning that can bring hope to our lives. I’ve seen the suffering of Jews who separate themselves from their community. A new member of the Temple told me that before she joined the Temple her father died. She and her sister had nowhere to turn. The cemetery assigned her a rabbi with whom they had no relationship. Without a community there were only 15 people gathered at the gravesite on the day of the funeral. The rabbi wouldn’t let Kaddish be said because there wasn’t a minyan of men. Two daughters with no community couldn’t say Kaddish for their father. These two women suffered at such a vulnerable time in their lives because they weren’t part of a community. Our congregant, Abe, understands the power of synagogue to touch souls. When I see the joy in Abe’s eyes, I see the difference between a circle of friends and a sacred community. Abe’s life has been transformed by being a part of this community. When his wife was dying, he fell back on the tradition of his childhood. He came by himself to our Shabbat morning community service to say a mishebayrach yet by the end of the service he was surrounded by a sacred community that joined him in prayer. When his wife died he wasn’t alone. He had many friends yet he also had a rabbi at her bedside. He had many friends yet it was the Temple minyan community that was there to say Kaddish. And now that he has found joy once again in his life, it was in this sacred community that he stood under the Chupah to celebrate his joy. And it was here, in this sacred community, only a few weeks ago, that at 83 years old, Abe was called to Torah as he celebrated his 2nd Bar Mitzvah, surrounded by his own family and his Temple Judea family. A sacred community provides support at difficult and joyous moments.

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– Do not separate yourself from your community. Those saying Kaddish need you to be part of the minyan each Shabbat. Those studying in our classes need your mind, your questions, your insights. Our wonderful Jewish community here at Temple Judea exemplifies the rabbinic saying "Mitzvah Goreret Mitzvah - one Mitzvah leads to another." If you are here for others, they will be here for you. By committing to active participation in our Jewish community, you have the power to transform your own life as well as the lives of others. Hineni -- here I am. Al t'frosh min hatzibur

A broken world in need of healing is calling – will we answer “hineni”? Jewish tradition repeatedly compels us to raise our voices for others. Torah teaches us to open our hearts to the widow, the orphan, the stranger - to those whose voice is not heard, who have no power in society. Being Jewish is about working so that all of us – including widows, orphans and strangers - are full participants in the prosperity of our society. It is time for us to commit to that vision so that our community cares and acts for those with no voice or power, ensuring that they do have a voice …transforming our society for them, for us. Judaism doesn’t allow us to leave this transformative work to social workers or politicians. Each of us is commanded by Torah to leave the corners of our fields, the remainder of our grain. The work of healing a broken world is the work of each and every Jew. Being a member of Temple Judea must mean that we raise our voices, investing ourselves for the better of our community. We help to heal a broken world each time we serve a meal as part of our Tikvah BBQ program on Sundays. I love watching the faces of our temple members as they serve a meal to homeless moms and their kids who may not have eaten a healthy meal all week. What joy for all involved! We heal a broken world each time we show up early on a Sunday morning to cook a meal at Project Chicken Soup. Our Temple’s dedication to this effort is due to our friend, Mollie Pier, 92 years young, whose life is filled with meaning because she knows her cooking will bring sustenance to those suffering from AIDS. And we helped to heal a broken world only last week when many of us met with Diana Dooly, director of California Health and Human Services, to talk about the health care exchanges which will be coming to California in just a year. We advocated for basic health coverage for those in our community, and for those in California who might not have the voice, who might not be heard. 40 years ago, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel marched for Civil Rights with Martin Luther King. Heschel understood that the long and painful walk from Selma to Montgomery was “both protest and prayer”. “Even without words,” he said, “our march was worship. I felt my legs were praying.”

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Our work for the larger community is holy work; when we act, it’s as if we are praying with our legs. If Heschel were alive today, he’d tell us to pray fervently here on these High Holy Days, to find the spiritual sustenance we seek, and then he would urge us to begin praying again, immediately upon leaving this holy place, at the BBQ, at Project Chicken Soup, with Judeans for Justice. Heschel would beseech us to begin praying with our legs. Hineni – here I am – caring for a broken world that we, together, have the power to heal. Tomorrow we will hear God call: Abraham! Abraham! Throughout the Torah that call of affection is repeated: Jacob! Jacob! Moses! Moses! And throughout the Torah the response is consistent - with great confidence our ancestors answer: Hineni – here I am! Yes, “hineni” is very much the theme of my life and of my rabbinate. And for 26 years as your rabbi I have repeated that call – asking you to create a personal legacy by touching the lives of others; asking you to commit yourself to your synagogue and the vibrant Jewish life we make possible; asking you to actively work to heal our broken world. And this Rosh Hashanah I thank each and every one of you for your heartfelt response to this call over our 26 years together. I appreciate this more than I can ever express. And now in the years ahead, I hope, I pray, that you will continue to answer: “Hineni – here I am – responding to the call, ready to act. Hineni, here I am!”

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