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HIGH
HOLY
DAYS
REFLECTIONS
By RABBI NORMAN N. SHAPIRO
BEFORE A HIGH HOLIDAY SERMON
The awesome day has come. A stillness falls
Upon the hushed assemblage. Every soul,
Attuned to the impending voice, recalls
The previous years in their relentless roll.
The close-packed benches wait for words of balm,
For stars of hope to lead them on their way
A distant cough upsets the settling calm
As intent faces grimace in dismay.
All eyes now focus on the white-robed form
Who strides with purpose and inspired gait
Across his pulpit world. His heart, a storm
Of Sinai fires, banks love. The people wait.
Full-drenched with concepts born of thought-filled weeks
The Rabbi touches God and then he speaks.
—Beatrice M. Kohen
Fitzgerald, Georgia
August 3, 1959.
REFLECTIONS
of Beth El Congregation, Akron, Ohio
Somebody once quipped—“A dictatorship is a tired demo
cracy.” As I pen these lines l recall how not so long ago it was
my privilege to listen to a distinguished Presbyterian minister
from Pittsburgh describe a meeting of that city’s clergy with
the Office of Civilian Defense. The gist of the talks was that
in atomic warfare 75 million Americans would be incinerated
in the first moments of battle. In addition, 30 million would
suffer first degree burns and 15 million would experience sec
ond degree burns. These are the realities of the situation. Total
annihilation is the inevitable result of today’s atomic age. This
is the grim prospect which awaits all of us—the specter of
death, run, mangled bodies and tortured minds.
For us Jews terrifying news like the above comes as no
new or novel experience._ We have known suffering, persecu
tion, and even the threat of total obliteration for the last 2,000
years. We have always in the past tried to objectify ourselves
by being realistic. We have never blinked the facts or glossed
over the harsh realities which faced us.
In a similar vein today we must remain, fas we have been
for centuries throughtout our long and tortuous history,) in
curably optimistic despite the current threat of atomic attack
and the disillusioning experiences our Jewish people, particu
larly in the 20th century, have endured under the Nazis, Fas
cists, and Communists.
attack and the disillusioning experiences our Jewish people,
particularly in the 20th century, have endured under the Nazis,
Fascists, and Communists.
It is interesting and reassuring to note that the current
“crisis” theology and philosophy of Existentialism with its mood
of pessimism and man’s helplessness, its feeling of futility and
purposelessness (which have characterized some recent Chris
tian theology as well) have had little impact or effect on mod
ern Judaism still clings to its age-old faith, and represents to
us Jews and to the world a partnership between God and man
to promote social, scientific, and political programs leading to
the establishment of a better, more livable society.
True, Judaism recognizes that civilization today stands in
the shadow of doom and destruction. We know that humanity
is facing cataclysmic changes, political and economic revolutions
with their concomitant social upheavals. We are aware that the
unleashing of missiles and rockets could reduce the world we
live in to rubble and devastation. In adhering to our religious
teachings and ethical pronouncements, we doggedly persist in
seeing in man a responsible, moral agent who has the power
to choose between life and death. The Jew remains the in
veterate optimist regarding the future, fully cognizant of man’s
intermittent moral lapses and religious backsliding.
As we approach the High Holydays, we remain firm in our
conviction as Jews that man’s divine potential can build a bet
ter present and foster a securer and more promising tomorrow.
The Bible enjoins us, “Uvacharta Bachayim”—“And thou shalt
choose life.”
The Jewish survivors of the Warsaw Ghetto during the
bleak and harrowing days of World War II still sang out “Ani
Maamin”—“1 believe in the coming of the Messiah,” though
the Messiah did tarry. Even with the unforseeable delays and
seemingly insurmountable obstacles, “I shall continue to be
lieve,” was his clarion call and cry for survival.
Judaism rooted in optimism has always understood that
we must not get too tired, impatient, or restless with the slow
process of a Messianic fulfillment, with a democracy which
shows stresses, strains, and indecisiveness. “Vaf al pi sheyit-
mahmea bechol zeh ani maamin,”—“Even though at times we
are disappointed we shall still believe in the ultimate triumph
of good over evil; of freedom over tyranny; of right over
wrong; of a free America and a free world over the myridons
of evil; of optimism over pessimism; of our Jewish way of life
over those who would uproot it.
Our credo is: “Am yisroel chai vkayom leolom vaed”—
“that Jews and Judaism will live on forever and ever.” Ours is
the sacred task of infusing life into our American democracy
at every turn where people of all faiths can live side by side,
where there can be unity in diversity, and where each person
can sit under his vine and fig tree and none shall make them
afraid. Ours is the responsibility to revitalize the state of Israel
in every way possible. Ours is the privilege and right to foster,
sustain, and nourish democratic institutions wherever liberty-
loving peoples need help or encouragement. Ours is an affirma
tive belief in Judaism, a religious civilization cradled in ancient
Palestine and finding expression wherever the ubquitous Jew
trods. Ours is an optimism nurtured in the traditions and ex
periences of the past and predicated on our ineluctable trust in
the future of mankind.
The Southern Israelite
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