Reflections on Thanksgiving and combating Anti-semitism from the Right and the Left

There was a moment during Thanksgiving dinner, when I had an interesting thought. We were passing around the turkey/stuffing/cranberry sauce and all of the required “minhagim” (customs)! I thought that Thanksgiving dinner was like a Yom Tov (festival) meal! The only difference is that this was one that we were doing with the rest of America; Jews and non Jews. Normally, when we as Jews celebrate holidays, we are going against the grain. We are shopping crazy for Pesach and for it is just a regular Tuesday for non-jews. They shop for costumes before Halloween and we shop the day after Halloween so we can get 50% off and save it for Purim! We experience the awe of Yom Kippur and for them it's a regular workday. Etc Etc.

But on Thanksgiving, we all are grateful and celebrate together. We eat the same food, watch the same football game and have the same curmudgeonly uncle who wants to talk politics as much as we try to keep it out!

So on Thanksgiving, I feel very much part of America. I always feel very accepted.

And then I think about Pittsburgh. And then I think about the string of anti-semitic attacks in shuls in Brooklyn these past few weeks. And then I remember the ADL stats about rising and unprecedented acts of anti-semitism.

I feel these two conflicting thoughts. On the one hand, as Jews, we have probably never been more accepted and part of a society. On the other hand, Anti-semitism (from the Right and the Left) is all around us.

Does the Torah give us any insight in how to deal with Anti-semitism?

Well, it just so happens that in our Parshah we have the classic text.

After many years, Yaakov return to the Land of Israel and he is about to confront his brother Esav who (Yaakov believes) wants to kill him. Esav has 400 men with him. The verse says that Esav “Runs to meet him.” Now if you are Yaakov, you are thinking, ‘this is the end for me.” But instead, Esav “hugs him, kisses him, falls on his shoulder and they weep.”  

It is a heart-warming scene. After all of the years of hatred and threats, reconciliation is possible. Love wins over hate.

But there is a whole school of Midrashim that is not so ready to accept that Esav has changed, that he now loves his brother.

You see, there are dots over the word, וישקהו (and He Kissed him). They understand this to mean that the Kiss is compromised in some way. One Midrash goes so far as to say that when Esav went in for the “kiss”, his plan was to bite Yaakov’s neck and kill him. But, miraculously, Yaakov’s neck turned into marble! When the text then says that they cried, this was not tears of an emotional embrace but instead Yaakov was crying because his neck turned into marble and Esav cried because his teeth fell out!

A different Midrash quotes the famous statement of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai: הלכה בידוע שעשיו שונא ליעקב - It is a well know Halacha that Esav hates Yaakov. It means that even when Esav (or generically all non-jews as it has come to be understood) shows love, we always must be suspicious. They still have hate for us which could come out at any moment.  

This was an idea that was very present in my life when I grew up. It was used in the following way. Suppose I would share with other Jews that a non-jewish person just moved in next door. If I would say that they are a really nice family and we have become friends. Maybe one of their children has become friends with ours. The response would be “Esav Soneh L’Yaakov - remember there is always hate. Be careful.”

This is only one perspective. If you look at Ibn Ezra, Rabbi Samson Rafael Hirsch, Haamek Davar and others, they all explain that Esav’s kiss was genuine. People can change. Groups that at once were anti-semitic can evolve over time. But the idea of Esav Hates Yaakov has had a very deep place in our consciousness especially in light of thousands of years of persecution.

There are two fascinating Responsa on this topic from the 1960’s and 70’s that I would like to share with you. The first from Rabbi Moshe Feinstein and the second from Rabbi Yosef Eliyahu Henkin.

First, from Rabbi Feinstein (Igros Moshe Choshen Mishpat 2 #77). The year was 1977. The question actually came from England. We only see his answer so we sort of have to figure out the question. The question is something like this. Jewish schools in England are apparently funded by the government. One Jewish school believed that it was not getting all the funding it deserved under the law. They had appealed to the British government unsuccessfully. For some (unexplained) reason, the school was able to sue the British government in another country to get them to provide the desired funding. Rav Moshe Feinstein was asked if the school should do this. He answered that they should definitely not do this because this could provoke British non jews against the Jews and cause great harm. Even if they (the non-jews) seem to be nice, we always have to remember that Esav hates Yaakov. Rabbi Feinstein concludes by explaining why the statement refers to anti-semitism as a “well known Halacha.” This is not a typical jewish law. He explains that it means that just as Jewish Law will never change (it is eternal) so too will the hate against jews never change. Even those who appear to be kind to jews, really have a hatred inside.

Rav Moshe’s responsum feels very similar to ideas that I heard as a child.

On the other hand, there is a fascinating responsum (really more of an essay) from Rav Henkin (Teshuvos Ivra #116) from 1968. The topic is anti-semitism and its causes. I will quote directly:

“The Preachers and Babblers are commiting a great sin when they always say “That it is a well know Halacha that Esav hates Yaakov, and that this hate is eternal. This is against Truth and against Rabbinic and Torah teachings. For Esav himself was not evil forever...As Ben Zoma taught: “Who is honored, the one who honors others.” This also refers to non-jews. When we honor them and say you are my friend, they become friends through this. And conversely, when we say “you hate us (you are an anti-semite), they become haters (anti-semites). We see this every day….”

This is my take away from Rabbi Feinstein and Rabbi Henkin. We need both. We need people to be vigilant and always worried about finding anti-semitism. But we also need people finding and pointing out love of Jews.

Thank G-d in our community, we have many people who find anti-semitism. What I mean by that is that jews on the Right are very good at finding every possible instance of anti-semitism on the Left and Jews on the Left are very good at finding every possible instance of anti-semitism on the Right! We find anti-semitism when it is explicit. We find it when it is hiding under a rock or when one time someone took a picture with someone else who is anti-semitic (don’t worry, there are examples of this on both Right and Left). Thank G-d we have organizations (again both on the Right and Left) dedicated to sniffing this stuff out and I am grateful for their work in keeping us safe.

But here is my worry. We are not doing enough of the Rabbi Henkin approach. We are not spending enough time finding instances of Love. And when Non-jews do reach out (with love and support) to us, we are so quick to question their motives or who they are or who they were once friends with (again, I see this happening on both the Right and the Left).

Of course, we cannot be naive. We must be vigilant. But we also have to learn to accept Love. As Rabbi Henkin says, people can change. And sometimes the way we can enhance philosemitism, is by embracing those who try to support us. And unfortunately, screaming “anti-semite” so loud all of the time and finding it under every rock might lead to more anti-semitism. Even when we have to be vigilant against anti-semitism, I wonder if there is better way to do it.

So we have Rav Moshe and Rav Henkin. Rav Moshe reminds us to be vigilant. Rav Henkin reminds us to not be over vigilant. It is a tough balance. But nobody ever said life is easy! I pray that the lessons of both great rabbis guide us with the very challenging issue of anti-semitism and philo-semitism in the 21st century!

Yom Kippur 5779: "In Praise of the Old - Why Middle Age Doesn't scare me!"

Some friends and I were having a “debate”. The debate - when exactly does middle age begin. One person said 40, another said 45 and a third person said 50 (a very optimistic person to call 50 middle age!). So since I am a rabbi and very interested in Halachic precision, I had to look it up to see if there is a precise age for when middle age begins. It turns out it is a Machloket (talmudic debate) of the great dictionaries. According to the Oxford English Dictionary and the Merriam-Webster, middle age begins at  45.  But according to great rabbi and Posek of psychology Erik Erikson and the Collins English Dictionary middle age beings at 40.  

This debate is very important to me because (at least according to one of the above definitions of Middle Age), I will, G-d Willing, become middle aged in 5779! Or maybe we should say “early middle age”. Or at least let’s say that I am beginning a second stage of my adult life. I am no longer “new” to being an adult.

This “early middle aged”/second stage seems to be a present theme in my life this year! I mentioned on Rosh Hashana that this is my bar mitzvah High Holidays at Beth Sholom. For those of you that are counting, that means that I am beginning my thirteenth year! While I hope to be here for many more years, I can no longer say that being at Beth Sholom is new for me. (I am certainly no longer in the honeymoon period!). I guess I am entering into an “early middle age” stage of my career, or at least a second stage of my career.  

In 5779, Sarah and I will have our Chai (18th) anniversary. Again, please G-d, we will have many, many more years of happiness together but I think that as we get close to our Chai anniversary, we cannot really be called newlyweds. I guess our marriage is early middle age or at least a second stage (maybe 2.5!!)

Finally, ss a dad, my oldest is 12 and just had her bat mitzvah. I am sure that there are still many new “dad” experiences that I will have (especially as my kids become teens) but I am no longer a new dad. I am in a second stage of parenthood.

So I look at my life and wonder what it means to be in a second stage of life where there aren't any new big things going on. While I feel very settled and anchored, part of me asks, where is the new? The fresh? The different?

I think that this question is very important for us no matter what stage of life we are in, even those of us who are currently experiencing something new (marriage, child, job). Because most of life, most of the time, for most people; is actually old and the same. We are in second (or third or fourth stages). And it is really those things (the old, same old, same old) and how we do with them, that determine our success in life.

So how do we deal with this human dilemma? On the one hand, we crave the new, the exciting, the different. On the other hand, most of life is the old and the familiar. How do we live with passion and excitement when most of our life most of the time is old and familiar.

Well there is something amazing that happened today 3300 years ago on Yom Kippur that speaks to this issue. Every holiday has a story. Pesach has the exodus, sukkot has the dwelling in the booths in the desert, shavuot has giving of the torah. Even on Rosh Hashana, the rabbis tells us that Sarah, Rachel, Chana conceived. But what happened on Yom Kippur? What is the story?

The rabbis teach us that Yom Kippur is actually when we received the Torah. But we dont stay up all night studying Torah like shavuot. This isn't the wedding/honeymoon at Har Sinai. No cheesecake or blintzes for us today! Rather this is the second giving of the torah after something terrible happened.

Let me remind you of the chronology.

On the 6th of Sivan, the Jews received Torah/Tablets #1. Thunder, lightning, revelation, direct encounter with G-d. Moshe then goes up for 40 days on the mountain to learn the torah. He comes down late. The jews jump ship. The look for the new shiny Golden Calf. Moshe comes down and smashes the tablets on 17th of Tamuz. G-d then says that he will destroy the people and start again. Start a new relationship and create a new people out of Moshe’s descendents. The theory was “The old wasn’t working anymore. Let's start something new.”

Moshe then pleads with G-d for a second set of 40 days. Finally, G-d forgives on the 29th of Av with the famous 13 attributes of mercy that we say over and over again. the next day, on the 1st of elul, moshe goes up for another 40 days to receive the torah/tablets again. And he comes down today on Yom Kippur.

This about it. The Jews received the covenant the first time on shavuot. It was new and shiny with much excitement. But it was almost lost. And both sides almost gave up. Yom Kippur is the miracle of trying a second time.

Yom Kippur isn't the wedding; it’s the renewal of vows.

It isn't the honeymoon in some exotic place; it's the boring early wednesday morning in your same old house 15 years into the marriage when you and your spouse have an important conversation and appreciate each other just a bit more.

Yom Kippur is not about something new but about appreciating the old. What you already have.

This concept of “appreciating the old” jumped out at me this morning when I walked into shul. This morning, I made a bracha (blessing) that I have never made in my entire life! This is a big deal for someone who grew up religious and is (or almost is!) middle aged!

Rabbanit Fruchter and I were trying to think of what to put on the cold brew coffee table which is usually a nice place for people to say Good shabbos/Yom Tov on a regular shabbat/yom tov. We obviously could not serve cold brew coffee on Yom Kippur. So we came up with the idea of a “Besamim Bar.” You are allowed to smell nice things on Yom Kippur. In fact there is a custom to pass around besamim and etrogim on Yom Kippur so people could make brachot and get up to the requisite 100 Blessings for the day (which are hard to reach because we have blessing on food).

So I walked in this morning and there was an orange at the Besamim bar. The Halacha is that when one picks up an orange to smell (usually I pick it up to eat), you say Blessed are you Hashem, who puts a nice smell in the fruit. הנותן ריח טוב בפירות.

I had never made the bracha before this morning. I picked up the Orange which I usually only appreciate for its taste (when it is actually good and I am not just wolfing it down as I run out of the house!) and, through the help of the bracha, I was able to appreciate this (same old same old) orange in a completely new way through smell. I really appreciated the Bracha. It is one thing for G-d to make an orange. But it didn't have to have a nice smell! It was about appreciating something that I have in my house all the time in a completely new way! This by the way is one of the great things about making blessings!

I am reminded of the value of appreciating the old every time I open the Machzor. True, it is nice to hear a new melody every once in a while. But we really look forward to the what we can call the “Oldies but Goodies”! There is nothing like the whole shul singing together that (same old, same old) Avinu Malkeinu that you sang as a child. Its true that the words and tune are the same. But we infuse it with new meaning every year as we bring our new selves with our new worries and hopes and gratitudes into that Avinu Malkeinu. It is not always about finding the new but finding renewed meaning and meaning in the old.

Now to conclude with a story. You know I love to end with a story! But this year, I was really struggling to find a story. Yom Kippur was getting closer and closer and I still did not have a story. A few hours before Yom Kippur, I remembered that Rabbi Telushkin (one of the greatest speakers and storytellers is coming to Beth Sholom for a shabbaton on December 1 for Lieberman/Silverman Shabbaton (you don’t want to miss it!).

So I decided, to throw a “hail Miriam” (I called it in shul a Hail Mary but people gasped thinking I was talking about the religious persona when really I was thinking football metaphor!). I emailed Rabbi Telushkin and told him my sermon topic (second stage, middle age, in praise of the old) and asked him if he had a story for me. About 1 hour before Yom Kippur, I was in my office and the phone rang. I was about to ignore it but then I saw the caller ID said “Joseph Telushkin”! I quickly picked up the phone, “Hi is this Rabbi Telushkin?” “Yes,” He answered. “I would like to tell you Yom Kippur dvar torah from my father.” I am thinking, “ok.” I asked for a story and he is giving me a dvar torah. So he tells me a beautiful dvar torah (that I hope to share another time) but it was not a story and it had nothing to do with my topic.

But then it hit me. “The Oldies but Goodies”. On erev yom kippur, Rabbi Telushkin likes to tell over (every year) the dvar torah from his father to get a deeper appreciation of his father. This resonated with me as I had just read the intro to his book on the Lubavitcher Rebbe. He describes (this is my own words…) how it first the project was really an old topic. His father had been the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s personal accountant and his grandfather had a deep relationship with the Rebbe. So it was not the same kind of exciting research project as some of his other books. But then, as he got into the project, everytime he would go to Crown Heights, it was as if he was visiting his father and grandfather. He was gaining deeper appreciation and understanding of these “old” relationships through this new research.

We are about to recite Yizkor. During Yizkor, we reflect on those parts of our lives that our the oldest; Family, parents, values and community. We look for new insights and appreciation of those aspects of our lives that have always been there with us.

My Bracha to all of us is that we remember that the most important things in life are those things that we already have. The new is wonderful but our success as people and Jews will come from how we do the “old.” I hope we can reflect on that throughout our prayers and be sealed in the Book of Life.

Rosh Hashana Drasha 5779 - "Jewish Me Time"

Jewish “Me Time”

A number of years ago, I was talking to a woman (I am never good with ages, but I think she was in her mid to late 50’s!!!), who was really struggling with her judaism. She was having a hard time connecting specifically to prayer and more generally with finding the relevance of Judaism in her life.

So I asked her if there were ever moments or times in her life when she felt connected to Judaism. She started telling me about strong Jewish memories with her parents growing up and then she continued to talk about important Jewish experiences that she created for her children when they were growing up. And then all of the sudden the “light bulb” went off in her head. I did not even have to say anything! She said, “I now understand why I am struggling with my Judaism.” She went on to say that two major things happened to her in the last 10 years. First, both of her parents passed away. Second, her children grew up and moved out of the house. And now she realized that almost all of her Judaism was about her parents and her children and when she was without them, there was not much Judaism inside herself. When her children were growing up, she never took “Jewish Me Time” and now she realized that she did not have a strong personal connection to Judaism.

I often find when I ask congregants about what they appreciate about their judaism, they talk about family and community. I often hear about the family sitting at the Pesach Seder. I hear about the power of community especially during shiva. I hear about how wonderful it was to have family and community to celebrate a Jewish lifecycle. I don’t usually hear about what Judasim does for you. As an individual.

As you are sitting here, imagine charting out your connection to Judaism on a bar graph. One bar represents your personal connection to judaism as it fulfills your own spiritual needs and the other bar, as it represents your connection filtered through family and community. I would guess that for many people, the family/community bar would be very high and the bar about the individual would be much lower.

So today on Rosh Hahsana, I would like to challenge us. Family and Community are really important. But in order for our judaism to be strong and sustainable, it needs to be personal. We need to have our own Judaism.

This theme is extremely important on Rosh Hashana. In the famous Unetaneh Tofef prayer, we say that “All inhabitants of the world, pass before G-d like ‘bnei maron.’ What does bnei maron mean? According to Unetaneh Tokef (based on first interpretation of the Talmud), it means that we pass before G-d like sheep. This is certainly one important religious metaphor. Sometimes, we recognize that we are completely not in control. We feel our vulnerabilities and we turn to G-d, the Shepard, to help us through. But there is another interpretation that I would actually like to focus on. The Talmud tells us that Maron also refers to a city on top of a mountain. There was no nicely paved road to get there. So Rashi explains, the path was very narrow and it was impossible for two people to walk side by side. So on Rosh hashana, we are hiking up this very narrow path. Alone.

It reminds me of a hike I took this summer with the family. We got to a certain point and it was very narrow and only one person can go through at a time. Amollia, my 9 year old, runs ahead and she is literally alone for about 30 feet and its narrow and difficult and challenging. I run around to meet her on the other end and my wife was cheering her from the other side. But she had to walk those thirty feet completely alone.

Family and community are so important. They cheer us on. Hopefully they greet us at the other end. But we must climb those thirty feet by ourselves. Almost every “make it or break it” Jewish and Human moment happen when we are alone. But we need to give ourselves the “jewish me time” (or maybe the “Jewish Me Workout Time”) to have the strength to make it up those thirty steps.

There is also an important Biblical persona that relates to this message. The Talmud tells us that on Rosh Hashana, Yosef went out of the Egyptian Jail. What do we know about Yosef? What makes him different from the forefathers and foremothers that precede him? The answer is Yosef is very much alone, in two ways. First, Hashem does not talk to him. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob all have conversations with G-d. Joseph is very G-d focused. He always attributes his success to G-d but you will never find a verse that says, “And G-d spoke to Joseph, saying.” His second sense of aloneness is that every “make it or break it” moment in his life (whether its his encounter with the wife of Potiphar or his dealings with the butler and baker in the Egyptian Dungeon etc) all happen when he is away from his Jewish family and community. He needs to muster the inner strength. Sure, he has the inspiration from his father but he needs to climb those thirty steps alone.

So what is the path forward? What steps can we take so that we have the Jewish Muscle and Strength to climb those thirty steps in situations when family and community will not help? I think we all need to commit to one more hour a week of “Jewish Me Time”. This Jewish Me Time is not the time that we spend creating Jewish experiences for our children or community. The Me Time is dedicated time for your individual Jewish and spiritual growth. It could be through davening, Torah study, or acts of chesed. It could take place at shul, in your home, or out in nature. Whatever and wherever it is is less important. Just make it happen. One extra hour a week (or even a half hour - I know I am negotiating against myself!).

While Jewish Me Time is important for everyone, I think that it is particularly important for people with young children. Even if you are actively engaged in your Jewish life, much of it probably revolves around your children. This is so important. But if you don’t find the “jewish me time”, in 20 years, you will realize that you might not have a Judaism of your own.

I will conclude with a story. I am not sure how relevant it is, but I really like the story so I will try to make it fit!

About 15 years ago, I went to a small shul for Rosh Hashana to be the rabbi. The shul did not have its own rabbi. The davening was very nice, however the Shofar blower was not the strongest. Let us just say, that we made it through the 100 blasts but nothing like our amazing shofar blowers here at Beth Sholom!

On Rosh Hashana afternoon, I decided to go back to the shul to prepare my lectures and sermons. As I am about to walk in to the shul, I hear this amazing Tekiah (shofar blast). I continue to listen to shevarim and teruah and the whole order of blasts concluding with a Tekiah Gedolah like a I never heard before! Loud, resonate, confident and beautiful!

I knew one thing for sure. This was not the same person who blew that morning.

So I walk in the shul and sure enough, I see another guy putting away the shofar. I tell him how wonderful the blasts were and I ask him why was he not the shofer blower for the shul. I see a tear in his eye and he begins speaking in a way that I immediately understand that he is deaf (or at least severely hearing impaired). He points to his hearing aids. He tells me that he used to be the shofer blower. But then someone in the shul heard that someone who is deaf may not blow the shofar. The shul did not have its own rabbi to decide so they asked a very well known rabbi/posek. The rabbi rules that this fellow should no longer blow the shofar for the shul.

I never saw someone who had once done a mitzvah now in so much pain for not being able to do the mitzvah.

(Parenthetically, the question is not so open and closed. There is room in halacha to allow the person who is hearing impaired to blow the shofar if he can hear at all which I believe was the case with this individual. I think that if the community had had their own rabbi, the answer might have been different).

I think about that hearing impaired man every year on Rosh Hashana. In a certain way, the story (especially the pain I saw on his face) motivates a lot of what I do as a rabbi. But there is one aspect of the story that I never understood until now when I prepared this Sermon. Why was this hearing impaired shofar blower in the shul in the middle of the afternoon blowing by himself? Now I know. He was told that he could not blow the shofar for his family and community. But he was there blowing for himself. I imagine that as he blew the shofar, he was feeling the pain and struggle of being a Jew with a disability. But I am sure he was also feeling his connection to G-d and Torah through the shofar and other mitzvot. I am sure his family and community were as supportive and loving as possible, but he was there by himself in the middle of the afternoon climbing those thirty steps that he needed to climb alone.

So as we hear the shofar this Rosh Hashana, I pray that we are all blessed with the amazing gifts of jewish family and community. They are so important. But I also pray that we make the commitment to strengthen our Jewish selves. That we have the strength to climb those thirty steps which will make all the difference.

Shana Tova!

The Yeshiva University Basketball Team and Pesach preparation!

A few weeks ago, there was major news in the Jewish Sports World! The Yeshiva University men’s basketball team, for the first time in its history, made it to the NCAA tournament! Of course, when the tournament schedule was announced, their first game was scheduled for Friday Night (on shabbat). If you want to know how this got resolved and some other fascinating issues that came up, stay tuned till the end of the sermon!

This shabbos is Parshat Hachodesh. Why do we read this section on this shabbat, two weeks prior to Pesach? Well Rashi (Megilah 29a) tells is that we read Parshat Hachodesh on this week because it includes the description of the Korban Pesach (Pesach Sacrifice). The problem is that if this would be the only reason, why is it called Parshat Hachodesh and not Parshat HaPesach? It must be that there is some connection between the first verse “החדש הזה לכם - this month is for you the first month” that relates to Pesach and is the reason we read it now.

If I would ask an random jew (or maybe even non-jew) what is the “jewish new year”? What would the answer be? Most people would probably say Rosh Hashana. But, they would be wrong! Rosh Hashana (1st of Tishrei) is actually the beginning of the universal new year. The first Mishna in Rosh Hashana tells us that the first of Tishrei (i.e. what we call Rosh Hashana) is new year for years (non jewish kings) for shmita, yovel and all of the agricultural laws. Tishrei is the beginning of the rainy season when all farmers (Jewish and non-jewish ask for rain). On Rosh Hashana, כל באי עולם עוברין לפניך - all inhabitants of the world (jews and non-jews) come before G-d. In other words, Rosh Hashana is not the Jewish new year (it is a universal newyear) and the calendar year that follows is not the Jewish year.

So when does the Jewish year begin? Well this is Parshat Hachodesh. As the Jews are about to leave Egypt and become their own nation, they are given a new calendar. A uniquely Jewish Calendar. “החדש הזה לכם - this month is for you.” לכם ולא לאומות העולם - for you and not for the nations of the world. Our holidays, which represent G-d’s unique relationship with the Jewish people, all flow from the month of Nisan. Note that every time the torah lists the holidays, Rosh Hashana is not first. It is almost at the end because the list begins with the month of Nisan and the holiday of Pesach.

The idea of living with multiple calendars is not foreign to us. Think about your own lives. You have your school calendar, your work calendar, hobby calendars, sports calendars,  tax calendar, secular calendar etc etc. And of course we have our Jewish Calendar. For me, I have them all overlapping on my google calendar neatly color coordinated. The challenge is, what happens when two of my calendars conflict with each other? What happens when it is the 7th game of the world series and I have ticket but it is also the the first day of Sukkot. What happens when I have a very important work event and it is shabbos. Which calendar is החדש הזה לכם - which calendar is “Yours.” Which one wins out? Which calendar is is the primary one around which all the others revolve?

We as Jews in the Modern World are supposed to fully engage. We are supposed to work and participate in the arts and culture and even sports. We are supposed to have all of these overlapping calendars but we have to remember which one is לכם  - “Yours”.

When I study with conversion candidates, we primarily use three texts. One - the Torah, they must study the entire Torah; parshah by parshah. Two - a book on jewish law as they must become conversant in the Laws of shabbat, Kashrut and family purity. Three and maybe most important, I literally take out the Jewish calendar and go through it with them. The dates, the times (for prayer and shabbat etc), the special occasions. If the conversion candidate cannot make the Jewish calendar the rhythm of their lives, they will not be successful jews. We are not expected to give up the other calendars, but we must make the Jewish calendar לכם - “Yours”.  

Now back to the Yeshiva University basketball team. So the game was supposed to be on Shabbat. After a time change request, the NCAA and the opposing team agreed to have the game on Friday afternoon. But there was another problem. That week (thursday) was Purim. Which means that Wednesday was Taanit Esther (Fast of Esther). All the players fasted and they were not able to hold a practice just two days before the most important game of their lives! Wednesday night and thursday were Purim so I am sure they got a quick practice in but they also had to hear the megilah (two times), do the other mitzvot of the day and maybe even get drunk!

So think about it. The basketball team had a very important calendar, the NCAA calendar. They started months before with tryouts, the regular season, practices and now their calendar extended into the tournament for the first time in history. But when the NCAA calendar conflicted with the Jewish calendar, they knew which one was their most important calendar. Which one was לכם.

So what happened. We would hope for the fairytale ending which would go something linek this: Because they did not play on shabbos and fasted on Taanis Esther, they won in the final seconds with a buzzer beating 3-pointer! Wouldnt that be great! But that is not what happened. They lost by 14.

But that is ok. Judaism is not a fairytale. We don’t keep shabbat, to win the game. We don’t fast to make the three-pointer. We do these things because they are reflections of the most profound values of our tradition. We do it because our Jewish Calendar is לכם - “yours.”

As we go into serious Pesach preparation, let us all remember the lesson of the Jewish Calendar. We left Egypt but in order to actualize our values and make Torah the guiding force of our lives, we need the Jewish Calendar. And we need the Jewish calendar not to be just one of many overlapping calendars on our google calendar app. It must be לכם - yours. And if it is, may G-d help us make our commitment to Torah and Mitzvot stronger every day.