Saturday night our heshbon hanefesh introspection in preparation for the High Holidays intensifies with special midnight prayers called Slichot. Slichot in Hebrew means forgiveness, in the plural. We seek forgiveness from God, from our fellow human beings, and from ourselves. This Saturday night we shall join our friends from Hillcrest Jewish Center and the Jewish Center of Kew Garden Hills for a joint Slichot evening of reflection, learning, and prayer at the Hillcrest Jewish Center.
Studies by a number of psychologists show that it is not great riches that makepeople happy, but friends and forgiveness. Commenting on these findings in a USAToday article, Marilyn Elias says, "The happiest people surround themselveswith family and friends, don't care about keeping up with the Joneses next door,lose themselves in daily activities, and most important, forgive easily."
University of Michigan psychologist Christopher Peterson says that the ability toforgive others is the trait most strongly linked to happiness. He calls it "thequeen of all virtues, and probably the hardest to come by."
An unforgiving spirit is often the last emotional fortress we yield to the powerof God. Even as Jews, we may cling to anger and bitterness, feeling that thosewho have wronged us should suffer for their offenses. But when we realize how much God has forgiven us, we are compelled to extend mercy to others. Ben Sira in the Apocrypha taught, "Forgive your neighbor...and then, when you pray, your sins will be forgiven you." (28:2)
Forgiveness is God's command to us and is part of a life of love, peace, thankfulness, and praise. Freely are we forgiven, let us freely forgive. This High Holiday season, let our prayer be: "Lord, help me be kind and forgiving-/Your loving forgiveness You've shown/ To me for the sins I've committed;/ Lord grant me a love like Your own." (anonymous)
Our
joint Slichot evening begins at 8:30
PM. The rabbis’ study opportunities and refreshments will follow. Slichot services will begin at 10:30 PM.
Please join us for all or any part of the evening.
This week’s Torah portion, Ki Tavo, begins by
discussing the farmer’s obligation to bring his first fruits to the Temple and
to thank God for blessing his land. The farmer is commanded to be full of joy
and happiness as result of all the plenty that God bestowed upon him. “And you
shall enjoy, together with the Levite and the stranger in your midst, all the
bounty that the Lord your God has bestowed upon you and your household.”
(Deuteronomy 26:11) Right after this, the Torah goes on to a different topic.
It talks of the farmer’s obligation to give a percentage of the crops to the
poor, the orphans, and the widows, every third year.
What is the connection between the mitzvah of joy and
happiness to that of tzedakkah? The Ba’al HaTurim offers an explanation. He
writes that the connection between these two passages is that we can only be
truly happy if we look after and provide for the needs of the poor and
helpless.
This message is reinforced in Yom Kippur’s haftorah.
Isaiah says: “No, this is the fast I desire: to unlock the fetters of wickedness,
and untie the cords of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free; to break off the
yoke. It is to share your bread with the hungry, and to take the rich and poor
into your house; when you see the naked, to close him, and not to ignore your
own kin. Then shall your light burst through like the dawn and your healing
spring up quickly….” (58:6-8)
Prof. Norman Cohen writes in his book Hineini in
Our Lives: “Yet, Isaiah reaches across the generations, calling out to us
like the blast of a ram’s horn, signaling to us that not only can we survive,
but we can even flourish once again. If only we can set aside our selfish
concerns and sacrifice for others, we can move beyond own pain and then
experience healing and wholeness. We will see the light burst forth like the
dawn, as it breaks through the darkness of our own lives.
“And in the end, it turns out to be our own light
illuminates the world. Our lives can be made better in the world to move closer
to a messianic sign of healing and redemption, if only we realize that our
sacrifices should not merely involve the giving up of food on a fast day, but
rather the giving of self to the other in our lives every hour of every day
that we live.” (Page 106)
There can be no greater joy than being God’s partner
by bringing the world closer to humanity’s final redemption.
According to this week’s Torah portion, Ki Tetze an Ammonite or Moabite may never join the Jewish people as it is written: “No Ammonite or Moabite shall be admitted into the congregation of the LORD; none of their descendants, even in the tenth generation, shall ever be admitted into the congregation of the LORD, because they did not meet you with food and water on your journey after you left Egypt…” (DT 23: 4-5) Rabbi Pliskin in his book Love Your Neighbor explains why. “Rabbi Shimon said in the name of Rabbi Eliezer that from here we see the punishment of those who withhold kindness.” (page 417) They should have offered our ancestors food and drink as a common kindness.
Were you an ardent reader of L. Frank Baum’s Land of Oz books? Do you remember the book Rinkitink in Oz? Who didn’t laugh at the antics of Baum’s irrepressible, good-hearted King Rinkitink with his down-to-earth goodness. Young Prince Inga described him best: “His heart is kind and gentle and that is far better than being wise.”
How simple and how sensible! Yet who has not wounded the
heart of someone dear to us by a harsh word? By doing so, we disturb the
peace and quiet of the hour and we can undo much of the good we have done
toward those we love. “A small unkindness is a great offense,” said Hannah
More, an 18th-century English writer.
Here’s the good news: Anyone can be kind. We may not be a Torah scholar, able to answer hard questions, or be an extremely successful business person, but we can all be kind.
As we prepare ourselves for the High Holidays in order to become
the person we truly want to be, kindness one of the most helpful and healing
things we can offer to others and to ourselves.
