Ghosting God, Ghosting Self
Day 123
Well, the day is here, Rosh Hashanah Eve! While not the BIG DAY, it is the beginning of the period of judgment, the beginning of the 10 days of T’Shuvah/Return, and a moment when, at least on Sunday, We the People will hear the sound of the Shofar calling us to WAKE UP. What better way to wake up than to listen to the words of the prayers calling We the People to realize, acknowledge, and engage in the process of returning to God, returning to our community, returning to our authentic self. “But we do this every Shabbat” some might say and I know most people believe this-yet the question that Tafalnu Sheker (the practice of deceit, the practice of false accusations) comes to ask us: Are you being authentic when you are with God, with Community, with Self? How often are you worried that someone will “find out the truth about me”, that you will be unveiled as the imposter you believe yourself to be?
In the Jewish tradition, tonight begins the period of being ‘judged’, not by God, rather by ourselves, by the community. Tafalnu Sheker, while not spoken tonight, tomorrow, not until a week from Sunday in the Afternoon Service, hangs over we the people. There can be no preparation for Rosh Hashanah, no authentic experience of this moment without judgment, without introspection, so to continue to engage in the practice of deceit, to continue to accuse another falsely, to continue to deny forgiveness and find rapprochement with someone who has helped you, who comes to make things right is necessary. Yet, we the people while saying this sin, continue to practice it, revel in the power to keep ‘those people, that person’ on the outside. Have We the Jewish People truly learned nothing since the destruction of both Temples, have We the Jewish People forgotten the Rabbinic reason for the destruction of the first, the way we treated the strangers, the widows, the orphans, the needy, the poor? Have We the Jewish People forgotten the Rabbinic reason for the destruction of the 2nd Temple-senseless hatred? Yet, We the Jewish People collectively will confess this sin and continue to practice it!! It is infuriating to me, it is enraging, it is what the Prophets told the People Israel, the People of Judea, it is what their words tell us today and like our ancestors, We the Jewish People refuse to hear, listen, and understand!
When the Shema is recited in Temple on tonight, tomorrow, and Sunday-will anyone take this prayer seriously? Have We the Jewish People become so regulated, so used to, so oblivious to Tafalnu Sheker that we continue to fool ourselves, continue to live in the self-deception that it is ‘those people’ who are wrong, who are bad, who practice deceit, who…? Unfortunately, it seems that many of We the Jewish People have. When I read on my list serve the idea that Rabbis should not criticize Israel, maybe Netanyahu, but not Israel, it bewilders me. The People of the State of Israel, aka Israelis, voted Netanyahu into office, knowing he was/is a crook, promoted such hatred and anger and suggestions that someone assassinated Yitzchak Rabin, was/is a bully so yes, the Israeli people are responsible for what Netanyahu does. They have not demanded an Inquiry into what he knew before Oct.7th and the Rabbis are afraid of the Truth? These so-called religious leaders are phony, they are engaging in Tafalnu Sheker in these 10 days of T’Shuvah, 10 days of returning to truth, authenticity, God! This is not to say that Israel is a terrible place, that it should not exist- Heaven Forbid-I am saying that I am a Zionist, I am a believer in what Israel represents to the Jewish People and to the World, I am an ardent advocate for the Israeli people who bring so much innovation, medical breakthroughs, etc to the world, who show up to help in every catastrophe that happens around the globe and should not be judged by it’s worst act!
Even though in many communities the Shofar will not be sounded tomorrow-not sure why when God orders it without thought of Shabbat or not- We the Jewish People, We all the People, need to hear the call of the moment, the call to remember this is the birthday of the world and the world was brought into being through truth, that light is the creation that God fashioned for We the People and God keeps calling us back to our relationship, AYECHA, where are you still reverberates throughout the world. It is WAY PAST TIME for We the Jewish People, We all the People to respond with HINENI! Here we are, Here I am. It is WAY PAST TIME for All of We the People to end our practice of deceit, end our false accusations, end our listening to the deceit of another, the false accusations by another and stand tonight, tomorrow, throughout 5787! Please take a moment of silence to honor those who died on this day, 25 years ago because of false accusations, the practice of deceit and senseless hatred.
Shana Tova, Happy, Sweet, Good New Year
God Bless, Stop Ghosting God, Ghosting Self, Rabbi Mark