Renewal, Rebirth, Remember – Pesach 5768

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A year ago, you were here, you both were here. A year ago, life was normal, comfortable, safe. I was in Petra, enjoying life, taking in the beauty of the world, amazed by the wonders of God’s creations. You were in Detroit, celebrating your birthday, your anniversary, your life. Little did we all know within a matter of months, this life would be different.

This year, I prepare for Passover without you, without your support, energy, enthusiasm. This year, my passover cleaning is more about cleaning out the emotions, taking stock of how I feel, and the space you filled is ever more present.

Spring is about renewal, rebirth, and all I can do is remember. Remember what was, what I miss, what will never be again. I remember years past, years of love, happiness, joy, laughter. This year, there will be no birthday phone call to you, daddy. This year, there will be no anniversary call to papa. This year, I am here, last year, I was in Jerusalem. Last year, you prayed we would be together again, you asked on God’s will to lead a seder with me again. This year, we know this will never be the reality. While I will carry you in my heart, you will be there, you won’t be there for a panicked moment before the seder to remind me of the kiddush nusach, you won’t be there to argue with, to smile with my learning, to guide me. This year, when you tell your child on that day, you won’t be there to tell me, you won’t be there to bargain with for the afikomen.
This year, my rebirth is as a new person, a daddy’s girl learning to live without her daddy. This year, we remember not only our going out from Egypt, but the loss of another generation at our seder table. This year, we welcome in, not only Elijah, and all who are hungry, this year we welcome in the spirit, and memory of another generation who has returned to the dust of the earth. This spring, the regrowth isn’t just within nature, it is within ourselves, the healing of a broken heart.

This year, I am a slave to memory, a slave to mourning, a slave to my heart. This year, I go out from my own slavery, into the world anew, a world I don’t know. I am a slave going into freedom, I am experiencing an exodus. I am scared, sad, confused and afraid…

The MeaningS of Life

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This past Shabbat I spent the weekend on a retreat with high school students delving into the possible meanings of life. Is it community? personal talent? prayer? wisdom? Friends? Education? How do we make our lives meaningful? What is the sign of a meaningful life?
At the same time, I have been listening to my father’s Eulogy. What did I say about him, who was he, how will he be remembered? What did our rabbi say about him, how was he perceived outside the family? What was the meaning of his life? And then, there is that moment of worry, what is the meaning of my life, how will I be remembered? How do I want to be remembered?
7 months have gone by since I first heard my dad’s eulogy, since I first thought about how to remember him, how I wanted to share his life with those who came to the funeral, how I wanted to share this incredible bond I have with him in the collective memory of my community. Each time I listen to his funeral service, I am proud and sad. Sad that he is lost in our world, that the work he was doing will never be completed, sad that his beautiful smile and loving soul will only live on through memory, not physicality. And at the same time, I am proud, proud of who he was, proud to call him my father, proud of how I memorialized him, proud of all that he did in the world. Is this how he wanted to be remembered? I don’t know. Is this who he thought he was? I dont’ know. But he was an incredible man, an inspiration to so many.
So, what is the purpose, meaning, business of life? I don’t have the answer. Maybe it’s doing the work that was done before us and continuing it throughout generations. our work is never done. Maybe it’s finding that community that will overwhelmingly come out to support you in a time of need, to hear what your life is all about. Maybe life is about making meaningful connections, to people, to a higher being, to the world. Life is about living, however and whatever that means for each individual.

Not There

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Last week I had a moment where I longed to be in Jerusalem, where I wanted to be there, in Israel, in the city I had made my own a year ago. I felt guilty, I lived in Jerusalem for 9 months and not a single attack on my city, and here, a year later, 8 were murdered doing what I was doing. 8 innocent students, murdered while studying the same texts I study, sitting in a room. I feel guilty that I was safe, that I can learn safely here in America while my colleagues don’t know what might happen as the day progresses. I am sad, for my city, my state, my people. I know life goes on, but this incident makes me think. What kind of a world am I living in, that innocent students become targets of political gain? Here in America college students are murdered on the side of the street for money, there in Jerusalem, for studying in the wrong place at the wrong time. Violence surrounds us, takes us by storm, and yet, we continue learning, we persevere. Learning at the yeshiva in Jerusalem will go on, learning at universities will continue.
I blogged before I left Israel about this guilt, this feeling of pain knowing that I was safe, I was “lucky,” nothing happened while I was there. I still feel this way, I am not there, I can only share the pain, the disbelief from a distance. I can only hope that it will be good….

Unfinished business, a visit with daddy

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6 months ago your heart was still beating, your body warm, your stuff where you left it. 6 months ago you were here, your office was set up as you left it, your book waiting for you to return to finish it. 6 months ago your grave was still whole, unmarked, a plot of untouched land. Now it is there, covered in snow, marked only by your name and your dates.
it has been six months since my life changed, since my dad died, since my world view was drastically altered. I say this all in the passive as i really didn’t have much to do with it. I didn’t make him die, I didn’t actively help the process along. But, now that it has happened, I have the ability to take control over how it changes me, how I move on and that is what I will do.
I am home for the long weekend, visiting with my mom and sister, getting a good dose of my community, my fan club, my home. As I was taking in my return to home I began with some of the usual rituals, coming home, rushing to morning minyan, running some errands, and then my day ended. It used to be that I would come home, run my errands and then visit with my papa, spend time with my dad, have him to talk to on and off as he sat in his office and I sat in my room. I was busy, I had people to see. now it is different. I can visit all 4 of my grandparents at the same time, and my dad. Instead of sipping tea together, I run in and out of the car, trying to stay warm while having a conversation, sharing my thoughts without their support or feedback.
The hardest part was writing my d’var torah for this Shabbat. I knew what I wanted to say, and yet I couldn’t get the words out. In a moment of frustration I got in the car and drove out to visit the family. I said hi to my nana and papa, filled them in on the inner workings of my life. Next stop was grammy and zayde, they too got the scoop on what’s been going on. Finally, I stopped at my dad. It was freezing outside, and yet I spent 20 minutes standing over his grave, yelling, crying, laughing. I practiced my torah reading, and he didn’t’ jump up and correct me, so I think I did alright. I filled him in on my life and thanked him for a gift that could only be from him. And then I sat there, staring at his name, recognizing the finality in what was before me. And I wrote, and wrote and wrote… I needed his inspiration, and I was truly inspired.
6 months ago, dad was expecting to come home. His papers still are strewn around his office, he to do list still on his nightstand from his last day, the day I spent with him. 6 months ago he had dreams, plans, appointments. I MISS HIM, I wasn’t done loving him… I’ll never be done, but I will go on… I can only hope that he will continue to inspire me!

D’var Torah: What is holy?

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Here is a D’var Torah I gave Friday night at dinner after services, with only a few hours notice! Enjoy, and note that actual delivery was slightly different than the written word!

One of the things my classmates and I often joke about is that while rabbinical school may train us to be rabbis, we should write a book, “what to expect when you’re expecting: to become a Rabbi.” No one told me that anytime I came home, I’d be rabbi in residence for the weekend. When Mickey asked me to teach at dinner tonight, I gladly accepted and then realized I had to have something profound, interesting, stimulating and totally different from my d’var torah in services to say. So, if you didn’t like the first teaching, try this one on for size!

This week’s parshah, Tetzaveh is all about holy vestments, the holiness of the sacrifices, the priests. But, what is holy? ANSWERS/Discussion

What makes something holy?

I ask because whenever someone asks this question it seems we all say the same thing, sacred, special, separate, but none of those answers really define what is holy? What is Kadosh? In the parshah, it states that you should do something with the sacrificial meat because they are holy, but it always leaves me hanging with the question of why. I have been thinking about this on a daily basis, and I haven’t been able to come up with a word or two to describe what makes something holy for me.

As I was thinking about what to say tonight, I started reflecting on what makes our community, Adat Shalom holy for me. I can’t wait to come home and return to this great place, so there has to be a reason. I came up with 4 words or phrases that match the root letters KUF DALED and SHIN in Kadosh.

First, KUF: Kavannah and Keiruv. For me, something is Kadosh when it has kavannah, an intention, there is purpose to it, and this purpose brings it meaning. Kuf for me also stands for Keiruv, the Jewish principle of welcoming people into the community. We sang Shalom Aleichem at the beginning of dinner, welcoming in the ministering angels of the Kadosh Baruch Hu; of the holy one blessed is his name- Kadosh in welcoming. As we sit here tonight, we are a group who has chosen to come together, get to know one another, make the community of Adat Shalom a little bit smaller.

The second letter, DALED for me represents DOR V’DOR, generation to generation. Something is Kadosh because of the nostalgia, significance it carries from generation to generation. When we say the Kedushah in our Amidah, one of our central prayers, we praise God in the transference of our traditions from generation to generation. How often is a talit given to a grandchild from a grandparent? A Kiddush cup? A synagogue community. Just as the priestly garments are Kadosh because they are passed on l’dor v’dor, so to our community is Kadosh because we have existed and welcomed l’dor v’dor. I am proof of that.

Finally, the third letter, SHIN represents Shalem, the root word we have in both the word Shalem for completeness but also Shalom for peace. Something is Kadosh when it is complete. We are here, sitting together bringing an end to our week, completing the work we were meant to do and moving into a space of rest and peace. Adat Shalom is a complete community, our synagogue offers services for every moment of life, and celebrates those occasions where we feel a sense of completeness and peace.

As we eat together and welcome in Shabbat, we are performing a holy act. Each of you has chosen to join this community, Adat Shalom, this congregation of peace for all that it offers. For me, this is kadosh.

And so, I leave you with the same question I began with, some food for thought, what makes something holy for you? How is your life holy?

SHABBAT SHALOM!