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RABBINIC REFLECTION BY RABBI michael berk
September 2007
CBI's High Holiday Days Magic:
It Works Even if you Don't Believe in it
The Jewish New Year is almost upon us – the great annual ingathering of the Jewish people – and I would like to tell you how excited I am! As a rabbi, I admit that I love standing before the congregation on the evening of Rosh Hashanah and seeing so many people. Aliza and I are so delighted that we are privileged to spend these Holy Days and many more to come, with you, our new congregational family.
I wonder sometimes, what is the magic of these Holy Days that attracts us like a magnet to our praying communities? Do we believe literally all that metaphorical language about the Days of Awe, the Books of Life and death, judgment and forgiveness?
I am reminded of a story of the great Danish scientist Niels Bohr, who won the Nobel Prize in physics in 1922. Bohr, the epitome of empirical learning, had a horseshoe over the door to his office. A graduate student confronted him and asked why a great physicist, the embodiment of the scientific method and hard-nosed rationalism, would have a horseshoe over his door. Surely he didn't believe in the superstition that the horseshoe would bring him good luck!
Bohr replied: "I understand it works even for those who don't believe in it."
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Well, I understand that the High Holy Days work even for those who don't believe in them. Or they can, if you open yourself up. They can work to restore vigor to the weary; they can work to restore wholeness to shattered relationships; they can work to reconnect you to the great ideas and ideals of the Jewish people; they can work for those who arebereft of hope; and they can remind you of the strength, beauty and holiness of the community that surrounds you, your CBI community.
I recently saw an old movie, Fried Green Tomatoes, about a restaurant in a small southern town. When the railroad stops coming through the town, the restaurant closes, the town withers and the inhabitants move on. At the end of the movie, Itchie, played by Jessica Tandy, reminisces about her restaurant and says, "It's funny how a little place like this can bring so many people together." I hope you will join me in letting others know this about our lovely CBI family. While not so small, it's funny how a synagogue like CBI can bring so many people together.
Soon we will hear the blast of the shofar… the first time I will hear its sacred calls with you. The Torah says about the moment the shofar is sounded: "Mikra kodesh yehiyeh lachem" – "for you it shall be a sacred assembly." When we gather on Rosh Hashanah, we shall be that sacred assembly, that kehilah kedoshah, a holy congregation. I have already discovered what a wonderful community CBI is and what it can do for all of us. Like the horseshoe above Niels Bohr's door, it works even for those who may not believe in it.
If you're skeptical, how about giving it a try this year? See if some of the magic of our High Holy Days doesn't touch you and draw you in. It is funny how a "place" like CBI can bring people together. My wife Aliza, and my children Jenna and Yoni join me in wishing all of you a good, sweet, healthy and prosperous New Year.
Rabbi Michael Berk
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