Message From The Rabbi

Rabbi Spike Anderson

We Jews are halfway through the Hebrew month of Elul, which immediately leads into Rosh HaShanah.  This is the time that our sages challenge us to be fully engaged in the spiritual work that will allow us to have a meaningful High Holidays, through the Days of Awe, culminating with Yom Kippur.

To this end, I’d like to bring to your attention a question that the rabbis of old, in their sacred imagination, attributed to Moses at the ‘burning bush.’  God has just informed Moses that the Israelite slaves will be freed from Pharaoh to which Moses asks God: Why?  After all, what have the Israelites done to deserve Your redemption?

The Midrash (Exodus Rabbah 3:4) presents to us God’s answer, and in doing so, sets the stage for Jewish engagement with the world for every age of the Jewish future. 

God says: “It is not what you have done (to deserve my intercession), but what you will do in future days…

In other words, God does for us not because of who we were in that moment, but because of who we would one day be.   A people who accept God’s vision of how the world should be, healthy and just.  A people who will step up as partners in this work, even when the work is hard, and the world is dark.

What I love about this midrash, and the religious orientation that comes with it, is that existential mission that comes to define the Jewish people as a whole, every Jewish generation, and every individual Jew. 

This is the meaning of life type of thinking… and during times when our head is heavy, and our vision blurred, it is so vitally important that we remember not just ‘who’ we are, but also ‘why’ we are here.

As part of our Elul spiritual practice, we are encouraged to apply this type of thinking to ourselves, our time over this past year, and our community.  Are we on track?  Can we tweak what we are doing with our time?  Can we make changes that will get us back on track with the vision that God has for us as individuals and as a Jewish people? 

Certainly, these questions are a worthwhile use of your time.

B’shalom,

Rabbi Spike