Opening D’var Torah
Larry Moses
JPro Network Annual Program – May 28, 2014
Good morning. This past Shabbat we read Parshat BaMidbar, the opening portion of the book of Ba’Midbar which chronicles the Israelites time in the wilderness. The fateful journey through the desert conjures both physical and spiritual landscapes, sometimes majestic and inspiring, other times grueling and frustrating. Such was the transition from Egyptian bondage, to Sinai, to the edge of the Jordan River – and the promise of a craggy home, for a finally free people, whose story would ultimately shape human history.
The Israelites on the banks of the Jordan were a different people than those who departed Egypt. At that moment, we were poised for change – one generation of leaders had done their part, while another was preparing to write an entirely new chapter.
The Book of BaMidbar spends considerable time describing the Mishkan, the Tabernacle, and the ordering of the Israelites’ camp surrounding it in the desert. The descendants of Levi are separated from the others in the camp and given responsibility for the Mishkan – given a special status within the community.
Nachmanides, the great 13th century scholar, would later describe the Mishkan as embodying the ethical and spiritual core of Judaism. It therefore needed Shomrim – Guardians – not so much to protect it from enemies, but more to give it its due. The Rambam, Maimonides, noted that the Shomrim, that special class of guardians, extended to the Temple in Jerusalem – protecting the values that are core to Jewish existence.
In the Torah reading of the coming Shabbat – Naso – Aaron and his sons – the original kohanim, are given the prayer formulation that would be used to bless the Israelites – the blessing we know as Birkat Kohanim – the Priestly Blessing. It is the paradigm of all blessings, indeed the iconic formulation of blessing: “May God bless you and keep you; May God’s face shine upon you and be gracious to you; May God look kindly upon you and give you peace”… These verses are among the oldest in continuous liturgical use in all of history. Archaeologists found the words etched on silver scrolls found in tombs from the 7th century BCE. In Temple times, the Priests recited this blessing daily. Today we say Birkat Kohanim in our homes to bless our children, in the synagogue as part of the Amidah each Shabbat, and elsewhere. It is a blessing not only for kohanim, but available to all of us in many settings.
2. Indeed, the blessing is particularly noteworthy in that God empowers us to bless each other. The children of Aaron, who are fallible like each of us, are empowered to channel God’s blessing to the world; indeed, are commanded to do so.
The question arose: Why did the Jews merit such a special blessing?
Recently, a dear friend and study partner, Rabbi J.J. Schacter, and I wrestled with this question, and we lingered on a response drawn from the Midrash, Breisheet Rabba. Playing upon the continual repetition of a certain word in the text – “koh” – one can identify three components of why the blessing was given to Israel – why we have this blessing.
First, because Abraham, the first Jewish leader, was shown the stars in the sky, a sign from God that his progeny would inherit and sustain Judaism forever. Abraham understood that his mission was far greater than himself – not just about him – but that he was part of a much larger and longer story. Such was his merit. He had an intergenerational perspective. Secondly, Isaac and Abraham, at the foot of Mt. Moriah, of all times and places, cleave to each other – even in a moment of great tension and difficulty. When the road ahead is uncertain, indeed frightening, they are at one with each other. They key word is “yachdav” – they are deeply together. And finally, Yaakov, whose name becomes Israel, connects our immediate relationships, our personal work, with that of the larger Jewish people. Yaakov literally transcends himself to become attached to a covenantal community.
Here we too can find meaning as we begin this important professional gathering. As Jewish communal professionals we have placed ourselves in the lineage of those who guarded the Mishkan, the Shomrim who honored and celebrated the values and meaning of Jewish uniqueness. We are the descendants of those who took upon themselves special responsibilities on behalf of our people. And we too are the inheritors of the Birkat Kohanim – we bless our community, even as we seek the blessing of our community.
Why? Because like Abraham who gazed at the stars and saw a great future for the Jewish people, we too are believers in the future, purveyors of the future. We too see the eternal value of the Jewish people and strive to secure that future. We too live inter-generationally. And like Abraham and Isaac in the face of an uncertain and fraught road, we hold each other up, and strengthen each other. This is part of why we gather today; an important part. This extraordinary work that we do should not be lonely work, or solitary work. It is work that links us one to the other. And finally, like Jacob, we too are Israel – we too embrace the Jewish people more broadly than in our own selves, homes, neighborhoods or cities. Ours is a tradition that crosses oceans and generations all at once.
3. And now – back to being poised on the banks of the River Jordan. Each generation takes the Jewish people to its own edge of the Jordan, and prepares the next generation to lead a new chapter of the journey. For our field, it is a time of reckoning – we are on the banks of the Jordan anew – and it is a time to ask more of ourselves, and give more of ourselves – indeed, a time to recalculate.
Let us celebrate each other whether we came to this field from the inside or from the outside, whether in our twenties or our sixties, whether as group workers, clinicians, executives, educators, or programmers, whether women or men, whether religious or secular, whether for a few years or a whole career… for as those before us who merited the Priestly Blessing, our business is the Jewish future, we stand for self-respect and mutual respect, and we are part of a longer story. In these hours and months ahead, let this blessing guide our steps, and let us make joyful noise.
Thank you.