Photo by Arianna Jeret
The shofar, blown on the High Holy Days, is seen as a call to action.
The shofar, blown on the High Holy Days, is seen as a call to action.
Shofar is wake-up call to honest assessment — for ourselves and for Mideast
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Photo by Arianna Jeret
The shofar, blown on the High Holy Days, is seen as a call to action.
The shofar, blown on the High Holy Days, is seen as a call to action.
One hallmark of the High Holy Days season is the concept of teshuva, or repentance: the act of acknowledging our flaws and transgressions, of owning up to our errors and dedicating ourselves to self-correction.
It is during this season of reflection and introspection that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu comes to Washington to engage in direct peace talks with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
In an ideal world, peace in the Middle East would soon be a reality. After more than six decades of war and terrorism, Israel longs for and deserves peace.
But we cannot allow our desire for peace, however great, to obscure the facts that lie before us. If we hope to achieve that elusive peace, we must acknowledge and confront several critical issues. As with the High Holy Days , before we can move forward, logic compels us to review and evaluate the past and examine the need for change.
We cannot achieve true repentance without being honest, with ourselves and with God. Engaging in illusions will not work, either in achieving true teshuva or in achieving true peace in the Middle East. To reach for peace, we must view the political situation through a clear, unobstructed lens and make an honest assessment.
We must review the wars, the terrorist acts and the many casualties Israel has endured since its inception. We must review the fact that Israel consistently has made offers to achieve peace only to be met in return with outrageous demands. We must review the concessions Israel has made in the name of peace and the overwhelmingly negative and painful results that ensued.
We must reflect on the fact that the Palestinians continue to teach and preach hatred of Israel in their schools and in their mosques, lauding “martyrs” who kill our children. We must reflect on the fact that the Palestinians continue to deny Israel’s fundamental right to exist and to inhabit its biblical and historical homeland.
As we welcome the new year, with all its hope and opportunity, we must demand change.
We must call upon Abbas and the Palestinian Authority to disavow the relentless violence that has claimed thousands of innocent Israeli lives. We must insist that the Palestinian leadership denounce calls for Israel’s destruction and recognize Israel’s fundamental right to exist as a sovereign Jewish nation.
Maimonides, the great Torah scholar, wrote the following in his compilation of laws relating to teshuva: “Although the sounding of the shofar on Rosh Hashanah is a Divine decree, nevertheless we can discern a purpose in doing so. It is as if it tells us: ‘Sleepers! Arise from your slumber, and those who are dozing, awake from your lethargy. Review your actions, repent your sins and remember your Creator!’ ”
The blast of the shofar is a call to action intended to rouse our souls and inspire us to do what is right.
Now is the time for American Jewry to stand up and proudly proclaim that the land of Israel belongs to the Jewish nation. We must insist that Israel’s security is not negotiable. We must continue to demand the release of Gilad Shalit, the captive Israeli soldier who languishes in Gaza. We must demand the cessation of anti-Israel rhetoric and education in mosques and in schools.
American Jews must stand up and be heard on the issues that are vital to the security and survival of the Jewish people and the land of Israel.
It says in the book of Jeremiah, “Peace, peace! But there is no peace!” We may yearn for peace, but we cannot force peace. No true peace will come in the Middle East before the Palestinians have demonstrated their capacity to function as honest, reliable and long-lasting peace partners.
In this season of awe and self-reflection, may the clarion call of the shofar awaken us and inspire us to renew our commitment to the State of Israel and to the safety and well-being of our Jewish brethren, wherever they may be.
While the powerful call of the shofar will certainly reverberate in synagogues throughout the world, may its message echo in our hearts and minds as well. It is a wake-up call we cannot afford to ignore.
(Rabbi Pesach Lerner is the executive vice president of the National Council of Young Israel.)
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With Selichot services starting in early September, what can we learn about repentance and forgiveness from the apologies of public figures?
With Selichot services starting in early September, what can we learn about repentance and forgiveness from the apologies of public figures?
Albert Pujols: Squeaky clean
When athletes become modern day idols
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Albert Pujols: Squeaky clean
— Exodus 20:4
There’s little question Maimonides would not be pleased with how professional athletes are treated in today’s society.
Actually, there’s a pretty good chance he would be greatly upset with much of what we do these days, but I’ll leave that to the scholars.
The great rabbi was, among many things, a bit of an expert when it came to the topic of idolatry. There was no wishy-washiness in his interpretation of what we, as Jews, were supposed to do when it came to idol worship: It was a big-time no-no and we were commanded to destroy all idols.
I know that these days, much has been said and written about how athletes shouldn’t be role models. These high-achievers on the court or field can be admired for that ability and
accomplishments in their chosen field, but they should not be put up on a pedestal.
File that one under “easier said than done.” For while the right-minded folk might shout from the mountaintops about the dangers of looking up to someone solely because they’re fast or strong, or both, the message invariably gets knocked down by the 100-foot billboards of said athletes, drowned out by the massive advertising and marketing campaigns, bought out by the multi-million dollar contracts.
Maybe some have become jaded enough to not look up to these top performers in the world of sport, but all the soap-boxing in the world isn’t going to stop some from the younger generations from falling prey to these idols, looking with admiration at the gold and silver overlays and trim we are told we are forbidden to benefit from.
Truth be told, I think even those of us among the cynical set secretly want to believe in sports heroes again. Why else do people seem so genuinely disappointed when one falls from grace? We say we’re not shocked when Alex Rodriguez reveals he took performance-enhancing drugs, and maybe we’re not. But we also secretly, deep down, hope that a guy like Albert Pujols has done everything he has on the up and up.
We claim we’re desensitized to all of the pitfalls that seem to befall today’s spoiled professional athletes, yet when one hits the tabloid headlines instead of the sports pages, interest zooms. Sure, the 24-hour news cycle demands content constantly, but people tune in to see what’s gone wrong with the biggest stars in the sports arena.
There is some irony to all of this, of course. These people are idolized largely because of natural ability — something many feel is “God-given.” They are then given deity-like status because of this ability that was bestowed upon them. Is there then some cruel delight when they fall from that pedestal and show that they are, when you really think about it, human in terms of the ability to make poor choices and decisions?
Perhaps it’s good for us to see that these golden calves truly have no divine power. And there are various biblical stories that tell us what we should do with heroes gone bad (next on Jerry Springer).
If Adam was exiled from the Garden of Eden for tasting the forbidden fruit, what must we do with Tiger Woods, who evidently completely emptied the garden over the past few years?
Moses wasn’t allowed to cross over into Israel because of what, abusing his power as leader? The Bible isn’t big on second chances, so does that mean we shouldn’t give Roger Clemens or, right here in our backyard, Ben Roethlisberger, one? Typically, as sports fans, we have, often giving them more than that if their exploits on the field could lead to another championship.
If we listen to the second commandment, and Maimonides, we shouldn’t. Keep that in mind when ol’ number 7 comes back to the Black and Gold in a month or so.
(Jonathan Mayo, The Chronicle’s sports columnist and a staff writer for MLB.com, can be reached at jonathanm@thejewishchronicle.net.)