First of all, happy 5781. Aren't we happy to get rid of 5780? It was a year in which -- how can I say it -- well...
I can tell you how democracies die: But this book (How Democracies Die) has done it better than I can do it and I highly recommend it for your Rosh Hashanah reading.
I can tell you how the Russians are taking over the election, but this book (Cyberwar: How Russian Hackers and Trolls Helped Elect a President: What We Don't, Can't, and Do Know) by Kathleen Hall Jamieson from the University of Pennsylvania will explain everything to you.
I can tell you what surviving autocracy might mean. Masha Gessons wrote this brilliant work (Surviving Autocracy), from which I will quote in a moment and I highly recommend it.
I can explain to you the road to unfreedom - it's not a pretty picture. But this book (The Road to Unfreedom) by Timothy Snyder does it better than I can.
There are many books that have come out in this season of intellectual excitement.
And then there's the most recent one I read, which will cheer you up: Will He Go? So, I recommend all those books.
We do have to understand what's what's happening to our democracy. We do have to appreciate what Masha Gessons says, which is that there are three steps historically towards a complete autocracy and the last chance that we have in these United States to prevent the final descent is the election on November 3rd.
I could talk about the voter suppression or the racism and anti-Semitism that is rampant in this country and is actually engendered and encouraged by the President of the United States. I could talk about the horrifying police violence and how oppressive it is to watch videos taken, of mostly men of color being killed by police or children in cages, or women having forced hysterectomies in ICE facilities. I could talk about all the different ways this country is going in the wrong direction. I could tell you that it's happening all over the world. And I could tell you that it's happened before.
But tonight, I want to to hold all of that in one bucket, very aware that all of you who are watching tonight and participating in these Days of Awe are feeling a sense of trembling that maybe you've never felt before on the Days of Awe. Maybe somehow we believe we were exempt from the tsunami of increased autocracy and fascism that's taking over the world.
The Yamim Noraim - Days of Awe - are also called Days of Trembling because we are told we are told to approach these days not knowing what will come, and tomorrow when we recite the words of Unetaneh Tokef, they could never be more prescient than they are today.
Who will live this year?
Who will die?
Who's going to die by fire? And we think of our West Coast friends and families an communities in Oregon, Washington, and California.
And who will die by water? And we think of the floods in Florida, Alabama, and the Gulf of Mexico.
Who will die in their time, living to a ripe old age, and who will die not in their time, stolen from us?
All of these things come to us on these Days of Awe to remind us that we are mortal. Not one of us will survive forever. None of us knows the day of our death. And that's why we wear white and the Sifrei Torah are dressed in white. White is the color of death and mortality in Judaism and remind us that we don't know how long we will have to live.
But today is a birthday party, too. We are here to celebrate the creation of the world. "And on the sixth day of creation, humanity was created," our tradition tells us. We are told that the creation of the world came through something we called the Even HaShtiya. In many traditions, the Even HaShtiya is the foundation stone. We are told that all of creation came through the foundation stone and emerged into the world as we know it, and to us as human beings as we know it. And all of humanity hovers on this foundation stone - the Even HaShtiya. It's known for others as the axis-mundi, and different traditions locate it in different places, but we Jews understand that the creation of the world comes from something called the foundation stone.
Why is that significant? Because the foundation stone is what we use to orient ourselves, to have a sense of what is right and wrong no matter what is going on in the world around us. We cannot become like the winds that pass by us, nor can we be crushed by the waves of hate that come around us because we are standing on the Even HaShtiya, the foundation stone itself. We actually are created as part of that foundation. "Maybe for this moment you were born," we are told in our text.
You feel despair about being alive in this moment, watching the crushing pandemic and the thoughtless, evil government, and the economic crisis, and the health fear that we have, and the losses we've experienced. If you are alive right now, it is because there is a reason for you to be here.
What does God want of us? If we create the foundation stone itself, we are the ones who will create the future on which it stands. If you take seriously that you have something to offer the world that nobody else does, you have to appreciate that what you give makes that stone stronger and stronger and stronger, so that even if you do not survive to see the Promised Land, there will be future generations who will look back at you - at us - and say, "thank God they did not give in or give up, but they understood there was a purpose to life bigger than our personal despair." "Increase the holiness," we are taught.
So where in this course of these last six months, or the last three and a half years, did you find your foundation stone? From where did you get strength to keep going? From where did you appreciate there is a foundational stone under you, held up by the shoulders of those who came before you for generations, and generations, and generations.
There are those who have contributed to that stone like John Lewis in America or Helen Sussman in South Africa, or people whose names we don't know but everyday they were alive, they increased the light. They understood their job, as Heschel said, "just as evil as the fascists are, that is the degree of good we have to be."
So, I want to share with you some of the things that were my foundation stone over the last six months.
I'd like to read to you my crunchy granola recipe. I learned during these six months to make granola. What did you learn during these six months? During the time of lockdown, I discovered I like to cook. Many people have asked me for this granola recipe, so for part of my words of Torah, I will share some of it with you tonight. Those of you who want another cup of coffee will hear from me:
- 5 cups of old fashioned oats
- 1.5 cups of dry roasted unsalted sunflower seeds
- 1 cup of dry roasted unsalted pumpkin seeds
- 1.5 cups of slivered blanched almonds (I like the almonds whole)
- 3/4 cup of honey
- 1/2 cup of packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 stick of butter
- 1 tablespoon of pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon of fine sea salt
- 1 cup of shredded coconut (I skipped the coconut - I don't like coconut)
- 1 cup of raisins
Those are the ingredients that have made me intensely happy during these last six months.
Simple, basic. Mix together, pour the honey into a saucepan, and sixth-minutes later, incredible granola.
I got this recipe from one of my closest friends Jill Ginsburg, in Portland, OR. Who has given you something during this period of lockdown, fear, and uncertainty, which has given you pleasure? Joy is an act of spiritual and political resistance. It's concrete.
Who has gotten to take walks in the park? Who has made masks for friends who don't have their own masks? I think of Yael Bat Chava, a member of our community, who took out her sewing machine and made masks for anyone who asked. She just asked that they make a donation.
I think of the people who volunteer every Wednesday and Thursday night at our immigation clinic so our friends have people to meet and talk to. I think of the congregant who gave money to my discretion fund so I could give cash payments to our clinic immigrant friends so they could have food during this pandemic when there was no food for them.
There is power in the universe, and the power is here. One day - for this you were created - we are facing a period this coming year, which will determine much about our future. 5781 will bring much to us.
Will you continue building the foundation stone, so that way into the future, there will be a future on which that stone stands? It doesn't come from despair, as much as we all sink into it. We need the strength and courage that our tradition brings to us. We need to ask from help from the power in the universe - whatever name you call it. We need to appreciate and accept our vulnerability because we stand on this foundation stone. We are created in the image of the holy one, an the holy one created light, and we create light in the midst of darkness.
For this you created. Don't despair and don't give in. Strengthen your foundation stone. Think everyday: what am I doing that will make my foundation stone even stronger so that others are strengthened by it, so that others can stand with me on it?
On November 3rd, there will be a big election in our country. I am proud of those in our community who are making sure everyone is registered to vote and will vote. Go to CBST's website and see the section that says CBST Votes. It's non-partisan.
We have to come together. We have to be hopeful. It's about more than one election - it's about a lifetime that will unfold in front of us.
Be the reason people believe in the goodness of other people. Strengthen your foundation stone so that others can stand on it.
In 2017, three Israelis came up with the idea of using music to bring people together. They understood by watching people in football stadiums and big prayer gatherings - they saw an intense power and thought that maybe music can be a force for bringing people who are otherwise separated in one place.
That was in 2017, and in 2018, they brought together 3,000 Muslims, Christians, and Jews to sing the words of Matisyahu's, "One Day," because one day, the world will be different. One day, we will be able to see peace, not war. One day, there will be an end to hate. The question is: will you join with us and build the foundation stone, so that one day it will really be true?
A sweet and healthy and happy new year to everyone. May this be a year full of courage, and light, and love. Have courage, be strong. Shana Tova, Happy New Year. One Day.
(transcription by Sefaria team)