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Tag Archive for: יוֹם רִאשׁוֹן שֶׁל רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה

Yom Rishon shel Rosh HaShanah 5784 – יוֹם רִאשׁוֹן שֶׁל רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה (1st Day of the New Year)

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This Week’s Torah Portion: Yom Rishon shel Rosh HaShanah 5784 – יוֹם רִאשׁוֹן שֶׁל רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה (1st Day of the New Year)

The Lamb is always there if we will but lift our eyes.

Tonight is Rosh Hashanah and the beginning of a new year, 5784. We joyously welcome this new year together as a holy community. My favorite part of Rosh Hashanah is hearing the sound of the Shofar. There is nothing quite like that soul-stirring blast. It raises the hair on my arms, makes my heart beat just a bit faster, and calls me to something ancient and almost unknowable.

One of the more difficult parts of Rosh Hashanah is our reading of the Akedah, The Sacrifice of Isaac. This story is a part of Parashat Vayera,  a parsha filled with angels, destruction, drama, and miracles.

The story of Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac completes this Parsah, and it is a thrilling and terrible tale. Who could conceive of sacrificing their child to demonstrate their faith in God? What meaning are we to take away from this horrific tale?

And Abraham raised his eyes and saw–behold, a ram!–afterwards, caught in the bushes by its thorns; so Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up instead of his son.

The Rabbis of Pirkei Avot, The Ethics of the Fathers list this ram as a part of a classification of creations that stand outside of time or reason. Midrash suggests that the true miracle is not the ram, but what Abraham does at the sight of the ram. Abraham “lifts his eyes and saw…” Abraham had to redirect not only his hand–away from his son–but also his perception–away from the idea that God really demanded such an awful sacrifice. In a moment of terror and inescapable dread, the miracle is that Abraham is able to undergo a change of spiritual understanding just in time and see alternatives just at the moment he is most “caught by the horns” in a horrible situation.

In this reading, the midrash from Pirkei Avot is about our potential to grow in understanding and insight, finding miracles to be grateful for even under dire circumstances. The ability to see the ram- i.e., to perceive the better choice–can be understood as the deeper yet more everyday kind of miracle.

What are the hidden miracles you now perceive as you look back on 5783? What will you do differently this year, so that you might perceive other miracles beneath seemingly difficult circumstances?

Shanah Tovah u’Metukah, may you have a Good and Sweet New Year!

Parsha Yom Rishon shel Rosh Hashanah Summary:

Rosh Hashanah Morning, Day 1 (Genesis 21) (Many Reform congregations omit this portion, and read Genesis 22 on Rosh Hashanah, Day 1.) Sarah, who has longed for a child for many years, conceives a child with Abraham and gives birth to Isaac, meaning “one who laughs.” Isaac’s birth fulfills Gods promise that they will bear a son who will grow to be a generation. As Isaac grows into his boyhood, Sarah is conflicted by the presence of her servant Hagar and her son Ishmael that she conceived with Abraham and Hagar is banished from the home. God visits Hagar in the wilderness her, promises that Ishmael will also grow into a great nation, and tenderly provides water for the mother and son. Ishmael grows to adulthood and is married. This portion is a reminder that God’s promises are kept, and God’s compassion extends beyond the tents of our people. Rosh Hashanah Morning, Day 2 (Genesis 22) (Many Reform congregations read this portion on Rosh Hashanah, Day 1.) This portion is commonly known as The Akeidah, or “the binding.” In these terse and tense verses, the subject matter touches upon God, the nature of faith, and the demands faith may make of us. God calls upon Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac as a supreme test of faith. Abraham, God’s loyal servant, agrees. Just as Abraham is about to offer his son up as a sacrifice, an angel calls out to him, instructing him not to harm the boy, and Abraham sacrifices a ram in place of his son. For the ancient reader this may have served as a rejection of human sacrifice, a practice of ancient Israel’s neighbors. For the modern reader, perhaps one is called upon to consider one’s own tests and sacrifices. The haftarah (1 Samuel 1:1-2:10) Tells the story how Hannah prayed to God for a child, and how her prayer was answered with subsequent birth of Samuel. Yom Rishon shel Rosh HaShanah 5784 – יוֹם רִאשׁוֹן שֶׁל רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה (1st Day of the New Year)