October 7th… that terrible tragic day. The day that has forever changed the arc of Jewish history. it has completely dominated our thoughts, our emotions and our conversations…My friends, I have been grappling with this moment for the last few months. What to talk about on the first day of Rosh HaShana? On the one hand, by far, the most life changing, history changing event happened this past year. But on the other hand, its all we have been speaking about all year. What speech can I possibly give that I havent yet given? But yet…how can I not?
Over the course of the weeks and months I’ve been mulling this question and while there are many lessons, I would like to share two of the most central. Today I will share one message and tomorrow another.
Recently I read a story that I think speaks directly to us and this issue.. Allow me to please share it with you. On August 11, 2022, a driver of an Egged bus pulled over to the side of the road and put his bus in park; he wanted to check out something in his bus. However, for some reason, the brake didn’t hold. Tragedy ensued, as the bus rolled off on its own, swerving into a storefront. Mrs. Shoshana Glustein and two of her daughters were killed in the crash, and others were injured. One young woman, twenty-one years old and married just six months, was crushed under the weight of the bus. For weeks, the newlywed girl, Batsheva, fought for her life, slipping in and out of consciousness. During the entire time, her husband, Chaim, sat by her bedside. Until one day, she opened her eyes. It had been such a long journey, but now she was alive — and she was going to live. Soon after she woke up, Batsheva looked down at her legs and realized what had happened. In an effort to save her life, the doctors were forced to amputate her feet. Batsheva, who had her entire life ahead of her, now had to face the reality that she would never walk on her own two feet again.
Despite the tragedy she and Chaim, worked their hardest to embrace the challenge and to grow from it. One conversation, which took place shortly after Batsheva emerged from the coma, captures the essence of who they are. Batsheva asked her husband a question. Tell me the truth. If you would have known beforehand that this was going to happen to me, would you have married me anyway?” Chaim, a young avreich, didn’t want to pay mere lip service. His wife had a real question, and he wanted to give her a real answer. This is not a question for which he had been prepped in school, not a question whose answer can be looked up in a sefer. The response had to come from deep inside his heart, and it did. This is what he said. “If someone would have asked me when I was single, Would you be willing to meet a girl with no feet?’ then, in all honesty, I would have said no. There’s no reason in the world that I would have chosen a wife who cannot walk on her own two feet. “But there’s a big difference here. Had this happened before our chasunah, then it would have happened to you. However, after the wedding, it happened to us,” Chaim continued, “and it happened to me. “Beforehand, our marriage was an ordinary marriage. It was no different from anyone else’s. But now, now that this happened to us, ani koreit itach brit chadashah, I am sealing a new bond with you, entering into a new marriage with you, one in which we will have a special and unique connection.”
My friends, this story is the mission for the Jewish People in 5785. Our leg has been amputated. We lost 1200 of our most beautiful, special, brothers and sisters on Oct. 7th. We have lost hundreds of brave heroic chayalim. In turn there are thousands of widows and orphans. We have lost a limb. Klal Yisrael has lost a limb. Many limbs. Literally and metaphorically. And now we need a bris chadasha- a new covenant A renewed, rejuvenated, reinvigorated approach to our Jewish lives. . A renewed mission as a people.
Indeed my friends- this is the meaning of Rosh HaShana itself. You see there is a famous question- what happened on Rosh HaShana. On Pesach the Jewish experienced the Exodus, on Shavuos we got the Torah, On the 17th of Tammuz, Moshe broke the Tablets with the sin of the Golden Calf, On ROsh Chodesh Elul Moshe went back up the mountain to appeal to G-d for forgiveness and on Yom Kippur G-d forgave the Jews for the sin of the Golden Calf and he came down with the second set of tablets. The whole Jewish calendar is the story of the The Jewish People’s sojourn, its trials and tribulations ,its peaks and valleys during the first year of the desert. With one exception. Rosh HaShana seems to have nothing to do with the Jewish in the Exodus. It is the anniversary of the the creation of the world. So how can we interrupt the very specific calendar holiday cycle of the year with the extraneous Rosh HaShana? The answer is because, as the Ramban explains, the second set of Tablets represented a Bris Chadasha- a new covenant with G-d. After the sin of the Golden Calf, the original covenant was in tatters. That is why Moshe brooke them> The whole purpose of this tie of year was to create a new covenant with G-d and to do that we need to look at the original moment of creation which was Rosh HaShana.
But my friends, what does a new covenant mean? What does a new covenant look like? What does a Jewish renewal look like? And as we think about this question I think we must be very cautious. Because on the one hand there is a tendency to think very defensively about our Jewish identities. After all, we witness teh rise of anti-Smeitsim on campus across America, the need to fortify and upgrade our security. Indeed in the aftermath of the Holocaust, another turning point in Jewish history, there was a similar impulse. The result? Terrible assimilation. Children brought up that are guilted into being Jewish solely because of anti-Smeitism don’t have a strong Jewish identity. It falls apart when the pangs of guilt or the immediacy of the tragedy dissipate. Because at the end of the day We are not Jewish to fight anti-Semitsim, we fight anti-Smietims so we can be Jewish. A Jewish identity forged in response to anti-Smeitsim is destined to fail.
So what is a Bris Chadasha? A renewed Judaism? And… What does it look like? It means to do what Chaim and Batsheva did. To take a new look at what Judaism should look like in the new circumstances we are in. That a post October 7th Judaism, cannot look like a pre-october 7th Judaism. It means that if we have been remiss or compacent in certain areas of our Jewish life to inject new energy into our growth. If we have been remiss or apathetic about certain aspects of our Jewish life, if we have made excuses about the way we live, then we now must create something new, special and unique.
- So what does an a positive Jewish renewal look like? It looks like Sara Cohen who has four little children. Erev Shabbos was always hectic and stressful. Since October 7th she has invested more time trying to make her Shabbos beautiful. Her table is now set Thursday night. Her house is cleaned earlier on Friday. She brings in Shabbos a few minutes early. And as she lights thet Shabbos candles that symbolize Shalom, she offers sincere prayers for the peace, Shalom and welfare of the Jewish Peopel. As a result her Shabbos is a completely different Shabbos. Thats what a Jewish renewal looks like!
- A Jewish renewal looks like Noah Simon. Noah is one of 50 Jewish kids from his high school of 1500 in Plano Texas. SInce October 7th Noah has been wearing tzitzit and a kippah to school and even began keeping Kosher! Showing his Jewish Pride has been a crucial part of his response to that tragic day! Thats what a bris chadasha looks like!
- A Jewish renewal looks like Jonathan Miller. Jonathan has a very busy work schedule for his law firm in Manhattan and gets up early to be the traffic to his hour commute. SInce October 7th Jonathan has prioritized coming to Shul to daven Shachris and even learning a little before davening in the merit of the safe return of the hostages ! Thats what a bris chadasha looks like!
- A Jewish renwal looks like Viva Hamme who was struggling with what to do beyond scrolling through her phone, going to rallies and donating money. She got a message that the was a school in Sydney Australia that needed a Torah teacher. In the aftermath of October 7th she decided to answer the call. She flew to Australia to give her model lesson. She spent the next few months preparing in libraries in Jerusalem. And she moved to Sydney to teach Jewish children Now she teaches them parsha and halakha. She also teaches them about the Jewish holidays. About the miracle of Purim and the Exodus from Egypt and the victory of Chanuka against the Greeks and the Roman destruction of Jerusalem. She says: Teaching children Torah. That is my task and the task of Jews. That is my answer to October 7th. That my friends is a Bris Chadasha.
And this is on a personal individual level. But this applies not only to us as individuals but a collective nation as well.
- A Jewish renewal looks like taking the fight to our enemy with fearlessness and force. It looks like exploding beepers and walkie talkies in the hands and pockets of murderers. Like brazenly eliminating the heads of Hezbollah with massive airstrikes! Or the heads of Hamas in their hotel rooms in a secure diplomatic compound in Iran! Thats a bris chadasha!
- A Jewish renewal looks like refusing the worlds “advice” that we need to de-escalate with our sworn enemies who seek to destroy us. On the contrary, now is the time to escalate. To take the fight to them. To strongly and proudly declare that Israel will not remain on the defense and no threat to its citizenry with go unanswered! Thats a Bris Chadasha!
- A Jewish renewal looks like an awakening of Jews across this country. Jews who for too long complacently accepted that going with the flow is good enough. Now is the time to say enough. We refuse to assimilate! We refuse to melt into our host country! We refuse to just take anti-semitsim on the chin! We will stand up tall, with our heads held high, proud, practicing Jews! Wearing our Yarmulkes, Jewish stars, displaying our flags, speaking about our Torah and traditions, always engaging deeper and great! That is a Bris Chadasha.
Before we proceed to Mussaf- want to conclude with an incredible story. There is an incredible story with Rav Yitzchak Dovid Grossman who created an incredible organization called Migdal HaEmek. KNown as the Disco rabbi with unbelievable Ahavas Yisrael. He was called this because he would go into Discotheques to bring kids back to HJudaism. He did this with his long back coat payos, beard and glowings smile. In 1972 Rabbi Grossman had created a Kiruv school and he had only 18 students. He had one kid in the class from a secular part of Teveriah that was the most brilliant but he came from a totally dysfunctional home.His parents were crazy and the kid had alot of problems at home but the kid was very bright. And one day after he was in the school for 3 or 4 weeks he comes into the office of Rabbi Grossman and the boys name was Yossie Gigi. And Rabbi Grossman tells Yossie what are you doing in my office? Is everything ok? He said Rabbi Im leaving Im going back to Teveriah. He said what are you doing leaving? You’re doing so well in the class? Youse studying so well? Youre doing mitzvot. He said rabbi Torah and Judaism is too difficult. There’s too many rules. And I don’t understand the Gemar Im getting out of here. SO Rabbi Grossman goes youre coming to say goodbye? And Rabbi Grossman says Im coming to say good band something else. He says I dont have money for the bus. You got some money fo rme? He said youre leaving the school, you want me to wish you well and you want me to pay for it? He said yeah rabbi. I know that youre a nice person. SO Im asking you for the money. So Rabbi Grossman said I will kiss you. I will hug. I will wish you well. And I will give you the money for you to go back to Teveria. But I want you to thik about this. It takes twenty minutes for you to walk from this school to the bus station. In teh next twenty minutes you are going to make a decion and that decision will determine who your wife will be what your children will look like and what you are going to look like in this world and the next world and what your children and grandchildrena are going to look like. Heres the money. Im giving you a kiss. Go and have hatzlacha. But just remember the decision you make in the next twenty minutes is going change your life and determine what your going to be like. And he gave him a kiss, He gave him the money and an hour later he came back. An hour later he came back. Rabbi Grossman said what are you doing here?” He said Rebbe I was thinking about what you said and I decided to stay. He had twenty minutes to make one decision. And that decision changed his life. That’s what we need to learn today. To know that sometimes you have to make a decision to change your life and that can change the life of other people.
Friends, if the last year hasn’t changed your life already, we must make a decision right here right now, in the next twenty minutes that it will. We have had a whole year. Enough is enough. Now is the time for our personal and collective Jewish Renewal.