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Yom Kippur Pre-Yizkur 5769 Good Yom Tov One day G-d was looking down at earth and was a bit disappointed with what he saw... So he decided to send an angel down to check things out. When the angel returned, he told G-d that it really was not a great situation…. He said, “it looks like 95% of the people are not quite where they should; and maybe only 5% are really good”…. G-d thought about this for a moment and decided he’d better send down another angel to get a second opinion… the second angel returned and confirmed what the other one said: earth was definitely in decline, 99% needed a lot of improvement and only 1% were right where they should be… In thinking about what to do about the situation, G-d decided to send an e-mail to the 1% that were really doing well – with a little pep-talk, you know, to thank them – to give them some praise, some encouragement… to keep them going. Do you know what that e-mail said?............................. Anyone know what it said? I guess you didn’t get one either… First and foremost, chag sameach, shanah tovah and welcome to yom kippur services… i hope you’re all comfortable – enjoying the services and having an easy fast… Yom kippur is a day of prayer, a day of atonement, a day of holiness. During these 25 hours, we abstain from our most basic physical pleasures and needs so as to be less in touch with our physical bodies and more in touch with our spiritual souls. And so, while it’s true that all year round, whenever we stand before g-d in prayer, we’re said to be “imitating the angels” in their service before G-d… this is all the more true of our service on the day of Yom Kippur. Today, as we are without food and drink, we’re a little less like human beings… and a little more like the heavenly envoys of G-d’s Will… There’s a strange episode related in the book of Daniel whereby the prophet Daniel ha this very intense vision of an awesome being with a fearsome presence and a powerful voice. Daniel said, “I saw this vision, but the people who were with me did not see it - still they were overcome with tremendous fear and trepidation… in fact, they were in such fear that they ran into hiding.” Who were these people that were with him? The Talmud tells us that it was the prophets Chaggai, Zechariah and Malachi. So the obvious question is: If those three did not see the vision, why were they frightened?... Why did they “run for the hills”?... The Talmud answers… even though they did not see it, their representative angels did see it”… rashi then explains that every person has an angel that represents him in heaven (his spiritual counterpart, if you will)… We all have our very own special and exclusive representative angel up there… and that’s why if you ever have a certain inexplicable fear… or a certain intuition and it turns out to be well-founded… it may be that your representative angel, saw something that you could not see, and whispered it into your soul… To take it a step further… we’re taught in (pirkey avos) ethics of our fathers: “ha-oseh mitzvah achas… he who fulfills one mitzvah acquires for himself an advocate”… that for every single mitzvah.. – every torah precept and good deed we perform… we create “an angel” on our behalf… and those angels, once created, are always there for us… always there to protect us and to advocate for us… to plead our case before g-d during our physical lifetime as well as when our soul return to our maker… So folks… do you believe in angels?... Do you think they’re really out there?... What is your concept of angels?.. Other than on tv, have you ever seen an angel?... If you did, did he or she have fluffy white wings?... Did he look like michael landon or warren beatty (oy gevald!)… della reese? The talmud tells us that on friday night… two angels accompany each person as he returns home from shul… and when these angels enter the home, and find a table set for shabbos… with shabbos candles and challah… they bless the home and all of its inhabitants… it is in the glow of this blessing that we gather around and sing a song of gratitude back to the angels we sing: “sholom aleichem… peace upon you, o ministering angels...” So, do you see the angels at your shabbos table?... Do you see angels?... We know, of course, that our torah is replete with accounts of where angels played major roles in biblical events… adam and eve encountered an angel who blocked the gate to the garden of eden… haggar and yishmael met an angel in the desert who saved their lives…. Abraham met three angels when he was sitting outside his tent in the heat of the day… jacob wrestled with an angel and prevailed – thus earning the name israel… the name by which our nation would be known for all time to come… joshua, isaiah, ezekiel, daniel, each saw angels… So “angels” are a very real and central phenomenon in judaism… how do they appear?.... What do they look like?... Well, sometimes they’re completely invisible.. They’re there doing their thing, even though we can’t see them… and sometimes they show up in physical human forms... … they look like you and me, but they’re really angels - in disguise… For example, there’s an episode in the torah where joseph goes out to look for his brothers… apparently, they are not where they’re supposed to be… joseph is about to give up and go home when “vayimtza-aihu ish”, he meets this mysterious stranger who tells him where his brothers are… when you read about this encounter with the stranger, it seems rather insignificant – almost pointless… But… listen closely… if that mysterious stranger had not pointed joseph in the right direction… he would not have found his brothers and they would not have sold him into slavery!… and if they had not sold him into slavery, he would not have risen to become the viceroy of egypt!… and if he would not have risen to become the viceroy of egypt, he would never have been reunited with his brothers!… and if he had not been reunited with his brothers, they would never have gone down to egypt!…. And if they had not gone to egypt, there would have been no exile, no moses, no exodus, no mount sinai – no jewish nation….. All of jewish history and jewish destiny would have been totally different – were it not for the encounter with that mysterious stranger… So… who was that stranger? What was his name?... I don’t know…. Was he a human being or was he an angel?.. i don’t know… we’re never told…… in fact, perhaps the purpose of this scene in the torah is to teach us something about the “random occurrences” or “chance meetings” in our lives… that sometimes we meet angels in disguise… angels who are there to help us, to guide us, to transform us… or to bless us… and we don’t necessarily realize or appreciate who they are at the time… In april of 1944, the nazis entered the once-vibrant city of munkatch to round up all of the jews and place them into ghettos… they were forced into the boxcars en route to auschwitz… among those on board for that ill-fated journey was a 17 year old boy named shlome zalman… It was the middle of the night when the train arrived at that horrible place… the hundreds of men, women and children were herded off the train and told to stand on that infamous line… shlome zalman had no clue as to where he was and why he was there… and what the actions of the man standing at the head of the line pointing left and right signified… he was too shell-shocked from the harrowing and suffocating journey to know or to care… the smell, the smoke, the shouts… it was all too unreal… Suddenly from out of the darkness… a skeleton of a man – dressed in a striped uniform emerged and came toward him… the man grabbed him by his arms and whispered to him in yiddish with a heavy polish accent… “in what year were you born?” “i was born in 1927,” the boy replied. “no you were not!” The man said. “you were born in 1925, remember that... Now tell me, in what year were you born?” “i was born in 1925.” “good”…. And with that, the man disappeared back into the shadows of hell… When the boy came to the front of the line, he was asked; “In what year were you born?”… “1925” was his reply… he was motioned to the right… it was only later that he would discover that 18 was the cut-off point that night between labor and the gas chambers… This boy, shlome zalman, would survive auschwitz and two other camps… he lives today in los angeles… his name is Sol Teichman – businessman, philanthropist, father and grandfather… today there are many educational centers, shuls that bear his name… there is a jewish day school with close to 1,000 students called the Teichman Family Torah Center… Hardly a day goes by that Sol Teichman doesn’t think about that 5-second encounter with the man at the selection line… the man who stepped out from behind his own sorrow and misery to save him from certain death… he had never seen him before and has not seen him since… who was he?... Was he “an angel disguised as a human being?... Or maybe he was something else?… maybe he was simply a human being -- disguised as an angel… a human being of flesh and blood playing the role of a divine agent of goodness -- to save another life?… My friends, this is what i want to talk to you about today… the human beings who transcend their own selves and come to us as angels… Elie wiesel – the famous author, once finished giving a lecture in a certain city when he was approached by one of the members of the audience… “i’m sure you are asked this question all the time,” the woman said… “and i know it’s a long-shot… but being that you were in buchenwald during the time period you mentioned in your talk… i was wondering if you might have known my father who happened to have been there at the same time?” When the woman mentioned her father’s name, tears came to the author’s eyes and he got all choked up… “did i know your father?... Do i remember your father?... Not only were we in the same camp at the same time, we were in the same barracks… now let me tell you about your father… “when i was at buchenwald, i was at the end… i just wanted it over already… what could there possibly be left to live for?... Like many, i contemplated suicide... The difference between the others and me, however, was that i had gotten a hold of some poison… i had in my hands the power to bring the suffering to an end … i still remember the day… i came into the bunk to lie down and ingest my ‘magic potion’ that would finally bring me peace… “when i came into the bunk, your father was there…and he was doing what he always did… he was singing… he had such a sweet voice and he loved to sing... On this day, he was singing a song i remembered from back home… a different place, a different world… even in those putrid barracks, his voice was so piercing – so moving, so alive… i challenged him, ‘how can you sing in a place like this?’ “your father turned to me and said, ‘eli, all i have is my song… and this they cannot take away from me unless we let them… he then resumed his singing, and in his beautiful voice, i heard the music of the angels… his song was his resistance, and i made it my own… i am alive today because of your father’s resistance…” My friends, the human beings who come to us as angels… they’re there for us when we need them most… on this holy day of yom kippur… i would like for all of us to take a few moments to think about the angels in our lives and in the lives of those we love… we all have them… Who are the angels in your life?... Think about it…perhaps there is someone who stepped out from behind the shadows of his own world to rescue you… to heal you, to comfort you, to touch your soul?… perhaps a friend who would not allow you to sink to that lowest point of despair... There he or she was – with love and empathy -- providing that shoulder you so desperately needed to lean on?... Do you ever wonder whether he or she was an angel disguised as a human being… or a human being disguised as an angel? So who are the angels in your life? Perhaps your mother … whose unconditional love made you feel significant and secure… that no challenge would seem insurmountable?... Your father - whose patience, warmth, and wisdom… would help you make the right choices at every one of those agonizing crossroads?... A caring sister?.... A supportive brother?... Think about them. Think about those angels… A wise rabbi once told me… that the truth is that those magical “shabbos angels” - are not only with us on friday night… they’re actually with us all week long… it’s just that friday night is when we are finally able to see them – to really see them… he said, “do you know who the shabbos angels are?... They are your children… your wife, your husband… after a whole week of running and harrying… you’re finally able to open your eyes and see the angels in your life – radiant and relaxed… and very much present… And when you sing “sholom aleichem”, you’re not only blessing those heavenly angels whom you cannot see; you’re blessing the angels around your table that you can see… you sit together with your family – you talk, you smile, and your heart is filled with gratitude for the angels in your life… And so, on the day of yom kippur, when the celestial angels are said to sing louder than any other… let us think about the angels in our lives… to not only nod in their direction… but to let them into our hearts and souls during these moments and be so very thankful for the priceless gifts they’ve given to us… At the same time, we must ask ourselves another question: for whom do we serve as angels?... When a friend, a neighbor, a family member or even a complete stranger… desperately needs a lifeline, are we ready to step out from behind our own shadows… from under the weight of our own burdens and anxieties, ... To be the angel in their lives?.... How much of ourselves are we willing to give up… to change the course of somebody else’s life for the better?... Sometimes it’s the big things; sometimes it’s the little things… that 5 minute phone call you place to a friend who needs it… the commitment you make to volunteer for a worthy cause… that check you write for an extra $100 or $1000 or $10,000 to provide a jewish education for a child… You never know… i have been involved in the “people business” long enough to know… that you really never know just what a difference you can make… when you take that extra step to be an angel to others… King solomon writes: “shlach lachmecho al pnei hamoyim cast your bread upon the waters… for after many days, you will find it…” good deeds have a way of coming back to you… at one time or another, in one form or another… the good you’ve done for somebody else will always be there for you… for your children, and grandchildren… that’s just the nature of goodness… My friends, five minutes… five minutes of warmth, of genuine concern – some words of encouragement, some heartfelt advice… what does it take to create an angel?... Sometimes only five minutes and an open heart… and if you can do so much with five minutes… imagine what you could do with five years or five decades?... Every mitzvah creates an angel… when we give and share, we create angels of compassion… when we impart faith, we create angels of strength… when we laugh, we produce angels of laughter…. And those angels will always be there – to help, to guide, to protect, to advocate on our behalf… You know what the story of joseph meeting that stranger tells us?… it tells us that there really is no such a thing as “chance meetings”… “whenever two jews get together, something good has to come of it for a third”… events in our lives that appear to be random may indeed turn out to be nothing but random… but i suggest to you today that if we utilize our encounters as opportunities… opportunities to create angels – we can change our own lives… Did you ever wonder why it is that at the passover seder, we actually get up and open the door to “let eliyahu hanavi, Elijah the prophet into the house”?... You mean if i didn’t open the door, he wouldn’t be able to find his way in???... Can’t he come in through the keyhole?... Or down the chimney? (well, actually not that – somebody else has the rights to that one)… but seriously, if the soul of Elijah can somehow visit every seder throughout the whole world in one night… surely it can find a way to enter the house without an open door!… why this charade of “opening the door” for eliyahu hanavi?... I think the answer is if you want to bring Elijah’s message of g-d’s love into your home, you have to get up and open the door – let him in… if you really want to see the angels… you have to know how to open your eyes and look for them… We are about to recite the yizkor during which we will be welcoming the souls of parents and grandparents into this room… you may not be able to see them, but they will be here… they will be among us… open the door and let them in… open the door to your heart and listen… listen closely and perhaps you can hear them whispering to your soul… these are our loved ones who lived their lives and left their footprints upon this world… now they are with the angels… What is it that they want?... They want nachas from us… their neshomos, their souls, can guide us forward in our lives, they can inspire us, they can pray for us… they can even influence us… but what they cannot do is live for us… they cannot do our mitzvos for us… we have to make those footprints ourselves… May we be inspired to give them the right kind of nachas; to make them proud with that which truly lives on… the mitzvos that we do… the goodness we perpetuate among our fellow human beings… I would like to conclude with one final story… There was once a wealthy man who was a follower of the baal shem tov… this man had a fascination with eliyahu hanavi (the prophet Elijah)… he had heard that there were certain spiritual exercises one could do through which one could actually get to see eliyahu hanavi with one’s physical eyes… so he came to his rebbe, the baal shem tov, and asked for the program… "rebbe, i want to see Elijah the prophet…. Please help me do it"… The baal shem tov put him off, but the man persisted; he wouldn’t give up… for months he begged the tzadik to let him see eliyahu hanavi… he offered enormous sums of money, but the baal shem tov rebuffed him… Finally, a few days before passover, the baal shem tov told this man that he would give him the program – allow him to see eliyahu hanavi – on one condition: he’d have to carry out his instructions exactly as conveyed – without deviating one iota… the man readily agreed... “sure rebbe, i’ll do exactly as you say.” “okay,” said the baal shem, “this is what you do… take two boxes and fill one with enough food, wine and refreshments for many people… the other box you are to fill with children's clothing… then, on erev pesach travel to the city of minsk… on the outskirts of town, right before where the forest begins, there’s this dilapidated house... Find that house, and shortly before candle- lighting time at sunset, knock on the door and ask if they wouldn’t mind putting you up for the holiday." The man heard the instructions… he informed his family that being that he was about to see his life’s dream fulfilled, he would have to be away for the first days of yom tov… he then went and did exactly as the baal shem tov said…. He filled parcels with food and clothing and went to minsk, where he found the broken-down house at the edge of town… he knocked on the door. When the woman opened it, he asked if he could stay with them for the holiday. "how can i welcome you when i don't have any food in the house!?" she exclaimed… "well i happen to have some boxes here with me," he said, "i have enough food for all of us."… he came in, opened the box and, gave the children food to eat... Then he opened the other box and the children all took clothes for themselves – this one a shirt, that one a jacket, the other one a hat... He was there for two days, celebrating passover with this family, all the while waiting to see eliyahu hanavi… he did not even sleep... How could he sleep?... How often do you have a chance to see Elijah the prophet?.. But he saw no one…. Eliyahu did not appear to him… He returned to the baal shem tov and said, "rebbe, i was in that house for two days and did not see eliyahu hanavi as promised!"… "did you do everything i told you?" asked the baal shem tov…. "i did!" he said… "and you didn't see him?"…. "no, rebbe."…. "are you sure?" "yes, rebbe!... I didn't see him!" "in that case,” said the baal shem tov, “you'll have to return for the second days of the holiday… go back there with a box of food… again, be sure to arrive just before sunset, but this time don't knock immediately... Wait for a while and just stand in front of the door, listening." The man once again told his family that he’d have to be away for the second days as well… it was tough, but they all agreed that it was worth his being away this one holiday if he could finally get to see eliyahu hanavi… He went back to that house in minsk… he stood in front of the door, listening…. Inside he heard the children crying, "mommy, we're hungry! We haven't eaten the whole day!” … to which he heard the mother respond, "children!... Do you remember when you were crying before pesach that you had no food or clothes?.. And i told you that g-d would send Eliyahu Hanavi who'll bring you food and clothing and everything else you need!... Wasn't i right?... Didn't Eliyahu come and bring you food and clothing?... He even stayed with us for two days!... Well, i assure you that Eliyahu will come now, too, and bring you food!"… The chasid then understood what his rebbe, the baal shem tov had meant…. He knocked on the door… Ladies and gentlemen: if you want to see angels in your life, be an angel for somebody else…. Thank you and chag someach. |