Rabbi David's Yom Kippur Sermon
Today we come to the synagogue for different reasons. We come to face both G-D and ourselves, our adversities, our hopes. Some are here to be with fellow Jews, to be inspired by the profound melodies.
Some of us struggle to understand, to make sense of unresolved issues of family concerns. Some struggle to keep the faith in the face of serious adversities or painful personal issues.
For the most part, we carry our pain silently. Rabbi Nachman of Breslov used to say: “Nothing is as whole as a broken heart and nothing shouts louder than silence. “
At times we struggle to carry the weight of uncertainty, of doubts, when our belief, our emuna, becomes questionable, unclear, when we don't see the light at the end of the tunnel,
Welcome to the Jewish faith experience.
Our struggle with doubt in our religious beliefs or with G-D, himself, is not a flaw. It is the heart of Jewish faith. Indeed, Jewish philosophy is unique when it comes to faith. Doubts and questioning cleans the soul. It makes for a stronger faith. It builds it up.
The Torah heroes are not flawless with blind faith. Biblical heroes often struggle with doubts, even questioning faith. Avraham argues with G-D over the city Sodom. He challenges G-D saying, “Shall the Judge of all the earth not act justly?” His faith is the courage to question G-D. He struggles to understand the mysterious ways of G-D’s justice. Will the G-D of mercy destroy an entire city full of people?
Moses, at the age of 75, doubts G-D’s reasoning for sending him to free the slaves: Moses says: “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?” Moses is filled with uncertainty. Despite being chosen by G-D he struggles with G-D’a decisions. Yet, he does exactly as he istold. For the next 40 years, his doubt turns into an unwavering faith in G-D.
David, cries out: “Why, O Lord, do You stand far away?”—and in the next breath declares: “But I trust in Your kindness.”
Doubting faith in G-D has been a part of our Jewish experience for millennia. It is part of our personal modern world. For Jewish people doubting and questioning G-D is not the opposite of faith. For us doubting and questioning is in the fabric of our faith.
When Jacob wrestles all night with the angelhe is given a new name: Yisrael, “One who struggles with G-D.” That is what our faith is all about. We, the great descendants of Jacob are G-D’s wrestlers as well. For us, to be Jewish is not to have simple answers.
We define our relationship with the All Mighty through life’s uncertainties and challenges. That is what enhances our faith. Our faith, our emuna is not a simple straight line of unwavering trust.
Imagine the path to faith as a stretched line that may go nicely and straight for a while, then turns sideways, then may even go backwards, then another sideways turn, then finally stretches straight again.Imagine seeing the straight line that finally emerges as much brighter and profound. This is faith enhanced
At times some people feel darkness all around with no end in sight. But darkness is not the absence of Light. It is Light hidden.There is a Chassidic saying: “ The light of faith penetrates best through the wounds of the soul.”
Therefore, questioning and struggling with uncertainties soothes the soul and builds a stronger faith.
Moreover, substantive doubts and questioning have always been welcomed in our most sacred literature. Even when our Jewish core beliefs are being challenged.
Talmudic scholars embraced meaningful arguments and uncertainties as a path to a stronger faith. The Talmud itself is about uncertainties. It is based on different valid opinions, sometimes completely opposite points of views for the same legal challenge.
The rabbis preserved all opinions, because they considered every voice as important and mattered, every doubt carried wisdom. They went as far as saying: ”Doubt in faith engages us with holiness and godliness even when our questions get no answers.
This does sound paradoxical. The idea that faith gets stronger with lack of answers, and understanding is indeed strange. The irony is that this paradox is the core, The essence of the Jewish faith.
Nothing demonstrates it clearer than the story of the binding of Isaac. All his life Abraham saw G-D as unique among all the idols and pagan gods around him. Hiis G-D was a true, living, compassionate G-D who cares much about people, and a G-D of justice and love.
As he takes his son Isaac to Mount Moria to slaughter him, his entire body is torn apart from agony, from the shock of what he is about to do to his beloved son. He does not understand any of it. Offering his son as a sacrifice made no sense at all, not for the compassionate G-D he knew all of his life. Somehow, deep in his heart he knew that G-D does not change his ways. He is always compassionate and merciful and therefore there must be some mysterious plan for all this beyond his lack of understanding. Abraham trusted G-D com pletely. That meant having a strong inner feeling that somehow the slaughtering will not happen.
We, like Abraham, understand and realize that we are G-D creatures with human spiritual limitations.
Faith in G-D when it is beyond our ability to comprehend some of our life’s experiences makes for enhanced faith, enough to settle the soul and stir it to a stronger faith
Rabbi Nachman of Breslov taught: “Faith without questions is no faith at all.”
Rabbi Heshel, a great rabbi of the 20th century said that, “Faith is uncertainty, it is the courage to live with doubts, with unanswered challenges, with what we cannot comprehend.”
In modern times the Holocaust is considered the ultimate challenge for the Jewish faith. For many Jews the Holocaust created the greatest doubt in religion. Where was God? How can we believe after such darkness?
Some, like Elie Wiesel, spoke of silence, of the greatest doubt. Yet he and his fellow prisoners kept the Jewish tradition as much as they could. They never stopped praying. Elie Wiesel explained that keeping whatever traditions they could despite all the death and atrocities around them, gave them hope and spiritual strength.
Jewish faith has never been about easy answers. It has always been about holding onto G-D even when the questions are overwhelming.So on this Yom Kippur, let us gather all our doubts, all uncertainties, all personal adversities and merge them all into a strong unwavering faith. My prayer is that our faith will give all of us, G-D wrestlers, our brothers and sisters wherever they are a neverending hope and strength.G’mar Chatimah Tovah—may we all be sealed for life, blessings, and peace.
Rabbi David
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