30
Federation Star
COMMENTARY
April 2021
Observing sacred milestones Rabbi Mark Wm. Gross
A
generation ago, Carly Simon’s song, “Anticipation,” was used in a commercial promoting a major brand of ketchup (or catsup — your choice), with the implied message that the condiment was so rich and thick that “it is keepin’ me waitin’” to come out of the bottle. This year, no one had to wait for the Jewish holidays — the spring festival of Passover kicked off while it was still March and Purim fell back into February. Purely in administrative terms, that phenomenon is a simple consequence of
the disparity between the lunar months of the Jewish calendar and the length of the solar year. But in psychological terms, it feels as if, after almost a year of pandemicinduced social distancing, cabin fever has promoted a kind of “progressive Judaism” inclining us to “lead off ” on our yom-tovim. However, the spiritual reality is that Judaism has always been about progression, process and anticipation. That has been the case ever since the birth of our fabulously ancient people through the Exodus from Egypt. We sacrificed a sheep at sundown on the night of the full moon of Nissan to put its blood on the lintel and doorposts of our houses — but, tellingly, we had been instructed to set the animal aside and guard it closely for five days beforehand. Counting down and looking forward has been part of Jewish life ever since.
That is reflected in our calendar and in its associated synagogue ritual. Shabbat Sh’qalim (which we at JCMI celebrate annually as Federation Sabbath) marks the start of an almost seven-week run-up to Passover. The Feast of Unleavened Bread, in turn, inaugurates the ceremonial 50-day spring s’firah (“countdown”) culminating in Shavuot, the Feast of the Giving of the Torah, when we made the enduring Covenant for which we had left Egypt in the first place. Conditioned by that kind of sequential thinking, we mark the bleak threeweek summer s’firah between the 17th of Tammuz and the 9th of Av, as a somber alignment with long-ago tragedies for our people. But shortly afterwards, we also mark the month-long S’lichot penitential season during Elul, as a purificatory prologue to Rosh haShanah, representing the
promise of healing and renewal for the individual person. That kind of counterpoint emphasizes an important spiritual lesson: no one Jewish holiday, however popular or esoteric it may be, exists in a vacuum. All are sacred milestones in the year, pointing us forward along an archipelago of equally sacred moments as part of a larger and higher purpose of which they, and we, are all a part. So, it matters less when the holiday is observed, than it does that it is observed … by all of us … in sacred unity … with sacred purpose … and in sacred and joyous anticipation of whatever is coming next. Go ahead and anticipate, because whatever it is, it’s going to be worth waiting for. Rabbi Mark Wm. Gross serves at Jewish Congregation of Marco Island.
“Have you asked a good question today?” Rabbi Adam F. Miller
S
itting around our Seder table, my eyes fell on one of my favorite stories added into the Haggadah
we use, “A Different Night,” just opposite the Four Questions. When Isidor Rabi turned 5, his parents sent him off to attend school for the first time. On the first day of school, Izzy was so excited that he woke up early, rushing to dress and leave for school. On his way out the door, his mother kissed him goodbye and said she would see him after school.
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Izzy nearly ran home that first day, so excited by the people he met and the friends he made. His mom greeted him and said, “So, nu, Izzy, did you ask a good question today?” Izzy paused, realizing that, in all of his excitement, he could not remember having asked a single question. Seeing his hesitation, his mother said, “Tomorrow, I want you to ask a good question.” The next day, they were learning about fruit. Izzy raised his hand, “Why do apples have stems?” Surprised by the question, the teacher explained that apples come from trees. When Izzy got home, his mom greeted him and said, “So, nu, Izzy, did you ask a good question today?” Izzy repeated his question and his teacher’s answer. His mother smiled and nodded while she listened. Each day Izzy came home, his mom asked whether he posed a good question. Several years went by and finally, Izzy decided to ask his mom a question, “Why do you always ask me if I asked a good question?” She replied, “I wondered when you were going to ask that one. I want to make sure that you learn as much as you can. When you ask a good question, it means that you are not only listening, but you are thinking about what you are learning.” Izzy’s mother’s zest for learning through questions made a significant impact on him. He kept asking questions throughout his life and was eventually recognized
with the Nobel Prize in Physics for his work in nuclear magnetic resonance, the groundwork for the MRI of today, as well as the modern microwave. The authors of the Haggadah used Izzy’s story to emphasize that Passover is a time for questions. Yet, the message of asking questions goes well beyond our Seder table. Questions serve an invaluable role in our lives. A good question seeks to learn something we don’t yet know. Over the course of this last year, our questions helped us navigate the fluid situation of the pandemic as we asked, “What is safe to do in COVID-19? How does the virus spread? When will the vaccine arrive? Where can I find toilet paper or yeast?” More than a source for gathering information, questions also help us appreciate life. When we ask questions, we take notice of what is happening, and gain a renewed sense of mindfulness. We are conscious of the blessings around us. In this time of COVID-19, reaching out to ask how others are doing also strengthens our sense of community. While Passover is drawing to a close, take your questions beyond the confines of the Seder table. Be like Izzy and employ questions to explore the world around you. You never know what you might learn, what connections you will create or where the answers may take you. Nu, have you asked a good question today? Rabbi Adam F. Miller serves at Temple Shalom.
Read the 2021 edition of Connections online at jewishnaples.org/connections
