Our Ancestors Are Gathered in Us

Charlotte Jewish News September 2021

By Rabbi Rachel Smookler, The Ruach

A few months ago, I delivered a sermon on the Torah portion, Acharei Mot. Since this is also the Torah portion we read on Yom Kippur, I was reminded of it once again, when my Uncle passed away a few weeks ago. During my uncle’s funeral, the rabbi shared a beautiful quote by the Israeli poet Yehuda Amichai that sent my mind rushing back to my recent sermon on Acharei Mot. Here is the quote:

“When someone dies, they say of him, he is gathered to his ancestors. All the time that he lives, his ancestors are gathered in him, every single cell in his body and his soul representing one of tens of thousands of his ancestors since the beginning of all generations.”

I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels the presence of family, now long gone, especially during the Holy Days.

The title alone of the Torah portion we read on Yom Kippur, Acharei Mot, has helped me understand why we are instructed to read this Torah portion every year. Acharei Mot, as it is translated by most Torah scholars, means “after the death” referring to the verse in Leviticus which reads, “The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, who died when they drew too close to the Presence of the Lord.”

It wasn’t until recently, however, that I discovered something I had never thought of before, and it’s all because of my favorite Netflix show, “Shtisel.” “Shtisel” is a series that follows the life of Shulem Shtisel, the family patriarch and a principal at the local cheder, as well as those of the other members of his family. “Shtisel” is set in an Ultra-Orthodox neighborhood. The community follows strict Orthodox customs and violating the norms often causes chaos within the family.

You might not think at first that I, a progressive female rabbi, would be obsessed with such a show, but I am! The storylines and the issues that face the Shtisel family are the same as you would find in any family. One particular scene in the final episode of the latest season is what caused me to reevaluate my previous understanding of this Yom Kippur Torah portion. In this incredible scene, Shulem Shtisel has asked his younger brother, Nukhem, and his youngest son, Akiva, to sit down with him for one last drink before they both move out of his home. The camera zooms in on Shulem, who is trying to remember the author of a beautiful quote. The author, he finally remembers, is Isaac Bashevis Singer. The quote that Shulem is trying to impart goes like this: “The dead don’t go anywhere ... Every man is a cemetery — an actual cemetery, in whom lie all our grandmothers and grandfathers, the father, the mother, the wife, the child. Everyone is here all the time.” Now, the camera slowly pulls back and we see all of the deceased characters around the table: Shulem’s and Nukhem’s mother and wife, Akiva’s late wife, and children frolicking around the table just as if it were a regular Shabbat dinner.

When I heard the quote the rabbi shared at my uncle’s funeral, I realized how nearly identical these ideas are.

“All the time that we live, our ancestors are gathered in us.”

When I went back to this Torah portion, with this scene on my mind, I realized a few things that I hadn’t ever considered. Whereas Acharei mot is translated as “after the death,” upon closer inspection, it reads simply: after death, which takes us away from just thinking about Aaron’s two sons who died, and closer to the concept of life after death in general. When I heard Shulem Shtisel share Isaac Bashevis Singer’s quote, it gave me the ultimate comfort. Perhaps, knowing that the dead are always with us is something Aaron already believed, and it is what allows Aaron to have the strength to officiate the Yom Kippur rituals so soon after his sons died. This yontif, may we all feel the presence of our loved ones who have departed this world but not our lives. Shana Tovah.