In the chorus to the hit 1983 song “I’m Still Standing,” Elton John triumphantly announces to the world: “Don’t you know, I’m still standin’ better than I ever did?/ Lookin’ like a true survivor, feelin’ like a little kid/And I’m still standin’ after all this time/ Pickin’ up the pieces of my life without you on my mind.” There is a sense that despite all the trials and tribulations the famous musician had faced, he still had found a way to come out on top.
In a similar sentiment, this week’s Torah portion Nitzavim begins with the verse: “You stand today, all of you, before the Adonai your God.” Here, at the end of the Torah, after suffering through the indignity of hundreds of years of bondage, wandering the wilderness for decades, the People of Israel are still alive and well. Just the mere notion of a collective upright posture is a defiant act in itself.
After the year we have had in the Jewish world, the mere fact that we will be standing together during our High Holy Services should be celebrated. We have been through a lot. But we have come from a good stock, our ancestors having survived countless attacks and persecutions, expulsions and genocides. And, yet as we begin the new Jewish year, 5786, we are still standing. To a new sweet year ahead, and plenty of opportunities not only to stand, but to actually sit!
Shabbat Shalom and L’Shanah Tovah,
Rabbi Alex