Ever have an event that you absolutely have to be at? The singer is giving their final performance, the hit show is in town, your favorite sports team is in the championship game. You would do anything to get hold of tickets. But, everything is already sold out or too expensive. You will just have to watch from the outside, a pang of regret sounds in your soul. This is a pain you will hold on to for the rest of your life.
In the Torah, there is only one moment that could be that important – the day Moses came down from Mount Sinai. Everyone wanted to be present to feel God’s presence, to hear directly from their creator. And, luckily they could. Regardless if they were physically able to attend, regardless if they had jobs that took them out of camp for weeks at a time, regardless if they were even alive at that moment. As this week’s Torah portion announces, “not with you alone do I make this promise, but with whoever is here, standing with us today before God, and whomever is not here with us today” (Deuteronomy 29:13-14). We are the people who were not there, and yet, the rabbis tell us, in some metaphysical way, we were.
This is a reminder, that no one should feel shut out of their inherited tradition, or of their adopted one for that matter. We all deserve a seat at the table, just by being alive, just by being human.
So wherever you are now right now, wherever you will be next week or the week after, I wish you a peaceful and restful last Shabbat of 5778 and a Shanah Tovah, a Happy and Healthy New Jewish Year.
Rabbi Alex