|
|
HEBREW TABERNACLE CONGREGATION June 20, 2009 D’var Torah
|
|
Naomi Joan Nesher was born and raised in
Washington Heights and is currently a 6th grader at Anderson Middle School.
She is in Kita Vav at Hebrew
Tabernacle Hebrew School. Nomi is a prodigious reader and a prolific writer,
and she likes to take pictures and videos of herself and her friends. She
also plays the piano and enjoys singing, acting, and dancing; and she has
participated in the Lucy Moses School’s Summer Musical Theater Workshop. She
enjoys swimming and ice skating in their respective seasons. Nomi is fond of
computer games and going on the Internet, and she has a special talent for
online Tetris. Nomi has volunteered at the monthly Tot Shabbat services this
year as well as at other synagogue events. She and Claire have known each other since they met
at the Y when they were toddlers.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Torah, for the most part, tells us about heroes who are brave enough to “take one for the team”, or stand for Israel when all others are scared. But if a hero is not Moses or a patriarch, we are usually left guessing the childhood and origins of this brave man. One such hero is Caleb, a leader who prevailed against all odds when the scouts reported what they’d seen in Eretz Cana’an. After the twelve scouts returned from the land, most of them said that they did not like what they saw. Caleb disagreed. Caleb said, “Let us by all means go up, And we shall gain possession of it, for we are stronger.” Where did
Caleb’s courage come from? Not heritage, it seems. Notice: neither Caleb nor
Joshua is from Josephs’ lineage—and Joseph was by far the most courageous of
his brothers. Maybe Caleb
was simply raised to be courageous. His parents did name him Caleb,
which, a commentator notes, is an acronym for ka lev, meaning “one who
speaks his heart.” And Caleb is the
poster boy for that idea. But it’s hard
to make a case that Caleb was raised to be courageous when we know so little
about him. The truth is, we don’t know much about Caleb himself. Did he have a bratty or an adorable little sib? If he had any older brothers or sisters, were they wise or stuck-up? Were his parents both still alive at the time of the scouting trip? Was he rich or poor? Caring or violent? If you think about it, we know next to nothing about him…aside from that he was true to himself. And we know even less about Yefuneh, Caleb’s father. And we don’t even know who Caleb’s mother is. It would definitely be helpful to know these things, because resisting public opinion and peer pressure is never easy to do. Where did Caleb’s courage come from? Everyone has to make a choice like Caleb’s sometime, even nowadays…what with trends, fads, etc. For instance, in third and fourth grade, having a tamagotchi was all the rage. Also, I’ll never forget the week last year when almost all the boys in our grade, who had mostly been letting their hair grow out till it was longer than mine, suddenly chopped it all off as a shortcut to the original short cuts. Pun intended. Sometimes kids—even toddlers—seem to act and think in packs, just like the scouts—mature adults—did. So to speak up and say that you like neither pop nor rock music, or American Idol, or you’ve never eaten at MacDonald’s, or you don’t like watching TV, or you don’t like soda, pizza, and/or candy…issometimes not so easy. Sometimes it’s not as easy as just agreeing with everyone. And sometimes, it can be impossible to disagree. When people around you are doing things you’d never do otherwise, and wouldn’t want to either, it’s harder than it sounds to put your foot down. Almost every day, in the newspaper, on the news, there’s something or other about teenagers getting hurt or killed because of incredibly stupid things that they did. Sometimes your average Tommy Teenager decided himself to do this dumb deed. But many times, little Tommy wanted to impress his friends or the opposite sex, or someone dared him to, or maybe he was blackmailed or threatened. And now people all over America are watching the slo-mo of the disaster and thinking, “What a crazy kid.” But what if he wasn’t crazy? What if he was just…weak? It’s rare, actually, to be able to find someone who isn’t weak, doesn’t just go along with the flow because it’s there. Someone like, say, Caleb. But we don’t know where Caleb’s courage came from. Fortunately Caleb wasn’t alone. Joshua, another scout, also took an unpopular stand. How did he find the courage to do so? Was it loyalty and/or friendship to/with Caleb? There’s no indication, however, of any earlier relationship between Joshua and Caleb. Maybe they were friends. Maybe they were enemies. Maybe they had a very complex past, or maybe they barely knew each other. Maybe Joshua and Caleb were enemies, but became friends over the course of the trip. The Torah gives no such details. In fact, the entire forty days the scouts spent scouting are captured in one or two sentences. So how did Joshua suddenly
agree with Caleb when Joshua hadn’t said anything earlier? Maybe Joshua changed
his mind. Maybe he found new courage.
Maybe he found old courage. It’s hard to find courage on the spur-of-the-moment. Since Caleb stood up for himself so easily in this case, he might have had practice being in the minority. Joshua, we know, did have such practice. Soon after the Exodus, Moses goes up Mount Sinai to receive the two tablets from God. Upon coming back down, he is greeted by Joshua, his attendant, who tells Moses that he has heard a war cry down in the valley. Moses, however, has been informed by God of the Golden Calf and corrects Joshua. This can only mean one thing—Joshua, anticipating Moses’ return, had waited on the mountainside for him, and therefore had not participated in the celebrations — that’s why he thought it was a war cry. Although everyone else was down the hill idolizing a calf, Joshua was waiting for Moses — for, unlike the others, he had faith in God, and that Moses would return. If you are the only one in millions who has faith in something, it’s very easy to be swayed. But Joshua wasn’t. The choices facing most adolescents in the U.S. of A. on a daily basis are not as important as the ones Joshua and Caleb had to make. Once adults, however, people must start making more difficult choices with more dire consequences. There’s a dual lesson to be learned in this parasha: one, always be true to yourself, and never go along with the public opinion if you disagree with it. Knowing that you have been truthful is better than public respect. It may not always feel good, being in the minority, especially when it’s not just a matter of opinion and it turns out, after all that courage, you are wrong. But that’s part of what being honest is. And two, practice makes perfect, as the old saying goes, starting to be true to oneself, speaking one’s heart, and showing courage at a young age may be able to help in the future. It’s worth a try. I’d like to thank some special people who have really helped me make it here today. o Rabbi Wenig—you were simply fantastic at helping me with this speech, and a huge chunk of credit goes to you for turning my dinky two paragraphs into a real sermon. o Rabbi Weiner—you may be leaving soon, but I’ll always remember you as the most fun, casual, and friendly rabbi I’ve had here at Hebrew Tabernacle. o Cantor Simmons—you’ve helped me every step of the way, be it Tot Shabbat or Bat Mitzvah preparation, and I wish you the happiest of years with your new husband. o Neil—you rock when it comes to teaching, and I truly hope that someday, when you’re officially a rabbi, you’ll come back to visit us. o My parents and grandpa—you guys are the best, and I am so grateful for all you have done to make this day uniquely special for me. o Mom—although I just thanked you, I also want to say that you are an amazing tutor, and I couldn’t have done it today without your preparations. o Trish and Danny—you two were so helpful with the planning for today, and I want to say that you will both always have a special place in my heart. o Connie Heymann—from a great person to talk to, to an amazing Hebrew School principal, I’ve known you forever, and I hope to know you for many years to come. o And, last but not least, Claire—for putting up with me when I call to ask what the homework was, for being a wonderful friend, and, of course, for going through all this with me. I’m so happy to have you in my life. Then, again, I do have a bunch more people to thank—and that’s everyone here today! Even if you don’t know me personally, I am so grateful that every single one of you took time out to witness a very special day for Claire and me—and also, for sitting through my speech. Thank you!
|
551 Fort Washington Avenue
New York, New York 10033
Tel: 212-568-8304
Fax: 212-927-5428
E-Mail : office@hebrewtabernacle.org