10 Elul 5780 - August 30, 2020
I AM JEWISH: JETHRO ADAMS
There comes a time in everyone's life where you have to ask
"who am I?" Am I am American? Am I Scottish? Am I simply a citizen of
the world? The answer is very simple: yes...and I'm Jewish.
I am Jewish because of the feeling of home when hearing the
Torah read for the first time in over a decade.
I am Jewish because I have heard the call to add my chapter to
that ever expanding story of my people.
I am Jewish because in my Jewish-ness and my community I have
found peace and security where I hadn't had it before.
I am Jewish because our people, throughout our history, have
experienced famine, persecution, poverty, sickness, death. Yet despite all of
that, we haven't once cast aside our responsibility to feed the hungry, protect
the oppressed, give aid to the poor, care for the sick, and honor those who
came before us. That's integrity you CANNOT buy.
I am Jewish because I adore my G-d, though the pair of us
wrestle with one another. To be Jewish is to understand that that's okay.
I am Jewish because despite my people being so few in number, we
have historically made up over 20% of all Nobel Prize laureates. We
statistically dominate the percentage of doctors, social workers, lawyers,
teachers; to accurately take a census of us isn't by counting the population,
but by recording our contributions.
I am Jewish because at 10 years old, I was shown love and
compassion by a worldwide family who had been tormented by the Inquisitions,
the Expulsions, the Shoah. I bore witness to a welcoming community who had
every right to be suspicious and cynical of me, a member of the faith that was
partially responsible for so many atrocities against them...but they weren't.
They saw a 10 year old boy who looked as lost as if he were in the forest, and
welcomed him with the warmth of parents and grandparents.
I am Jewish because of a survivor of Birkenau who never let the
terror of the past interfere with his simchah for the present.
I am Jewish because of my appreciation for the contributions of
other cultures and religions to our world. I see my Muslim and Christian
brothers and sisters around the world, and I pray for the day when our
differences are finally cast aside and we ALL can come together and make this
world whole, without fear of hatred or violence.
I am Jewish because of the cleansing rebirth I found in the
waters of a Mikvah.
I am Jewish because contrary to the wisdom of Dr. Spock, though
"logic dictates that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the
few...or the one," Judaism holds this caveat: provided it doesn't
interfere with the preservation of life.
I am Jewish because though there are 613 biblical Mitzvot that
were commanded of us, along with an additional 7 Rabbinic Mitzvot, I know I
won't go to Hell for forgetting to perform the ones still possible in today's
society.
I am Jewish because of my fascination for everything Judaica:
from Hasidic teachings and Kabbalah, to the depth of meaning found in each
letter of the Aleph Bet.
I am Jewish because of the secrets I hold close to me.
I am Jewish because the Shofar swells in me a flame that grows
with each T'kiah every High Holy Day season.
I am Jewish because each note of Kol Nidre shakes me to my
bones.
I am Jewish because of the physical "sukat shalom" I
feel under my Tallit that can double as a tablecloth.
I am Jewish because of the tears I shed
For Pittsburgh,
For Poway,
For Baltimore,
For Halle.
They were my brothers and sisters too, and I'll remember them in my Kaddish
every year.
I am Yitro Gideon ben Avraham v'Sarah,
I am Jewish
And I will be proud of my Jewish-ness all the days of my life.
It is tradition to read Psalm 27 every day during Elul.
PSALM 27
God is my light and my refuge secure - whom shall I fear?
God is the stronghold of my life - of whom should I be afraid?
When those who act with malice would devour me with words,
it is they who stumble, they who fall.
If an army were to take up arms against me, my heart would not fear.
If war were waged against me, still I would trust.
Just one thing I have asked of God; only this do I seek:
to dwell in God’s house all the days of my life,
to behold divine sweetness and beauty, and to gaze in delight at God’s Temple.
God shelters me in times of hardship, shields me in a tent of divine protection,
raises me high on a rock - so that now my head rises above enemies around me.
Let me make offerings in that tent - the offerings of a joyful cry.
Let me sing hymns, and celebrate the One who is eternal - Adonai.
Hear my voice when I call; God, answer me with grace.
My heart spoke for you - it said, “Seek My face.” Your face, Adonai, I will seek.
Do not hide your face from me, nor angrily turn away Your faithful one -
the one You have sustained. My God-of-rescue, do not desert me!
When my father and mother have gone, God will gather me in.
Teach me your way, Adonai; and guide me on a straight path,
because of those who lie in wait for me.
Do not hand me over to the will of foes who rose against me -
lying witnesses and those whose very breath is violence.
If only I could believe that I will see God’s goodness
in the land of the living. . .
Wait for Adonai
Be strong of heart, and be bold -- but wait for Adonai.
It is also tradition to hear the sound of the shofar each day during Elul. It is a wake up call to prepare for the upcoming holy days.
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