Last week I wrote about the eternal love affair between the Jewish people and our Heavenly Father. I referred to the acronym of Elul, the month we currently find ourselves in: “Ani L’Dodi V’Dodi Li –I Am My Beloved and My Beloved is Mine” – meaning I love my G-d and my G-d loves me.
It is this month that brings us to Rosh Hashanah, which celebrates the homecoming of our people to Hashem. And that homecoming reflects the special love affair that has lasted for millennia all over the world. We crossed continents; we lived and continue to live in every nook and cranny on this planet. But wherever fate placed us, the love of our people for Hashem remained strong and vibrant.
I recall vividly the early days of our Hineni movement, created to bring Jews back to G-d. I knew I needed to reach masses of people, so I chose Madison Square Garden. I opened that occasion with words I knew would electrify the crowd:
“You are a Jew. You have traversed the four corners of the world. You have known oppression. You have experienced torture, inhuman suffering. You have been forced to wander from country to country. You have been cast into the flames – killed by the sword and stuffed in gas chambers. But you have forgotten your past. You have forgotten who you really are. You have forgotten your prayers.
“But the love affair has remained – engraved for all eternity in your heart. That love affair can be summed up through just one little prayer – a prayer that pierces the sound barrier and has the ability to fly up to the sky, even to the Heavenly Abode of Almighty G-d. That magic prayer has kept every Jew connected to his G-d.
“Who does not recognize this formula that is so powerful it can survive every flame, every oppression, and even the enticements of assimilation? Every Jew knows this prayer. It blazes in his heart. ‘Shema Yisrael, Hashem Elokeinu, Hashem ECHAD.’ ”
Shema Yisrael – the eternal prayer that can rekindle the Pintele Yid in the heart of every Jew.
This week I would like us to focus on the manner in which we can bring joy to our Father and reestablish our relationship with Him. Our Father’s love has never diminished. His love accompanied us wherever we found ourselves throughout the centuries, even though we may not always have been aware of it.
If not for that love we would not have survived the centuries of persecution and genocide. There has never been a period in history when we have not been persecuted, hounded, tortured, and murdered. The nations of the world never tire of plotting our destruction – but in the end they do not succeed. Great empires rise and fall but we live on.
In the Passover Haggadah we proclaim this loud and clear: “In every generation they rise up to destroy us but the Holy One, Blessed be He, saves us from their hand.”
We can look back on the long centuries and see the veracity of these words. So how is it possible that too many of our people are still indifferent and even shamefully hostile to their heritage – and, yes, to their Heavenly Father, who never stops loving us? How can it be? How can it be?
This sad reality should bother every caring Jew and cause him to ask, “What can I do to bring some joy to my Heavenly Father who has lost so many of His children??
If you are a parent, surely you understand the unbearable pain of losing a child. If you are a son or a daughter, surely you understand the excruciating pain of losing a father or a mother. I am not referring to parents or children who have physically died. That, unfortunately, is a tragic reality of life. At the end of the day the cemetery is the ultimate destination of every human being.
What I am referring to here is a living parent who has lost a living child and a living child who has lost a living parent. A living death is sometimes more painful than physical death, when the body is buried and the soul ascends to its Maker.
Have you ever thought about how our Heavenly Father must feel when He sees His children adopting every other parent but Him? Or how the children feel when they see their parents opening their hearts to children who do not belong to them, embracing them with love while causing their own children to feel abject rejection?
Some years ago I spoke at Binyanei Hauma in Jerusalem. Looking out at the audience I noticed many religious Jews, including chassidim. I decided to tell a story based upon something I had just explained.
“There was once a father,” I began, “who had twelve beautiful, gifted children. Over the years, one by one the children left home and disappeared from sight into a deep forest.
“One son, however. remained home. He was determined to take care of his beloved father. Every morning, every afternoon, every night, he would come to his father’s chamber and serve him the most delectable meals, sing songs to him, and try to entertain him. He openly proclaimed his abiding love, but his father remained forlorn.
“ ‘Why,’ the loyal son wondered, ‘is my Father sad? Haven’t I demonstrated my commitment, my love?’ ”
I looked out at the audience and continued: “Had this loyal son taken a few moments and pondered these questions, he would have realized that a father cannot be happy if his children never come home, never call, never visit.
“There is only one thing that would make a father happy – if that loyal son were to say, ‘My beloved father, do not despair. I will bring my brothers and sisters home even if I have to go to the ends of the earth. I will bring them home and all your children will sit at your beautiful Shabbos table. Together we will sing zemiros – the songs you taught us – in your Honor.’
“Until such time that the loyal son gives this assurance to his father, the father’s pain will not abate.”
Surely you understand that the father in this story is our Heavenly Father and the loyal son is the observant Jew who comes to serve his Father with love and praise three times a day without fail – and yet the Father is not rejoicing.
The great celebration of the revelation of Mashiach is something we have yet to behold. How can we make that stupendous event come to pass? By bringing all our brothers and sisters home for Shabbos.
Let us join in a partnership and do this as one.
To make this happen I offer you the help of our Hineni organization. We stand ready to welcome every Jew. I promise my readers that I will make a point of personally greeting and reaching out to everyone you bring.
On Thursday, September 10, we will have a High Holiday Seminar Dinner following which we will hold classes on multiple subjects pertaining to Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Classes will be held simultaneously and each participant will have an opportunity to choose the seminar of his or preference. This will be a time learning that will connect us to our Heavenly Father and bring joy to Him.
The event is sponsored in memory of an amazing lady, a beautiful eishes chayil – Chaya Golda Feigel bas Yitzchok. To reserve your place, call our Hineni office at 212-496-1660.
Kesivah v’Chasima Tovah to all my readers and Klal Yisrael all over the world.