God foretold to Abram that there will always be cursers and haters who seek to diminish your achievements, undermine your teachings, and seek to destroy you. The cursers will indeed be cursed: their lives will be poisoned by hatred and envy, lies and self-destruction. While the cursers stew in their jealousy and malice, the blessers will enjoy loving, generous lives. God’s promises to Abram were true then. They are true today.
Religion demands both proper conduct and proper sentiment--adherence to the demands of justice and a grand religious vision characterized by love of God and humanity. God expected Noah—and us—to be not only righteous but to be whole-hearted, pure, loving, visionary. Are we up to it?
If someone asked Enoch if he was religious, he would have answered: “I am striving to be.” When someone asks us: are you religious? The answer should be, like Enoch’s: “I am striving to be.”
Succoth reminds us to keep things in perspective, to appreciate the transience of life and the Eternity of God. It is the time of our rejoicing in the beauties of life, and the meaning of life.
The message of Rosh Hashana is realistic…and optimistic. Life has times of profound grief and darkness. But the dawn will come, sunshine will prevail, God will be experienced in love and light.
The shofar suggests a grander, truer vision of who we are and who we can become. It cries out to us to keep striving for a better society and a better world. It invites us to strengthen our faith in the Almighty…and in ourselves.
It is fitting that Simhat Torah is associated with Shemini Hag Atsereth. The spiritual power of Torah has infused the Jewish people for thousands of years—and it has the power to help each of us develop our lives into a new, beautiful masterpiece.
The Torah omits words of thanks from the Cohanim and Levites to teach an important lesson: we are to do the right thing because we want to stand in the presence of God and say: “I’ve done as well as possible.” Our self-worth is not to be determined by what others say or don’t say, but by what we can say about ourselves before God.
Interesting insights about Succoth have come from the pen of Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881), the First Earl of Beaconsfield. Disraeli was of Jewish birth, whose family had been associated with the Spanish and Portuguese Congregation in London. Although his father had Benjamin baptized to Anglicanism at age 12, Disraeli never denied his Jewish roots. He rose to become the first—and thus far only—British Prime Minister of Jewish ancestry.
The Torah commands us not to harbor endless hatred for those who have persecuted us. It also teaches us that there are really wonderful people who overcome the hateful anti-Jewish stereotypes of their families/societies, and who embrace Judaism and the Jewish People. And we embrace them for their wisdom and courage. We need more of them.