Week 5: Response from
Rabbi Joshua Hammerman
The two types of Teshuvah described here are mentioned in chapter two of Rav Kook's masterpiece, "The Lights of Penitence." Kook, the great spiritual master of early Zionism, lived his life, in the words of Ben Zion Bokser, "in constant rebellion against all that restricts and narrows the human spirit." Any change, be it sudden or gradual, helps us to do just that.

Paradoxically, I try to make change part of my routine, so to minimize the possibility of becoming "stuck." This in turn lessens the chance of my congregation losing its spiritual sharpness. As a result, experimentation has become more the rule than the exception in my congregation, not feared, but welcomed and embraced. We all need to do this, both in and outside of the sanctuary. Something as simple as sitting in a different place whenever attending the same class or meeting can be instrumental in promoting the dynamic of change.

Where Kook spoke of polar dichotomies (and he just loved dichotomies), I see more of a synthesis between the sudden and the gradual. While I've had a few "bolt-of-lightning" moments in my life, they have most often led to a process of more gradual evolution rather than sudden, Sinai-esque transformation. Either way, the one who seeks true Teshuvah is bound to meet with resistance. In the words of Amos Oz, "Everyone who changes is often a traitor in the eyes of those who can never change."

There is an additional point I'd like to make regarding the idea of change as a return to our "original state," a desire expressed so fervently in that famous verse at the conclusion of the book of from Lamentations (also chanted when we return the Torah to the Ark): "Return us, O Eternal, and we shall return, renew our days as of old." Kook saw a direct correlation between the Teshuvah taking place in the heart of each individual Jew, and the collective return of the Jewish people to our spiritual home in Zion. He says this explicitly, in chapter 17:

"The renewal of the desire in the people to return to its land, to its essence, to its spirit and way of life - in truth, there is a light of penitence in all this."

As we come down the home stretch to Rosh Hashanah, our thoughts center on both our individual and collective destinies. We are desperately concerned for Israel, as we are for our loved ones and ourselves. Kook's words help us to understand that all these concerns are intertwined. As we seek that spark of holiness that can direct us back to the inner core of our hopes and dreams, we do that both individually and collectively.

For the individual, it means rummaging back through all the superficialities to figure out just what it was that we had hoped to accomplish in our lives, to recover that idealism that guided the choices we made so many years ago. And collectively, as a nation, we need to recall just what was it about the Zionist dream that moved us to tears, that moved us beyond tears, that enshrined Israel in our hearts. For this, Teshuvah must be gradual, not sudden. We need to put in many hours of hard work, with the goal of falling in love with Israel all over again.

For many, that might mean reopening the novel "Exodus," no matter how unrealistic its portrayal of Israel now seems to be. We're not in pursuit of fact alone, we're after deeper visions. So listen again to Abba Eban's orations, belt out the chorus of "Jerusalem of Gold," dance a hora, even dig out that old kova tembel, that floppy Kibbutz hat that one might best describe as the "un-yarmulke." Some have been fortunate enough to visit Israel recently. If you have (and especially if it was for the first time), tell everyone you know about it. Help us to remember just how wonderful that experience can be. If your visit was less recent reread your journal notes or letters. Open a dialogue with others who have been there, including others in the Star Tech forum, your own rabbi, or me. I love to share those special stories that make the Israel experience so unique.

When we seek to rekindle the spark of a marriage we go back to the songs shared during courtship, look at old photographs and taste the same foods. We need to rekindle that same love with the Land and State of Israel, and by extension, with Jewish ritual, with prayer, and with God. If we can reconnect with Israel in a positive way at this very difficult time, it will help us to reconnect with our own deepest yearnings, and the yearnings of our people. In that way, to paraphrase Rav Kook's most famous line, "The old will become new and the new will become holy."

Temple Beth El -- Stamford, CT