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Congregation Beth El, Norwalk, CT

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Fri Sep 10
2nd of Tishrei, 5771
Fri Sep 10
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The Rabbi's Table - by Rabbi Joseph Ron Fish Print E-mail

from the September - October Bulletin...

Of all the prayers on the High Holidays, one sticks with me through the rest of the year more than any other. It is an anonymous piyut (poem) which we recite on Yom Kippur evening that begins with these words: “As clay in the hand of the potter, who molds it thick or thin,so are we in your hands, God of mercy. Look toward the covenant, and do not turn toward the Yetzer.”  

These words are founded on the poetic prophesy of Jeremiah from more than 2500 years ago. Jeremiah was frustrated that the people of Israel seemed to think that because God had loved them and blessed them, they had no reason to correct the error of their ways. Instead, he said that we should learn from the potter. While the artisan will lovingly create a vessel, if he finds it less than up to his standards, he will not hesitate to toss it aside and start again with fresh clay and return the imperfect vessel to the pile of raw materials.

While this serious warning from Jeremiah about repentance and return may seem somewhat dire, it also contains a message of love and hope. Most remarkably, the poet who wrote the Yom Kippur prayer picks up on a hidden theme in Jeremiah’s words to say that maybe our imperfections are not entirely our fault. They may, in some sense, be said to belong to the Potter who crafted us. When we ask God to look away from our Yetzer, that might mean our base inclinations, our id, that part of ourselves that only looks out for our own short term best interest. But when we ask God to look away from our Yetzer, it could also mean not to look too hard at our flaws, because our chips and blemishes, our Yetzer (here understood as created form), is really not who we are. They are only the hints of our less than perfect selves, one made for us and not by us.
 
If we ask to be judged not by our imperfections in this poem, what is it we asked to be judged by? It is our brit, our covenant. That is who we really are. At our most basic, we human beings are not defined by our accomplishments, our bank accounts, our awards or our possessions. These are all the clay that exists around the frame of our existence.  We are as Jews, and as human beings, the relationships- the covenants- that make up the network of our lives. We are covenanted to our spouses, our children and our neighbors; to our congregation, to the State of Israel and to the entire Jewish people; we are covenanted to our fellow Americans and our fellow human beings; and we are covenanted to God.
 
On these holy days, as we head back to school and back to the  routine of the year, we must remember what makes us who we really are. It is each other, in covenant together. As we look to the brit that gives us life, I look forward to 5771 with love and hope. Let’s continue to help make each other’s lives more meaningful and beautiful thanks to the blessing of our being bound to one another.
 
On behalf of Leah and all of our family, Shana Tova. Have a wonderful year of health and blessings, and thank you for blessing us with the bonds of your friendship and love. 
 
Rabbi Fish                 To hear the prayer, go to: http://scharatzedeck.com/Prayers/d1.html