The publication is reproduced in full below:
RABBI ISRAEL ZOBERMAN--JEWISH HIGH HOLY DAYS
______
HON. ELAINE G. LURIA
of virginia
in the house of representatives
Friday, September 10, 2021
Mrs. LURIA. Madam Speaker, I include in the Record the views submitted at the request of a Virginia Beach constituent, Rabbi Dr. Israel Zoberman, of Temple Lev Tikvah:
The Jewish High Holy Days, also known as the Days of Awe, are a ten-day period commencing with the New Year of Rosh Hashana and concluding with the Day of Atonement of Yorn Kippur. With humble Biblical roots and profound Rabbinic transformation, it is a sacred vehicle and opportunity set aside for inspiring soul-searching and heroic resolve to mend the brokenness of the human heart and do our called upon share, individually and collectively, to repair and heal our inner world as well as the outer one. Quite a tall order but a compelling one!
The celebration this season takes place against the onerous backdrop of a threatening gathering cloud of anti-Semitism--the world's oldest and most resistant virus--at home and abroad as critical American democracy, alarmingly violated on 1/6, along with the unresolved burden of shameful Black slavery, lingering racism toward minorities, urban unrest and a ravaging global pandemic with the State of Israel begrudged its rightful responsibility to protect its citizens from those intent on obliterating the only sovereign Jewish country while denying the monumental Holocaust. What a perfect storm scenario for the resurrection of history's worst images of hatred for the Other.
The High Holy Days, peak Jewish religious experience, offer a reflective mirror into an ancient people's awesome spiritual odyssey enabling it to somehow survive history's high waves of relentless tsunamis through offering humanity noble teachings and indispensable lessons. On Rosh Hashanah 5782 (Based on calculating the generations enumerated in the Biblical Genesis) as we celebrate the world's creation, our prayerful focus is not only on the wonder of the unfathomable acts of creation, but no less on the confounding complexity of human relationships. Our Biblical heroes, unlike the Greek ones, are flesh and blood creatures who both succeed and succumb, contending with blessings as well as blemishes.
The first Jewish family of Abraham, Sarah, Hagar, Isaac, and Ishmael, birthing the kindred monotheistic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, reflects deep convictions along with searing conflicts whose profound impact is still with us today. This we know for sure, our basic human make-up of passions and prejudices, loves and hatreds has not changed. We remain subject to their influences in determining our conduct, positively and negatively. While naturally we tend to dwell on the multiple challenges and struggles of contemporary life, there is much we can absorb from those who laid the foundation for the twin components of Jewish identity, faith, and peoplehood.
Abraham and Sarah had the stamina to leave their home in pagan Mesopotamia in search of new beginnings--spiritually, physically, and psychologically. They were not deterred by the cumbersome obstacles such a journey and journeys would entail, sustained by a driving vision of an encounter with a God whose unifying message captured their yearning imagination. Soon they would discover, however, that their newly found breakthrough faith was intertwined with a fragmented reality. The shared tenets and tents in an unknown territory would become the testing ground for lofty ideals and binding values. The Rabbis teach us that the founders' tent in the wilderness of Canaan was open on all sides to allow one and all to enter and be warmly welcomed, finding caring respite and appreciated protection from both hostile humans and adverse elements.
Are we equipped with the capacity to learn from mistakes and chart a new course of conduct and consideration, finally creating Shalom's overarching harmony? The tradition ushered in by our progenitors is an optimistic one, having faith in God as well as us, while sanctifying the precious gift of life. As we enter the portals of a new year may we master from those who shaped us in ways both manifest and concealed, that we may turn hatred into love, violence into vision, pain into promise, adversity into advantage and blemishes into blessings!
Rabbi Dr. Israel Zoberman is the founder of Temple Lev Tikvah in Virginia Beach. He is a member of the Virginia Beach Human Rights Commission.
____________________
SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 156
The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
House Representatives' salaries are historically higher than the median US income.
Alerts Sign-up