˜INSIGHTS
A review of the Pesach Yizkor Drasha
Delivered by Rabbi Mordechai Z. Hecht
Anshe Sholom Chabad JC
Rough Draft
WARM UP
I didn’t sleep well last night.
I woke up this morning and feel that my thoughts may be scattered. So please forgive me.
It’s quite an irony because did you see the weather outside. What a day. The sun is shining and there is a warm breeze blowing.
You know, some times the job of a Rabbi seems easy. People come to synagogue. The Rabbi get’s up and speaks, he sits down and all is well.
But you know, sometimes, a rabbi has huge responsibilities. Sometimes he has so many thoughts and so many stories and so many parables that it can be a great challenge to decide what would be best said, and would be best left unsaid, particularly at a Yizkor Drasha.
Ahh. the famous Yiskor Drasha (or sometimes infamous – because some times people are encouraged to do more and to enhance their Jewish performance and sometimes that can be quite irking to an individual.)
GIVING OF ONESELF
You all know that I recently joined the Hatzalah Volunteer Ambulance corp. Some of you have wondered why I would do such a thing knowing how much I already have on my plate of responsibilities and commitment to the community. So I’ll tell you. I am a man of meager means and I cannot give a lot of money to Tzedakah, like I would like to, so I thought to myself how can I help people physically in other ways – and this was one way that evolved. An idea which evolved as a way for me to help people physically - which in turn bolsters spirituality.
Additionally , I hoped that this we would serve as a merit for my wife and me and my family to all the wonderful things G-d has in store for great mitzvahs like this.
GAINING FOCUS
Interestingly I recently rediscovered the following story: A couple years ago in New York City 2 emergency medical technicians who allegedly refused to help a pregnant woman who collapsed in the coffee shop where they were taking a break were suspended from their jobs with the New York City Fire Department. Mayor Michael Bloomberg called their behavior inexcusable; refusing to help, he says, goes against human decency. According to eyewitnesses, the EMTs told employees at the eatery to call 911 and then left when they were asked to help. The woman was eventually taken to a hospital, where she died a short time later. Her baby girl was too premature to survive.
The story is a travesty. An absolute disgrace and shame to the perpetrators.
My friends and fellow congregants, today we gather in shul, and Jews the world over gather in shul on this Tuesday morning. But why? Why on a beautiful Tuesday morning like this when we could all be sitting on the beach drinking pinacolada, soaking up the sun and cuddle up to a great book. Why do Jews the world over come to shul?
The answer my friends is simple – because that’s what a Yid does.
If you would ask your parents “what does a Jew do on Yizkor day they would tell you “go to shul”.
If you would ask you grandparents and great- grandparents surely but surely they would tell you too, “go to shul”. To pray and say Yizkor and act like a Jew.
But, there are so many distractions today. So many gadgets. From the TV, to DVD, to the Tivo, to the Ipad and the ipod to the blackberry and now you can have it all on one screen with multiple remotes like a space ship. So one can ask, but how? How can we go to shul with all these distractions.
The answer my friends is you. My friends you answered the question by coming here this morning. You showed up. You came. You came because deep down in your Pintileh Yid in your Neshomah, withstanding all the challenges and all the pressure and all the very important things to do and all the important places to be and gadgets to play with, YOU ARE HERE!
You are Yizkor. What does Yizkor mean. It means to remember . This morning you remember that you are Yid and this is what a Yid does. You parents and grandparents are looking down on you today and they are smiling and oh so proud of your commitment and devotion.
In contrast to the masses who did not make it here today to say Yiskor and to Remember, once again you shall be praised. They are Jews, they have the certification as such, they too were children and grand children of Jews or righteous converts and they fail to show up. They fail to respond to the call, the inner calling and emergency. In a world where morals and values and an ethical society is so much needed they fail to show and they fail to remember. They fail to remember their task and obligation to themselves, to their families and to their loved one’s.
But you know my friends, we didn’t come here to speak loshon harah about precious Jews, neshomah’s.
The world is a tough place, with so many distractions and we all have so many deep philosophical questions that sadly impede our performance.
My friends can you really blame them for not coming, I mean come on lets be real, it’s a secular and challenging world out there?!
WHERE ARE YOU
I want to share with you a story. A story of a man who one day went to the Rabbi and expressed a heretical view about the prophets and the nature of prophecy.
The Rabbi was very disappointed "shame on you!" He cried. “How can you speak that way about the holy prophets?"
"But that's not my own opinion, Rabbi," the student apologized. "I'm only quoting Maimonides”.” It's written in the guide to the perplexed , Maimonides himself had doubts about G-d etc."
The Rabbi turned to the young man and said, “let me tell you a story " A man once came to buy goods at a large wholesale establishment and quite by accident he broke the glass in the showcase. This filled the gentleman with confusion. He turned to the owner and he said, “Sir I'm terribly sorry about this". The owner turned to him and said, "it's alright, it's only glass, let's have a drink of schnapps and say l’chaim - really all is well, please continue to shop no hard feelings". And so they drink in a very friendly fashion, as if nothing unpleasant had occurred.
"Now there was another gentleman in this large warehouse who saw all of this happen with his own eyes. He was very much impressed a said to himself, “if for breaking a single pane of glass the owner gives the customer a glass of schnapps, imagine what he will give me for breaking his big front window? Then, when he sees how upset I am about it that, likely as not he will have me drink a whole bottle of schnapps with him!"
He picked up the rock, with all his might, threw it at the front of the window, smashing it. When the store personnel saw this they ran out and they started to give him a good beating. "Stop, stop, you fools! Why you hitting me? He started to scream. I don't understand, your employer gave the customer just a couple of moments ago, a glass of schnapps to quiet his nerves for breaking a glass pane and me you hit?
Schlemiel! Fool! Answered the owner, that man is a great customer this that he broke the glass pane nu, so what? But you, idiot, who broke my front store window what profit do I get from you I don't even know who you are, where you come from, what you address is, what your telephone number, nothing!
The Rabbi concluded: "it is the same with you and Maimonides, my student. This that Moses Maimonides asks questions offers texts and offers great explanations of some the deepest insights of the Torah which require tremendous explanation and understanding is a given, but you my dear, what have you too offer ?!
My fellow friends and congregants we all have issues with G-d, we all have hardships in life, from the simpleton amongst us, to the greatest scholars. But how are we responding to our responsibilities. Are we leaving life threatening issues to walk on by or are we living our lives to the max.
PASSING ON THE CRYSTAL GLASS
Today is Yizkor and I know some of you may have issues with Yizkor. You know why, because my dear friends with all due honesty, it's not easy. Life is not easy. Perhaps we had parents that weren't easy with us. Perhaps we had parents who made our lives very difficult. Thousands of parents around states have abandoned or abused their children in the saddest of ways. You know?! A child, a child is like a glass cup and parents, they leave their mark on this class cup, some smudge it. Some smudge it with one finger some smudge it with the whole hand some smudge it with two hands and sadly in the real world some parents shatter the glass.
But you know my friends today is Yizkor. Today we remember our parents for what they wanted us to remember them for. For the good times. For the good days. For those days when they held the class so gently and delicately. For those days when they loved you and caressed you and cared for you with great deep compassion. Although in a real world it's true that sometimes our parents managed to shatter the glass and sometimes to an un-repairable state, yes it’s true. It’s times like these we then are responsible to guarantee that our children, the glass which is in our hands, are not shattered, but rather held delicately and gently for the next generation.
We are the guarantors of the next generation. If we want our children to be whole and wholesome and to be devoted to ethics and values of Torah and mitzvahs we need to do our part and to take on our responsibility in responding to our responsibility in this world, and not sit by idely and bellow in our sorrows and expect bottle of schnapps in return or say it’s not my job, “I’m on break” now.
ULTIMATE PEACE
Today in the Haftorah we read of one of the greatest prophecies of Isaiah of the time of the coming of Moshiach when the lion will lie with the lamb and the child will lie with the Leopard. The skeptic amongst us asks, "can this really happen". "If yes then when"? Thousands of years in exile thousands of years since the redemption and the Exodus of Egypt and we have not yet seen the fulfillment of this prophecy of Isaiah"? Why not.
My dear friends, if for thousands of years we haven't seen the fulfillment of this prophecy then the question becomes even stronger, what are WE doing today in our lives to guarantee the future! What are we doing to guarantee the fulfillment of this prophecy? Are we sitting around eating doughnuts and playing with all our gadgets out of the gazoo. The onus is on us. History must teach us something. We must learn from history, from the mistakes of history and we must take that which is good and use it and bring it to the future and we must make the best of our lives for ourselves for our loved ones for the next generation.
REMEMBER ANSHE SHOLOM CHABAD
Today is Yizkor and I too remember. I remember the first phone call I got about taking over Anshe Sholom Chabad and how I thought it was prank from one of my siblings. And here we are 3 years later.
My friends this is unableviable. One could ask the question why would a group of Jews in Kew Gardens who were used to one kind of lifestyle and congregation, chose to embrace Chabad –Orthodox – Chassidic Judaism? Albeirt it an outreach organization. It’s absolutely mind boggling?! I mean who wants a mechitzah down the middle of the sanctuary etc. Yet there were 30 some odd families that stepped forward and said we want more for out congregation and synagogue . The negotiations obviously took some months and sure there were those after the first 15 months, by the board meeting and beyond who thought if Chabad would take over we would sell out and skip town…
Three years later look where we are, so many months and Mitzvahs later. You know why and you wanna explain how. I’ll tell you, it’s because every Yid has a Neshomah and a Neshomah wants to do more and more and more and never wants to stop. It never wants to stop remembering to do more for itself and for the community.
You know what, of the most difficult things for me to do is to raise money. Raising money in an environment like we the one we live in today, is no easy task and the truth is that as a Rabbi I don't enjoy asking people for money. I’ll be honest I'd much rather give money I would much rather help people and reach out to people and study Torah and teach Torah and write Torah and have to go and raise money. In fact I wish someone would simply leave me a few million dollars in there last will and testament, so that we could peacefully move on with all the great work that we want to do here and all the great things that we want to accomplish.
The fact is, that we haven't had over the last three years any very big philanthropic person that was simply able to drop a very very large check and say, “Rabbi Hecht, I love what you doing here, here's $100,000 or $50,000 or $20,000 which would make our lives all that much easier. But rather, and in a certain sense I'm very proud to say that, this institution is built by hundreds and even thousands of individual people and families who have contributed $18 $36 $54 the 180s the 360s and collectively we've managed to raise hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars to maintain to upkeep to renovate and to refurbish this institution. Clearly no easy task undertaken.
If you ask me honestly how I explain the reality of Anshe Sholom Chabad JCC here in Kew Gardens - I would tell you, “it’s nothing less than an actual miracle”. You know my friends I would like to say I can do it without you, perhaps even a little proud. But I can't. In fact nothing here happened by myself. But rather with the help of every single one of you, every single one of you who have contributed in so many different forms and fashions to make what Anshe Sholom Chabad JCC is today.
THE NEED FOR COMMUNITY
The truth is my friends that we need community, now celebrating Passover think about how many people would only have “20 min seder’s” without having a community center to participate with. Perhaps a center like ours an outreach center which encourages people who are less affiliated or less observant or less practicing or less knowledgeable to get more involved and to become more informed about the great Jewish heritage by way of congregating through prayer or Torah study or through a Passover Seder in public, which tend to be so much more festive and ceremonial, and so on and so forth.
Sure, many people celebrate seders at home and maybe they have beautiful Seders and sure many people pray at home and I'm sure they pray from the heart. Sure many people study at home. Today what can one not learn on the Internet or through Google. But there's nothing like community. There's nothing more encouraging and more inspiring than a loving caring and compassionate community of people. People you can ask questions to. People you can turn to in times of need. People, whom you can discuss your life issues with and your issues in Judaism with. Judaism is so much more enjoyable when it's done in a community setting with a congregation with a Chabad center. It's for this reason that I come to you today when we remember. When we remember our Judaism. When we remember our parents. When we remember our grandparents. When we remember our great Jewish heritage, that we also remember our community. That we also remember our congregation. That we also remember the needs of our congregation the financial needs of our congregation.
I pray and I hope that you will continue to remember and continue to support our efforts in reaching out to the Jews of our community and strengthening the backbone of Jewish life in our community.
People of Anshe Sholom and all of you in the audience I don't know if I ever told you over the last three years but, "I am so so very proud of you all".
You have all gone such a long way in your Judaism. You have all grown. You have embraced so many more mitzvahs, so many more prayer services, so many more gatherings, so many more great random acts of goodness and kindness . You are what makes this community such a beautiful vibrant Jewish community. May God Remember you and may bless the souls of your beloved departed today and may he bless you and grant you everything that you need physically and spiritually until the coming of Moshiach may it be speedily in our day.