“Finding and Searching” - Column for the New Year for the September 2018 El Paso Jewish Voice

   I recently led discussions at my congregation on a reading in the Reform prayer book, Mishkan T’filah, that is part of the Shabbat morning service.   Lively conversations ensued in each case.     

    Here is the meditation: 

WE SEEKERS of God, how do we find You?

 In good deeds and in the study of Torah. 

And Your search for us? 

You find us in the bending of the knee,

 in the rigor of study, 

in the honesty of commerce, 

through a good heart, through decency,

 in respect, true fellowship, companionship and love, 

through truth and peace, 

in the No that is really No, and 

the Yes that is really Yes.

Blessed are You, Eternal One who teaches Torah to Your people Israel.

    The conversations about this prayer offered new insights for me. 

   First, this reading presents two different “vantage points.” The first is the perspective of humanity trying to discover God, and the second is God seeking us.  Martin Buber wrote about the human-divine encounter in terms of a mutual relationship (“I-Thou”).  Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel believed that God looks to us for partnership.  God, who is inherently present in creation, needs us to be God’s hands, eyes, and heart amid the give and take of human community.   

  Second, the prayer specifies that God and godliness are present when we perform good deeds, when we study, and when our actions reflect humility, love, decency, honesty, and peace.   This prayer calls to mind a teaching in Pirkei Avot, which Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz (in a new book) translates in this way: “Treat God’s will as if it were your will, so that God will treat your will as if it were God’s will.” Rabbi Yanklowitz explained, “The pertinent question is: can we attune ourselves to the whispers of the Divine? It never hurts to try...Rabban Gamliel suggests so right here in this mishnah...Humbling ourselves to see the biggest possible perspective...is our mandate.”

    Third, the “No” and “Yes” statement can relate to standing up for what we believe and resisting undue pressure to give up our values.  The times we say “no” or “yes” may change over time, depending upon our experiences. Sometimes we might say “yes” to compromise, especially when it leads to peace.  

      During these High Holy Days of 5779, may we remember that we are seeking and being sought by an Eternal Presence.   This is the essence of who we are and who we can be. 

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