Clergy Sermons

Chazak v’Amatz – be strong and courageous!

These High Holidays I have shared turning to these words of Psalm 27, which is recited throughout the High Holidays, chazak v’amatz libecha as I have sought to navigate this difficult year where strength and courage feel elusive. I talked about finding strength in knowing and acting on your sacred values; gaining strength through history, community and peoplehood.  This morning I would like to deepen our understanding of these words  as we continue to seek strength and courage.

The first time the saying appears in the Torah is right here in Parshat Vayelach.  It is said three times.  Maybe it is repeated because courage and strength can be difficult to find.  Let’s look at each one. 

Deuteronomy 31:6 - The context is that Moses knows he is coming to the end of his life.  I imagine that the Israelites must have been terrified.  Moses had led them and been present through highs and lows - every moment of the past 40 years. Yes – Joshua was ready to step forward,- but change and transition can be terrifying. Moses tells the people: chizku v’imtzu.  Look at the context:

He tells them he is 120 and no longer has the strength to lead.  Change is inevitable and we gain strength from having perspective that change is part of life.

He reassures that this is not about him – that God will be with them.  Strength comes from faith.

He reminds them that his successor Joshua has been selected by God. Strength comes from planning thoughtfully.

He recounts that we had past success conquering Og and Sihon.  Strength comes from remind yourself of past success.  We have a history that sustains.

Be Strong and Courageous – rely on the past; know that change happens and you’ll be okay.  Don’t allow fear to crowd out other pieces of our story.

Then Moses says it to Joshua directly two times.  (vs. 7) chazak ve’amatz.  You’ve got this.  You will lead the people into the land.  Note that he emphasizes YOU.  Strength comes from knowing we have the capacity to succeed, others acknowledging that, and stepping into our roles. I succeeded an incredible rabbi – Rabbi David Teitelbaum and he always turned people to me and my skills. He believed in me and let others know it.  When someone asked him to officiate at a lifecycle moment, he said: “Rabbi Ezray is the rabbi now.”  He gave me strength. And there is more in this section.  Moses reassures Joshua that God says, “I will be with you.”  Faith gives us strength.

And then Moses repeats this one more time, vs. 23 (p. 1178).  The context of this reassurance follows Moses describing how the Israelites will rebel and turn to alien gods.  God will be angry and withdraw.  How must Joshua have felt at this moment?  I imagine at bit overwhelmed.  And Moses says those words again: “Chazak v’amatz – be strong and courageous. It is when life is challenging that courage is required.

Where does courage come from in this moment when everything feels lost?  It often comes from perspective.   As we look at commentary, different perspectives offered.  Rambam interprets Moses as instructing Joshua: “Don’t be scared of the people.  Stand your ground.  The people are tough, but you have the strength to succeed.”  Fear of judgement, that others may not listen stand in our way as we seek courage.  Moses words to Joshua remind us to stand firm in who we are and what we believe. Courage is not the absence of fear – it is the capacity to overcome fear – through knowing who we are.

 Midrash Sifrei Devarim has a very different interpretation: “These people are like young lambs, babies really.  Don’t expect too much or be hard on them.”  Maybe strength and courage is having perspective which can result in gentle judgement and patience in the face of frustration at others’ behavior.  

Think of all the places in life where we need the strength and courage at a moment of fear or transition.  The call is to stand our ground, to do so in gentle patient way call to our heart.  On this Shabbat before Yom Kippur we especially need strength and courage as we search our hearts asking: Where do I need to change?  How can I find courage to say ‘I’m sorry’ in a way that makes a difference?   How can I make amends to those whom we have disappointed, hurt, ignored, or whose needs I have failed to notice?  How do I make amends to myself?  

On this Shabbat Shuva I want to share two stories of people who found the strength courage to make true change. The first I discovered in a column by  NYT columnist David French, where he shared a episode from the series The Bear.  For those of you who have not seen it, it is about a Chicago restaurant and the small community of cooks and servers who are trying to transform a family-owned sandwich shop into a Michelin-starred restaurant. The series is centered on a young, talented chef named Carmen Berzatto. Carmy, as his friends and fellow workers call him, who moves home to Chicago after his brother died by suicide to run the family restaurant. The twist here is that Carmy is no ordinary cook; he’s an elite chef who has worked in the best restaurants in the world.

The show vividly captures restaurant work: stress, raw emotions, brutal pace.  Relationships are tested and damaged. Though talented, Carmy can be arrogant and mean. Though you can see his fundamental decency, his temper threatens his friendships, the restaurant and family bonds. The show feels so real with everything going on in America.

Carmy finds the strength to express regret for many of his behaviors and says, "I'm sorry" many times.  But his apologies had no substance and were dismissed by those who received them. Repentance is more than regret, it is active. True strength is changing our behavior in genuine ways and that is what we witness. In an extraordinary scene, Carmy acts in a way that shows genuine regret – I won’t reveal what happens.  The change had an impact. He and his friends recommit  to each other. 

French writes: “There was a time when I believed that the two most powerful sentences in the English language were I love you and I'm sorry. I now know that those words can wound deeply when they are contradicted by our actions. I'm sorry, can even insult our intelligence if regret never leads to repentance, but when a person does make amends, his humility can possess enormous power.” The call Chazak V’Amatz stirs in me the courage not just to say “I’m sorry” but to change my behavior to reflect the integrity of my words.  We need to avoid perfunctory apologies – “I’m sorry BUT” never bring healing and reconnection because we are not taking responsibility for our own behavior.

Too often when we think about teshuvah it is about what others need to do – not ourselves. Listen to what David French words: “I’m such a fallen person that when I saw that scene  [Carmy’s repentance] , I admit that my first thought was of the people who needed to repent to me. But thankfully, that moment passed. Instead, I came to feel a profound sense of conviction. I asked myself, “Who have I harmed?” and — more important — “How can I change?” That is the courage the High Holidays calls for.

There is a story sincere teshuvah from Jewish history about Jonah Gerundi, who found the courage and strength to make a sincere apology for a wrong he committed. Rabbenu Yonah of Gerondi was a French scholar who lived in the 13^th Century.  He was a contemporary of Moses Maimonides, the Rambam, and he deeply opposed the thoughts of Rambam.  He believed Maimonides's philosophical writings were dangerous.  Maimonides was a rationalist, believing everything needed or had a reason, Rabbi Jonah felt faith demanded submitting to the Divine even when it made no sense.  He worried Maimonides allegorical reading of text took away from a belief in a literal God – the God of miracles.  The dispute escalated in ways that feel so familiar to what is going on with American Jews right now.

So, in 1230, Rabbi Jonah of Gerondi proclaimed a ban against Maimonides work, prohibiting study of them.   He even organized burning of those books. Several years later Rabbenu Yonah was present when all the copies of the Talmud in Paris were burned in Paris. Watching this changed him.  Rabbeinu Yonah realized that he had been wrong to burn Rambam’s books. He then composed a work called "Shaarei Teshuvah," "The Gates of Teshuvah," in which he outlined the methods of doing Teshuvah, and he traveled from place to place preaching about the need to back away from matters which cause division among the Jewish People.

          This is the courage to change.  It is hard to do teshuva. When it’s a public Teshuva you have the added burden of admitting that you were wrong to a lot of people. When it comes to the less public changes we need to make, the habits we need to break, it can be difficult as well.  Chazak v’amatz libecha – let your hearts be strong and courageous. 

Listen to what Rabbenu Yonah writes in Shaarei Teshuvah:

Look into your hearts to see the things that make it hard to do Teshuva. If you’ve failed at one thing constantly, it is difficult to do Teshuva. If you have failed at over and over again chazak v’amatz -  be strong and have courage. Pour out your thoughts, as you pray and plead, gird yourself in strength to follow the Teshuva steps that I have outlined…and you will find grace and compassion.           

What are the patterns you need to break?  Who do you need to reach out to?  What are areas you promised ourselves to change – but somehow that change did not happen?    

Say the words: Chazak v’amatz libecha.  Say it again. Surround yourselves with people who will encourage you.  Follow the words of Jonah of Gerundi:

            Pour out your thoughts,

            Pray and plead,

            Gird yourself in strength

            Hazak V’ematz…and you will find grace and compassion.

May these words bring healing.  May we find strength.