Clergy Sermons

Yom Kippur - Seeds of Change

There is a famous story about Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai. He was in the midst of planting a tree, when a student came running. “Rabbi, rabbi, the Messiah has arrived!” Rather than getting up and running as you might expect – this is the messiah we are talking about - Rabbi Yochanan taught: “If you have a sapling in your hand and are about to plant it and you hear that the Messiah has arrived, first finish planting the sapling and then go greet the Messiah. This seemingly simple story has a lot to teach us at this moment.

Let me give you a little background. Rabbi Yochanan lived through the destruction the destruction of the 2^nd Temple and its aftermath. Just before the destruction, the Roman forces surrounded Jerusalem. Outnumbered, out armed and divided as a people – things were dire. Many don’t know the part of the story where we turned against one another. As often happens at times like this – people were looking for a savior. Many speculated that the Messiah would come imminently and save us. Different people were heralded as Messiah, or there were expectations that the Messiah would suddenly appear. One group burned food supplies and forbid people to leave - they felt we all needed to believe in the imminent arrival of Messiah to merit the Messiah’s coming. And if you disagreed, you could be killed. In Josephus we read about the sicari – people with long knives that would be under their robes and they would kill people who they perceived strayed from the proper path.

Rabbi Yochanan knew such salvation was not coming. Assessing reality, he saw Jerusalem would fall and orchestrated a new beginning – his students helped to sneak him out of the city in a coffin – the only way to past the Jewish guards at the gate who would not allow anyone out. (Jews bury people outside of the city) According to legend, he encountered the Roman General Vespasian and told him he would be made emperor. Vespasian granted him the city of Yavneh where Rabbi Yochanan established a Beit Midrash – a study hall. It reflected a new beginning – rabbinic Judaism, where we focused not on Temple sacrifice, but on study, good deeds, prayer, created civil organization and structure for society. Rabbi Yochanan believed human responsibility and action was the only thing that would bring change – not the Messiah.The simple statement saying to finish planting the sapling if you hear the Messiah is coming is actually a radical reassessment of how to face difficult moments.

Rabbi Yochanan and his fellow rabbis created a new beginning out of tragedy. Something new and meaningful emerged – rooted in flexibility to change and passionate competing opinions – and led to the Judaism we know today. Picture yourself planting a sapling that will grow over the years. Sometimes it might grow quickly and other times it will take time.; All we can do is prepare the soil and plant the seeds. I believe this is the call for the moment in which we live – knowing that that which we do will yield fruit. Believe in the power to create change. Know that throughout Jewish history, the most dynamic, creative and defining changes have come in the aftermath of something catastrophic – like the destruction of the Temple. This may be a similar moment.

This morning I would like to share areas where we have planted seeds and what we as a community might do together in coming days.

Let’s start with that which feels so overwhelming, painful and pervasive – antisemitism. Who could have imagined it would get so bad so quickly? Who could imagine we would hear news this morning of an attack on a synagogue in Manchester, England on this most holy day of the Jewish calendar. It is sickening and unfathomable – the shock and pain is visceral. No quick solution exists – so much is beyond our control.

Plant seeds. Begin with Jewish pride. At a time when we might want to hide or run away, one way to respond to antisemitism is pride in who we are – even if it is less public. We will each live our pride in different ways. I received a beautiful note after Rosh HaShana from a member who now proudly wears a Star of David. For her and her daughter, the statement of “This is who I am and I’m proud” ripples beyond the simple act. It roots them in an affirmation of identity. 

Act to strengthen your identity.  Come and feel the power of community – your pride and gratitude will swell. Feel pride in a religion that roots us in goodness, care, joy, obligation to improve the world. It will not eliminate fear – but it will give strength and support to grow alongside fear.

Seeds of change are nurtured and ripple through relationships we build. Talk with people - co-workers, acquaintances – people who might not otherwise understand our pain and our story. It is slow work – person by person. Our Am Yisrael Committee and others have planted seeds by fostering relationships with Redwood City Council members – and it has made a difference. When you know each other, people listen in different ways. I called the pastor at the church around the corner to share how lonely it felt to not hear from him after October 7. He called me back immediately and asked to meet. He heard my pain and asked for forgiveness. In fact, he invited me to the sermon he gave calling on his community to stand with us and respond to antisemitism they may witness. He has become a wonderful ally. We plant seeds when we tell our stories. Let me know when things like this happen to you, and we’ll share it with community. Planting these seeds gives strength and brings tiny glimpses of light. Hold onto that.

Think about places you might make a difference – there are many. Support organizations that are doing incredible work which is yielding fruit. There is so much to do. Let me know the activism and organizations you feel a passion for, and I will share them as well as the ones I support on the website and in Shavua Tov. We will join together in a variety of activisms – for there are a variety of approaches to actions that need to be taken. The seeds we plant will take time – but I believe in the capacity for things to change.

Every act has the potential to bring change. Here in America, many feel pained at what we are witnessing in our country. Each day seems to bring shocked developments. Protest injustice and threats to democracy. This is a moment in our American history that I believe demands protest! We may disagree on what to protest and need to stay connected to those who disagree. Creating soil that sprouts connection in the face of passionate disagreement is crucial at this moment.

For those of us who believe it is a moment to protest it can feel unclear as to protest in a way that makes a difference. We do as best we can, knowing that throughout history, the seeds planted in peaceful protest have catalyzed change.

Look for ways to bring justice that the moment demands. There are several congregants who have received special training to represent immigrants seeking asylum. They care about justice and worry that people who have been persecuted in their home country and have fled to the United States might be returned to a place where their lives are endangered. They know that when you have representation, you are far more likely to succeed. Some congregants are handing out “know your rights cards” to people threatened with deportation. I have a group of interfaith colleagues who are 'on call' for court accompaniment, witness, prayer and solidarity. Seeds of change happen when dignity serves as the starting point. This is not about immigration policy – that is a much larger and complicated issue that we need to discuss and debate. This is about due process, justice and respect as to how people are treated. Again, share your stories and activism and we will find a place to lift it up in community.

And what about Israel? The seeds of change come from seeing and responding to pain, being healers, and building towards what might be. I have a dear friend in Israel who devotes herself to Hazit Habayit - The Home Front Project. It is a place where people displaced by war – essentially refugees in their own country receive anything for their temporary homes – sofas, kitchen supplies, beds, other furniture for free. People are lining up to donate and volunteer so that people who have gone through the unthinkable can re-establish a sense of home. This date, Hazit Habayit has helped refurbish thousands of homes. And it is more than that – the volunteers come from different communities across religious, ethnic and political spectrum. Divisions and animosity vanish as we find common ground through caring. Small acts help create unity amidst our differences.

Hazit HaBayit has a psychologist as part of the staff. People come into Hazit Habayit with PTSD. One man could not escape the smell of death he experienced on October 7, so the staff helped him find candles and other aromas to replace the smell. So much trauma exists in Israel – it is one of those untold stories. It is real – time in shelters, prolonged army service, what is witnessed in war, feeling under siege with missile attacks, a divided and angry society. The impact ripples – on marriages, suicide rates, well-being.  Let’s be present to that pain and plant seeds of healing.  We can partner with efforts to give the hundreds of thousands of people who will need psychological services the help they need in the days, months and years to come. Again, we will put information on our website.

As a CBJ community, we will partner this year with an amazing school system in the Negev. The system is called Adam V’Adama, a network of schools with 400 students where classwork focuses on connection to the land – agriculture, work ethic, leadership. The program seeks to restore local production, improve food independence, strengthen the borders in the periphery, appreciate nature and to raise the next generation of farmers. It restores the pioneering spirit that founded Israel. Our teens will meet and get to know the Israeli students at Sde Nitztan school. We’ll share art and music, stories, study texts and holidays. When we travel to Israel, we will meet with their new friends, and hopefully greet them warmly when they come here. Our connection will extend to the entire region. We will donate, partner and help rebuild. Please pick up flyers on the table of the foyer.

Let’s plant seeds of peace by talking to Palestinians. This effort is going on already in our community. It has to be done carefully – setting parameters of accepting Israel as a sovereign Jewish state and not demonizing or de-legitimizing Israel. There are many here partners and programs focusing on talking, working together and building a different future – people who have turned away from hate and toward a shared future. It means difficult conversations – hearing things that will upset us. It is a small step in what will take years and years. Hatred and disconnect is so deeply ingrained it feels impossible to overcome.

But when someone feels heard and seen, cracks of light can appear. So many efforts exist – we just don’t hear about them. There are many schools and youth movements where this is happening – where dehumanization of one another begins to fade away conversation by conversation, encounter by encounter – these are the seeds sprouting something different.  At a time when we cannot imagine peace, let’s plant seeds and once again be a community where these stories and efforts are lifted up and supported.

It will take a long time. Our current reality is painful. It was a generation before the sapling Yochanan ben Zakkai planted grew into a beautiful tree. Hold onto the power of planting seedlings. Let’s dream and imagine what might sprout. Let’s act individually and as a community. I conclude with Lin-Manuel Miranda words in Hamilton regarding a new nation struggling to define its legacy in the song, “The World Was Wide Enough.”

Legacy! What is a legacy?
It's planting seeds in a garden you never get to see
I wrote some notes at the beginning of a song someone will sing for me
America, you great unfinished symphony, you sent for me

We are living amidst a great unfinished symphony. The last notes will not be written in our lifetimes. All we can do is plant seeds that we pray will grow into beautiful trees - bearing fruit, giving roots and providing shade for the next generation. Let’s plant seeds.