Rosh Hashanah 5778

Shanah tovah to everyone, may 5778 be a year of happiness and good fortune for you. The days before the High Holidays are a time of tension and stress for many people. The Cantor and I do a lot of planning, Rachel and all of our volunteers do a lot of arranging, the tickets have to go out to the right people, and all in all there is a great deal to do to make sure the holidays go smoothly.

I know that everyone has their own preparations to make. Some people have to arrange to get off from work (I don’t have that problem), and then there are often family dinners and get togethers to arrange. And this is apart from all the spiritual preparation that everyone does. 

Nonetheless, I do love the holidays. I love the music, the traditional prayers, and especially the opportunity to grapple with some of the big questions to which we may pay less attention during the year. The Torah we just read on this first day of Rosh Hashanah is the Akedah, the Binding of Isaac. This portion alone brings up many of those great questions. 

We may ask ourselves what Gd asked of Abraham, and by extension, what Gd asks of us. We ask what kind of test this was, whether Abraham passed or failed, Isaac’s role, and so on. But are these academic questions, or is this a matter of life and death for us? Most of us probably do not feel very connected to this story. We are not afraid of what will happen to Isaac, we know how it turns out. And the story does not fill us with fear and trembling because we know it will never happen to us. 

It is not only that we do not believe that Gd will not tell us to sacrifice our children. For many of us, this story is not frightening because we do not believe in a Gd who asks for anything. 

As Reform Jews, we doubt the existence of a Gd who cares whether we eat pork or not. We doubt that Gd is angry if we drive on Shabbat, if we don’t cover our heads, if we eat a cheeseburger. 

And this is not just a Reform problem. All thinking Jews must wonder about the nature of a Gd who rescued the slaves in Egypt but not the slaves in the United States, who parted the sea to rescue the Jews of ancient times but wouldn’t part a fence to rescue the Jews of the Holocaust. Who wouldn’t shift a plane 50 feet to the side to save thousands of lives on September 11th, 2001. 

But many of us are not angry with Gd for failing to save those people. We don’t expect Gd to do things for us because we doubt the very existence of that kind of Gd. We doubt the existence of a supernatural Gd. 

When we say ‘supernatural,’ we mean outside the physical existence of the universe. Without a doubt, the Jewish Gd is a supernatural Gd. Judaism says that Gd created the universe, which means that Gd was around before the universe. Before there was time, before there was space. If you can have a ‘before’ without there being time. We can’t, but Gd is supernatural, and therefore logic does not apply. When we create, we reshape materials that exist, or combine materials to make new things. When Gd creates, it is something out of nothing. Where did the materials come from? Where did the energy to create come from? If logic is a system in which we state “If x, then y,” Gd is the very opposite of logic. We get the “y” without the “x.” 

Gd’s creation defies logic. It defies the laws of the universe, and that is the point. Gd created the universe, and is not bound by its laws. But this is difficult for many of us to accept. Many of us do not believe in a Gd who is outside of the laws of nature, or the laws of logic. Many of us cannot accept a supernatural Gd. 

We have grown up in an era in which we all learn about the scientific method. You form a hypothesis, and you test it. Based on the results of the test, you may conclude that you were right, or you may need to change your hypothesis. Things that we cannot prove scientifically we say are false. The value of science is that it separates the true from the fictitious, reality from fantasy. 

Before the modern era, there were many people who believed in the supernatural. Some of it was fraud — fortunetelling, phrenology. Some of it was remnants of primitive religions-ghosts, witches, faeries, trolls… People believed in good and bad luck, in the evil eye, in magic. We don’t believe in that stuff any more. We have science now! We don’t believe in anything supernatural — except that we are asked to believe in Gd. A Gd who is outside of nature, Who is greater than heaven and earth, Who is not bound by the laws of nature or science or logic. And that is not so easy. 

My father did not believe in a supernatural Gd. He did not approve of organized religion. He did not like going to synagogue. But he would always say that he was a good Jew, and he was. He was generous, he was kind, and he worked all of his life to make this world a better place. But how can you be a good Jew if you do not believe in Gd? 

We are Reform Jews, and many of us operate pretty well as people who keep some of the Jewish commandments, are connected to the history and culture of the Jewish people, and don’t think too much about what kind of a Gd we believe in. We value Judaism for its many fine points. But what is the value of Judaism without a supernatural deity?

Judaism has a lot to say about ethics, about good and bad behavior. Judaism has a lot to say about meaning, about the purpose of existence. But if it is all based on a presumption that many of us doubt — that is, that the Torah is an accurate record of humanity’s interaction with a supernatural being — then where does that leave us? If Gd spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai.

But if Gd did not speak to Moses on Mount Sinai, what then? Why is murder wrong? 

There is always the golden rule, as given by Hillel — “What is hateful to yourself, do not do to others.”¹ But so what? A man said it. Another man might say ‘What is hateful to you do to others so that they cannot do it to you.’ If it doesn’t come from Gd, how do we know we are not allowed to commit murder?

In the story of the Binding of Isaac that we just read, we are told that we should not sacrifice our children. If there is one Gd in Heaven and Earth who said ‘Do not sacrifice your children,’ then that is a rule that applies to the entire world. But if that was written by a human being, then people who choose to follow it may do so, and people who choose not to follow it may do so as well. 

Without Gd, the Torah has no authority. And without the authority of the Torah, there is no ultimate right or wrong. There are civil laws, but who is to say if the laws are better in New York or New Jersey, in the United States or in North Korea? Without a belief in the supernatural, we are left without good and evil, without meaning. Without Gd. 

In the 21st century we know not to be superstitious. We know not to believe in the supernatural. We New Yorkers are harder to convince than anyone. New York is full of people trying to take advantage. There are con men and gamblers, sharps of every variety. We don’t leave our doors unlocked. We know not to play three card monte on the street. So why should we believe in the supernatural stories we see in our Torah? Why should we believe in Gd? Why should we follow any of the commandments of the Torah? 

If you have a difficult time believing in the supernatural, I have good news for you: You don’t have to. You don’t have to believe in angels, you don’t have to believe in creation from nothing. Because Judaism doesn’t really care what you believe. 

You can be superstitious, you can believe in astrology. You can believe in string theory, you can believe in a Gd sitting on a throne in the clouds. Or you can believe in none of them. What our tradition cares about is what you do. 

We care if you put a stumbling block before the blind. We care if you honor your father and your mother. We care if you are honest in business, if you give charity with an open heart. Judaism not only cares, Judaism demands that you follow the commandments of the Torah. And not only the commandments that say ‘Do not murder,’ and ‘Do not steal.’ Judaism demands that you also keep Shabbat. That you celebrate Rosh Hashanah. Judaism demands that you keep all the commandments in the Torah, whether you believe in Gd or not. 

I am not saying that you should keep the commandments the way the Orthodox do. Keep the commandments in whatever way you, as a Reform Jew, see fit. But not a single commandment should be ignored. 

How can this be? If we have doubts about the existence of a supernatural Gd, how can the Torah have any authority for us? According to the rabbis, we have permission not to believe in a supernatural Gd. And where do we get that permission? From Gd Himself! 

In the book of Jeremiah, Gd complains about His treatment at the hands of the Israelites. “They have forsaken Me and have not kept My Torah.”²

The early rabbis interpreted this radically. Why did Gd complain both ‘They have forsaken Me” and also complain “and [they] have not kept My Torah?’ Because Gd was saying ‘I don’t care if they forsake Me, as long as they keep My Torah!’³

Gd says “Don’t believe in Me, if you find that difficult. But keep the Torah. I don’t care what you believe. But keep the Torah.” Do you have a hard time believing in a supernatural Gd? Fine, but keep the Torah! Do you doubt that the Torah was handed to Moses on Mount Sinai? It doesn’t matter. Keep the Torah! 

Love your neighbor as yourself! You may not offer your children up as a sacrifice! Be kind to the stranger, for you were a stranger in the land of Egypt! Keep the Torah. 

Judaism really doesn’t care what you believe. Judaism cares what you do. If you don’t believe in a Gd not subject to the laws of logic, that’s your business. But if you don’t keep the Torah, you are not fulfilling your obligations as a Jew. 

Give to charity, hear the shofar on Rosh Hashanah. Attend a seder on Passover, remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy, rejoice in your festivals. On what basis? On no basis. 

But these are the things that Jews do. My father did them, and he was a good Jew. We keep the Torah, no matter what our opinion of the supernatural might be. 

Keep the Torah and be fully a Jew, a real Jew, a practicing Jew, whether or not you believe in a transcendent Gd. Whatever it may mean to be a practicing Jew. You have permission to be a good Jew without Gd. You have permission to disbelieve in the supernatural. And your permission comes from the very highest source. 

Gd spoke to Abraham and said to him “Abraham!” And Abraham said “Here I am.” Abraham’s relationship with Gd was his business. And your relationship with Gd is your business. But never say you are not a good Jew because of your belief or lack of belief in Gd. 

Today is the first day of the Jewish year 5778. Let us enter that year with a renewed determination to be good Jews, to keep the Torah, and to thereby make the world a better place, and fill our lives with meaning. Shanah Tovah. 

1. BT Shabbat 31a
2. Jeremiah 16:11
3. Pesika de Rav Kahana 15