Some of us are night owls – we like to stay up way too late! Some of us are early risers – we wake up way too early! And some of us are both – worrying about the state of world - we don’t seem to sleep at all!
Long ago,[i] there was a Beit Midrash – a House of Study, far from here. The students of that Beit Midrash loved Torah so much, that they never went to sleep. They studied throughout the night until the early morning hours.
Just as the sun would rise, they would gather together to recite their morning prayers. The students were tired after their nightly studies. They wished to recite their prayers as soon as the day began, so that they could go to bed. There was only one problem! The students weren’t sure when the night officially ended, and the day began. Don’t forget this was a long time ago. Our zealous students didn’t possess Apple Watches, iPhones, or even old school digital clocks. They were truly perplexed. They had no good answer. So, they approached their beloved rabbi.
“Rabbi,” they asked. “When does the night end and the day begin?”
The esteemed rabbi, as do all good teachers, turned the question back to the students! “Great question! Go outside during the darkest hours of the night and pay very close attention to changes in our world. Come back to me with your answer.
Early the next morning, the Know-it-All arrived first before anyone else had gathered. “Rabbi, I was wandering amongst our village when I saw a house in the distance. When I recognized that it was indeed my house and not the house of my neighbor, that was when the night ends and the day begins.”
The rabbi turned towards the student and with shake of the head, said: “No Bubele, that is not quite right.”
A second, very studious student approached their teacher. “Rabbi, as it was getting lighter outside, I wandered near my farm, when I saw an animal in the distance. When I could see whether it was a sheep, a horse, or a cow, that is the moment that the night ends and the day begins.”
The rabbi gave a forced smile and with a slight look of sadness, said, “No Motek, that is not quite right.”
The rabbi’s youngest student, one who
loved being outside timidly approached their teacher. “Rabbi, as I wandered amongst the beautiful
flowers, I began to make out all the vibrant colors: the reds, the blues, and
the yellows. I believe this is the
moment that the night ends and the day begins.”
As tears streamed down the rabbi’s face, the rabbi said, “No Habibi, that is not quite right.”
Student after student shared their answer with the rabbi… the rabbi became sadder and sadder. Finally, the rabbi turned towards all the students and became visibility angry. “Beloved Ones, you don’t understand! You divide your home from your neighbor’s home; one animal from another; one color from all the others. Our world is already filled with too much division and separation. Do you need to divide us even further? Isn’t our world broken enough? Is that what Judaism is about?”
The students turned to look towards
their rabbi. Then rabbi, please, tell us
the answer! “How do we know when the night
ends and the day begins?”
The rabbi gently looked at each of the students. “The answer is simple. When you look into the face of the stranger beside you, one who is so different from you, and you realize that this person is your brother, your sister, your beloved sibling, then and only then has the day begun. Until that time comes, it will always be night.”
It is so wonderful to gather with you all in our beautiful meadow as we welcome the New Year 5786! As always, we pray that this New Year will be a time of health, happiness, joy, and peace for us all. Yet, even amongst these hopes and dreams, a feeling of darkness, sadness, fear, and trepidation seemingly permeate our lives and our world. On this New Year, may the shofar awaken us, and our world, from our slumber.
You know, as do I, that our society is more fragmented from one another than ever before. We divide ourselves into different camps: “us” and “them.” Even scarier, in 2025, we are more separated from human contact than ever before. Study upon study has shown that because of technology, social media, new work environments, and the comforts of home, we are isolating ourselves from one another. We are lonelier and more unhappy. We seemingly lack the tools on how best to build strong and deep relationships.
Over the course of these High Holy Days, I seek to answer the same question in different ways: “How do I be a Jew in this moment?” My answer tonight: “to be a Jew is to be in community.” Our esteemed rabbi shared a poignant, yet simple lesson. The dark night will only end when we are in one another’s presence and recognize in each other, our humanity.
Luckily, our Jewish tradition provides us with the tools to make that a reality. As Dr. Erica Brown teaches, “The biblical expression “panim el panim,” face-to-face, is used in the Hebrew Bible multiple times to suggest the highest level of intimacy in communication.”[ii] Ancestors like Jacob and Esther, prophets like Moses, Miriam, and Ezekiel, turn towards the Holy One and one another, during challenging times. These face-to-face encounters strengthen our relationships.[iii] Jacob, seeing his brother for the first time in decades, shares in awe, “to see your face is like seeing the face of God”[iv] Panim el Panim, face to face encounters, remind us of our deep connection to humanity, divinity, and morality.
Over the last few decades, the third spaces, the places outside of home and work, where we gather have been decimated. As Robert Putnam has taught us: very few of us these days are part of a bowling league, attend regular civic meetings, or make sure to be present at a movie’s opening night. And yet, you are here! I want to lift up that you put life on hold, perhaps even had a little bit of stress getting everything and everyone together, to be here. This evening, you’ll meet old and new friends, you’ll eat, pray, study Torah, and build community.
More than ever, we need strong and vibrant communities. We know that the best way to combat loneliness and isolation is to be together face to face. And I believe, that one of the most important mitzvot, commandments in our Jewish tradition is Kedoshim Tehiyu, “You Shall Be Holy,”[v] for our rabbis teach that to live a holy and sacred life, we must be together in community.[vi] Whether at Bolton Street Synagogue, your community pool, your neighborhood, your school, or your community gatherings, we Jews must do our part to strengthen community. That only happens when we leave our homes, when we gather in person, when we see each other panim el panim, face-to-face. We also must do our part to visit those that are homebound, who are sick, who can’t be with us in person, to make sure they see a smiling face.
But what happens when we lose sight of each other’s faces? In the Torah, we learn of a phrase called Hester Panim[vii] – when God’s face is hidden from view. The theologian Martin Buber adapted this idea in his masterpiece “The Eclipse of God.” As Buber writes: “When history appears to be empty of God, … it is difficult for an individual and even more, for a people, to understand themselves as addressed by God. … During such times the world seems to be irretrievably abandoned to the forces of tyranny.”[viii]
Now, I know that many of us grapple with our beliefs around God and divinity. That’s ok! What I ask is that you interpret Buber through his words of warning. Buber was writing after the horrors of the Holocaust, but his ideas are unfortunately very timely.
At this moment, we watch the rise of authoritarianism, tyranny, and violence in our own country and throughout the world. When we hear politicians and leaders speak about fellow members of society as pests or animals, that is Hester Panim – our faces being hidden from one another. When ICE agents hide their faces with masks, leading to a lack of accountability or anonymity, that is Hester Panim – our faces being hidden from one another. When online bloggers disguise their true identities, when we aren’t sure if it’s a person, a BOT, or AI, that is Hester Panim – our faces being hidden from one another.
It is precisely at these moments that Martin Buber called an eclipse, when we lose sight of each other’s humanity. We know what happens when the stranger, the outlier, or the minority is no longer seen as a human being. Our Jewish history serves as a stark reminder that when society is unable or unwilling to see one another’s faces, we let the forces of tyranny win.
So what must we do? How can we lift-up one another’s humanity? Rabbi Rami Shapiro teaches, “Whenever you see another… you can recite this line to yourself: ‘I see this face as an expression of God’s Face.’” Perhaps you will change the wording of this prayer. I urge you to make your own. But think of the impact! Each time we look into the face of another, we see their humanity and divinity. Multiple times a day, we can do our part, to bring a bit of light into the dark night surrounding us.[ix]
There is so much danger when we are hidden
from one another, so let’s take off our masks and open our hearts. This New Year, let us truly see each other
and do our best to be seen. This New Year, let us hold one another accountable,
including our government, for their misdeeds.
This New Year, let us recognize that the stranger, the immigrant, those
who look, act, speak, or love differently from us are our brothers, our
sisters, our beloved siblings. This New
Year, let us prioritize our time, to be in community, gathering panim el
panim, face-to-face, to end this dark night and bring on the morning light.
[i] An
old Chasidic story. This version is
based upon “Day and Night” by Rabbi Ed Feinstein, found in “Capturing the Moon”
p. 54
[ii] Erica
Brown, “Seeing Ruth’s Face” – May 27, 2020 - https://ejewishphilanthropy.com/seeing-ruths-face/
[iii] Genesis
32:31, Exodus 33:11, Deuteronomy 34:10, Ezekiel 20:35
[iv]
Genesis 33:10
[v]
Leviticus 19:1
[vi] Me’or
VaShemesh-Parashat Kedoshim, R. Kalonymos Kalman Epstein
[vii]
Deuteronomy 31:18; Babylonian Talmud, Hullin 139b
[viii]
Martin Buber, “Eclipse of God” – Chapter 16
[ix] Rabbi
Rami Shapiro, “Seeing the Face of God” – September 3, 2022 - https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/seeing-the-face-of-god/
