Posted below is my introduction to the Torah reading (and Haftarah) on Yom Kippur morning. To read additional sermons from this year's holidays, go to the drop-down list on the right hand side of the screen. Or from the main page, you can keep scrolling down. Thanks!
YK Torah Intro 5779
Shanah Tovah!
Do you ever think about whether we, human beings, have free choice? And if you have, did you ever think about this eternal, vexing, complicated question using the metaphor of a vending machine? I have... But let’s come back to that.
A couple of months ago, in the middle of the summer, I was sitting by our community pool over on Putnam Blvd, not too far from here. The pool is never all that crowded. Even though quite a few residences have access to the pool, it seems to be a pretty similar cast of characters there all summer long. So on this one particular day, one of the regulars, a guy who I see there all the time, comes over while I’m giving my son, Max, a snack, and asks if he can pose a question to me. I, of course, say sure.
His question is, do we have free will? Is everything predetermined, do humans have no control over what they are going to do, and if so, why do we exist? You know, standard sit-around-the-pool-and-chat kind of a topic.
I’ll tell you how I answered him in a minute. But first, an ancient reference and a modern one.
If you’ve been reading my blog, Take on Torah, for the past year, you know that I’ve spent a whole cycle focusing on the Haftarah readings, rather than the Torah portion. After writing about 450 blog posts in nine years, I needed a change. As that year now draws to a close, I will be returning to looking at the Torah readings (mainly), but I still have another couple of weeks until Simchat Torah, when we start the Torah all over again, so today I want to focus on the Haftarah.
You see, our Torah reading is dull. It’s about ancient sacrifices, purification rituals, and some really riveting stuff about sacred tunics, incense, and sprinkling blood on an altar. Our Haftarah, however, from the prophet Isaiah, has God promising to bring the Jews back to their land. Having seen the Babylonian Empire decimate our homeland, then get dragged into slavery, THEN have the Persian Empire wipe out the Babylonian one and allow us to return home, the people are a little traumatized.
Isaiah says “let’s go back. Let’s rebuild!” And as incentive, God says (through Isaiah), “If you honor Shabbat and do not go your own ways, THEN you can seek and receive God’s favor.” (58:13-14) The key word here is “IF.” You have a choice. You ALWAYS have a choice. But there are repercussions and consequences of your actions. If you do x, God will reward you; if you do y, punishments await. It might not be a fun choice, but it is, still, a choice.
Yesterday, I used an image from the wizarding world of Harry Potter to make my point in my Kol Nidrei D’var Torah. Admittedly, that was weird. Not a source you expect to hear in synagogue, least of all on Yom Kippur. SO, naturally, I’m going to step back into Mr. Potter’s world once again. I promise, this is the last reference.
Harry goes to a school called Hogwarts. At Hogwarts, there are four houses, and every student belongs to just one house for their entire time at school. All students are sorted into houses on their very first day. Two of the schools, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, seem really lovely; but they essentially don’t matter. Then there’s Gryffindor, the good guys, and Slytherin, the bad guys. I’m summarizing, but essentially that’s it.
On Harry Potter’s first day, he puts on this magical Sorting Hat which will declare aloud which house will be his, and the hat, suddenly, seems stumped. Inside the hat, we hear it speaking to Harry, telling him that he could be immensely powerful in Slytherin. He could be wealthy, successful, and it would suit his personality quite well. But Harry whispers to himself, “Please, NOT Slytherin.” The hat hears him, and at the last second declares that Harry should go to Gryffindor.
Why am I telling you this? This decision haunts Harry. Right now, I am reading the THIRD book with my daughter, Caroline, having just finished the second one a week ago. At the end of that second book, wracked with guilt and shame, Harry tells the headmaster that the hat wanted to put him in Slytherin. The only reason it didn’t, is because he asked it not to.
Then the headmaster, Dumbledore, offers Harry this retort, which I submit to you fits our Torah reading, our Haftarah text from Isaiah, and even as a good reply to my neighbor on a beach chair by the pool. He says, “It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”
I think that free will is like a vending machine. When I step up to it with my dollar bill, I believe that God ALREADY knows that I am going to choose Root Beer and not Mountain Dew. God knows all along, has always known, and will always know every one of our decisions. But I don’t know. (Well, in this case, Mountain Dew is gross, so the choice is easy…) God may know everything I am going to do, but because I don’t, it is still MY choice.
Isaiah is telling the Israelites, God is NOT guaranteeing you favor. IF you are loyal, it will go well, but you STILL have a choice. IF we offer those prescribed sacrifices, IF we honor Shabbat and Yom Kippur, then we can ask for favor and hope for success. But God doesn’t owe us these gifts.
We still have to make choices. Every day of our lives, we have to make choices. I love Dumbledore’s response to Harry Potter. Sure, you’ve got great abilities, and yeah, you’ve got a riveting story. But what defines you is what you CHOOSE to do with your life. No one can dictate it for you. Maybe God, but God is the one saying YOU get to decide!!
Not only do you GET to decide… you HAVE TO decide. We cannot live life without making choices; even if, and perhaps especially when, they define us.
So THAT is my answer. Sort of. I suppose one could argue, did I therefore say that there IS free will or there ISN’T? I’ll let you CHOOSE to interpret my answer however you like.
Our Torah reading for this morning begins on page 278. The Book of Leviticus, chapter 16, verse 1.
Do you ever think about whether we, human beings, have free choice? And if you have, did you ever think about this eternal, vexing, complicated question using the metaphor of a vending machine? I have... But let’s come back to that.
A couple of months ago, in the middle of the summer, I was sitting by our community pool over on Putnam Blvd, not too far from here. The pool is never all that crowded. Even though quite a few residences have access to the pool, it seems to be a pretty similar cast of characters there all summer long. So on this one particular day, one of the regulars, a guy who I see there all the time, comes over while I’m giving my son, Max, a snack, and asks if he can pose a question to me. I, of course, say sure.
His question is, do we have free will? Is everything predetermined, do humans have no control over what they are going to do, and if so, why do we exist? You know, standard sit-around-the-pool-and-chat kind of a topic.
I’ll tell you how I answered him in a minute. But first, an ancient reference and a modern one.
If you’ve been reading my blog, Take on Torah, for the past year, you know that I’ve spent a whole cycle focusing on the Haftarah readings, rather than the Torah portion. After writing about 450 blog posts in nine years, I needed a change. As that year now draws to a close, I will be returning to looking at the Torah readings (mainly), but I still have another couple of weeks until Simchat Torah, when we start the Torah all over again, so today I want to focus on the Haftarah.
You see, our Torah reading is dull. It’s about ancient sacrifices, purification rituals, and some really riveting stuff about sacred tunics, incense, and sprinkling blood on an altar. Our Haftarah, however, from the prophet Isaiah, has God promising to bring the Jews back to their land. Having seen the Babylonian Empire decimate our homeland, then get dragged into slavery, THEN have the Persian Empire wipe out the Babylonian one and allow us to return home, the people are a little traumatized.
Isaiah says “let’s go back. Let’s rebuild!” And as incentive, God says (through Isaiah), “If you honor Shabbat and do not go your own ways, THEN you can seek and receive God’s favor.” (58:13-14) The key word here is “IF.” You have a choice. You ALWAYS have a choice. But there are repercussions and consequences of your actions. If you do x, God will reward you; if you do y, punishments await. It might not be a fun choice, but it is, still, a choice.
Yesterday, I used an image from the wizarding world of Harry Potter to make my point in my Kol Nidrei D’var Torah. Admittedly, that was weird. Not a source you expect to hear in synagogue, least of all on Yom Kippur. SO, naturally, I’m going to step back into Mr. Potter’s world once again. I promise, this is the last reference.
Harry goes to a school called Hogwarts. At Hogwarts, there are four houses, and every student belongs to just one house for their entire time at school. All students are sorted into houses on their very first day. Two of the schools, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, seem really lovely; but they essentially don’t matter. Then there’s Gryffindor, the good guys, and Slytherin, the bad guys. I’m summarizing, but essentially that’s it.
On Harry Potter’s first day, he puts on this magical Sorting Hat which will declare aloud which house will be his, and the hat, suddenly, seems stumped. Inside the hat, we hear it speaking to Harry, telling him that he could be immensely powerful in Slytherin. He could be wealthy, successful, and it would suit his personality quite well. But Harry whispers to himself, “Please, NOT Slytherin.” The hat hears him, and at the last second declares that Harry should go to Gryffindor.
Why am I telling you this? This decision haunts Harry. Right now, I am reading the THIRD book with my daughter, Caroline, having just finished the second one a week ago. At the end of that second book, wracked with guilt and shame, Harry tells the headmaster that the hat wanted to put him in Slytherin. The only reason it didn’t, is because he asked it not to.
Then the headmaster, Dumbledore, offers Harry this retort, which I submit to you fits our Torah reading, our Haftarah text from Isaiah, and even as a good reply to my neighbor on a beach chair by the pool. He says, “It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”
I think that free will is like a vending machine. When I step up to it with my dollar bill, I believe that God ALREADY knows that I am going to choose Root Beer and not Mountain Dew. God knows all along, has always known, and will always know every one of our decisions. But I don’t know. (Well, in this case, Mountain Dew is gross, so the choice is easy…) God may know everything I am going to do, but because I don’t, it is still MY choice.
Isaiah is telling the Israelites, God is NOT guaranteeing you favor. IF you are loyal, it will go well, but you STILL have a choice. IF we offer those prescribed sacrifices, IF we honor Shabbat and Yom Kippur, then we can ask for favor and hope for success. But God doesn’t owe us these gifts.
We still have to make choices. Every day of our lives, we have to make choices. I love Dumbledore’s response to Harry Potter. Sure, you’ve got great abilities, and yeah, you’ve got a riveting story. But what defines you is what you CHOOSE to do with your life. No one can dictate it for you. Maybe God, but God is the one saying YOU get to decide!!
Not only do you GET to decide… you HAVE TO decide. We cannot live life without making choices; even if, and perhaps especially when, they define us.
So THAT is my answer. Sort of. I suppose one could argue, did I therefore say that there IS free will or there ISN’T? I’ll let you CHOOSE to interpret my answer however you like.
Our Torah reading for this morning begins on page 278. The Book of Leviticus, chapter 16, verse 1.
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