Shabbat Greetings
This Shabbat is called Shabbat Ha-Gadol, the Sabbath just prior to Passover which starts Monday evening. The Haftarah for Shabbat Ha-Gadol is from the prophet Malachi, and contains a moving statement on redemption, most appropriate for the season in which the Israelites were redeemed from slavery. Malachi’s message, “Behold I will send you Elijah, the prophet on this GREAT awesome Day…Yom HaGadol V’HaNorah! Passover is about a historical redemption, a time of freedom; the prophet’s promise here is for redemption to come again. When will it come? This redemption, by the coming of a Messiah, and the future is foretold by Elijah, with Elijah serving as the messenger.
My understanding of history, ours and the world’s, indicates that the idea of Messianism leads to a perception of absolutism. Time has proven that it is dangerous and this has provided great pain for humankind. The idea of perfection is equated with impossibility. The weight of our tradition indicates that we live in a world that resides between poles…good and evil, sweet, bitter, holy and profane; that is the human condition. Yet, the figure of Elijah and his promise of redemption is very significant in parts of our ancient tradition.
What’s Elijah going to do when he comes? Well, in a very beautiful expression it says, “The prophet, Elijah will turn the hearts of parents to their children, and children to their parents.” Elijah will bring reconciliation between opposing forces, people who see the world differently, from different places and different perspectives.
If I had to categorize the major problems that people come to me with, I would say that around 80% of them have to do with raising children, have to do with differences between generations, an older generation feeling a younger generation doesn’t take responsibility; a younger generation feeling an older generation doesn’t understand. Today, we are dealing with tremendous challenges, an aging population and the responsibility of families for that. There is transformation taking place in politics and social situations which create a division between the hearts of parents and children. So, Elijah will come and he will turn the hearts of parents to their children and the hearts of children to their parents. What a beautiful notion. The Messiah is contingent on that.
On Monday night, we’re going to welcome Elijah into our homes. Elijah is one of the most popular and beloved biblical figures in Jewish legend and yet there is less known about him than most prophets. We know that he is from Tishbi; it’s a little town in Gilead which is east of the Jordan. Our rabbis have taught us that Elijah was upright, fearless, uncompromising, and a zealous man. Yet, it is his death that propels him into a higher realm. Even though the Book of Kings said that he departed life in a chariot of fire and he was born up to heaven by a whirlwind, the rabbis taught us that Elijah didn’t die, but flew into the heavens.
This gave the rabbis incredible soil to plant their legends and ideas. Based on the personality that is created in the legends of the Midrash, Elijah wandered over the face of the earth in many disguises. Usually, as a Bedouin, like figure from the desert, where he would act as a messenger of God, he would warn people when they were facing disaster. He’d feed the hungry and shelter the needy. He would advise people how to improve their condition and the world. He especially appeared in times of great distress and danger. Elijah would bring consolation to the outcasts of society, to the afflicted and Elijah would also test the arrogant. Elijah’s name became associated with hope and expectation. He became the model of giving. And he would herald the time when all would be well, all would be equal, the world will be at peace. And that is his chief role on this holiday. He is the prophet of hope, the symbol of a dream. As our people experienced redemption in history one time after years of oppression and hate we would once again find a place of comfort.
Later on, the rabbis in the Talmud evoke Elijah as the solver of all the problems we have and the difficult questions we cannot answer. The message in the Talmud is that there is a realization that not all questions have answers. None of us can know all the answers even if they did exist. All the legal difficulties that are unresolved will accumulate and someday there will be an answer, but not now. We have to live with contradictions and we have to learn with uncertainty. That I believe is the sign of spiritual maturity. Elijah will do this and when he finally comes at the end of the day, in this legend, the answers will become clear and that will denote the coming of the Messiah. So, Elijah has played a very important purpose as a symbol of a world that will be redeemed, as a symbol for a world that needs redemption, a better world. Elijah symbolizes a world where there is reconciliation in families, where problems are solved; a world that is ready to accept the Messiah.
Did you know that there are rabbinic arguments about the Seder table? Just about everything is questioned and one question is how many cups of wine? We all assume there are four, but there are some who say there are five based on a passage in Exodus(6:6-8). Today we have four cups and a fifth cup is the cup of Elijah. Maybe, he will come to our Seder table and he will drink of it himself.
The Rabbis taught that Elijah comes to the naming of our children. A special chair is there - Kisei Eliyahu - and his purpose there at that time, at that moment of is to express the great hope in a young couple’s life as they celebrate their newborn entering into the covenant of the people Israel. Could there be a moment of greater hope? So, we welcome Elijah and give him a chair that is supposed to have mystical powers.
Even with all of this, the Baal Shem Tov offers the best understanding of Elijah and fits modern Judaism well. He said, “You don’t have to be afraid. When Elijah comes, he will come not through that door, not at all. Elijah is going to come through your heart.” If redemption comes to the world, the secret of redemption will be when people’s hearts are open to each other. When people’s hearts are open to life, then they will respect each other, they will listen to each other. Children and parents will not become one; children and parents will get even closer as they live with each other’s differences. Elijah is a symbol of the ability to live with questions, disagreement, uncertainty…and move forward retaining hope.
Passover is a time of openness. We are to open to our hearts, to new possibilities, to new growth. Hope is a constant companion of the Jewish people. Our hope in the coming of a Messiah, a Messianic period cannot be rooted in either an empty ritual, in words which are sung or myth, but rather must be transformed into action. Ultimately the changes that need to be made in the world are made by each one of us. We create the conditions for redemption when we teach respect for all, work for the end of poverty and oppression, and help repair our world. Yearning for better days will not just happen through faith or words, but rather action. That’s the essence of the Jewish vision. We hope, we pray, we learn and through it all we need to be transformed to take responsibility for the world we live in. May your Pesach be sweet.
Shabbat Shalom
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