Take Me Out to the Synagogue
Question
The High Holy Days are the only ones I even consider going to synagogue. The rest of the year… Meh. But I know my Bubby would turn over in her grave if I didn’t go on Rosh Hashanah and/or Yom Kippur. As much as it’s a drag, it does give me a sense of connection to Judaism and the Jewish community that I don’t get otherwise. But this year, services will be virtual, and I just can’t see myself getting anything out of it. I can’t look at screens or focus on virtual meetings for even one minute more than is absolutely necessary for my job, which is already too much. Is there a way for me to get that spiritual “fix” without attending services, virtual or otherwise?
Answer
To be honest, services can be tiresome sometimes, even for the most seasoned attendee. The good news is, you’re in the right religion, because one thing that Judaism is awesome at is accessibility. While some faiths require extremely specific practices in order to be “safe” or on God’s “good side,” Judaism is structured in a way that it can meet each person where they’re at. There are always opportunities for growth, no matter where you are or what your circumstances. Will it require you to push yourself? Absolutely. That’s the stuff of life, after all. Those opportunities are always yours for the taking. No one and nothing can take those away from you. Not even Covid-19!
The High Holidays is a perfect example. Can services help you get in the right frame of mind? Sure. But are they critical? I don’t think so. Because Judaism is about growth, and for most people, most of that growth is not happening within the walls of the synagogue. Each holiday, each season, each part of every day, has unique opportunities for character development. Understanding what’s unique about this time of year can help you access it more independently no matter where you are.
As you probably already know, Rosh Hashanah is not just a big birthday party. It’s called the Yom HaDin, or the Day of Judgement, because it’s the time when an accounting is made for all of creation. Much like an end-of-year financial review, where companies like to take stock of their earnings, investments, progress, and setbacks to determine how to move forward in the coming year.
Think of a young, hopeful entrepreneur, who has a brilliant product concept that he knows will change the world. But there’s no existing company that could actually realize his vision, so he has to start from the bottom up. He takes in one or two trusted colleagues and pours his blood, sweat and tears into developing his product and building his company to get to the point of making his vision a reality. After many setbacks, trials and errors, at least one cheating partner, multiple trips to China, going public, cutting ribbons, the works… It’s finally happened. His company is huge, his product is huge, his profit is huge, he’s living the dream. But, there are steps he needs to take if he wants it to last. If he doesn’t constantly track, measure, restructure, redirect, prune, expand, innovate… We all know what’s going to happen. (We’re lookin’ at you, Polaroid.)
If you were working for this company, and you wanted to keep your job, you know you have to be on your toes and that your department has to be excelling. If it isn’t, you may all lose your jobs by the end of the fiscal year.
If you think about it, our world is one really big venture operation. It was created with a vision. We were created with a vision. And if we want to be part of it, we need to make sure we’re fulfilling our roles properly.
There are also different kinds of employees. Some are just cogs in the machine. They clock in and clock out, fulfill technical operations, they can be completely focused on those small pieces without even having any clue what it is that they’re producing. As long as they get their paycheck and holidays, they’re good. Those workers are fine, but they’re also utterly expendable.
Then there are the visionaries. The employees that see the full picture, that understand the goal. The ones that keep their eyes open and notice when processes aren’t the most efficient or how a team can do better. Those are the valuable ones, the ones that become indispensable and are swiftly given more and bigger responsibilities. (Point to ponder: when it comes to actualizing a mission, responsibility confers the greatest prestige and equity.)
The opportunity of Rosh Hashanah is not bound to the synagogue. It’s fundamentally and most importantly within each one of us. It’s a process of assessing our role in this universe. If I want to continue to be a part of it, to reap the joys of existence in this world, I need to make sure I matter. And I can only do that if I know two things: what is the purpose and goal of existence, and am I making sure my life is indispensable to that mission? In other words, am I contributing to the purpose of the world?
The prayers that the Sages designated for the day were chosen because they help guide us through that process of introspection. But it has to happen within each person, and it can happen anywhere that there is internal quiet and focus. So, even when one is able to attend services, they’d probably want to carefully choose a style and environment that will be most conducive to that kind of thoughtfulness. One that encourages proactive individual participation, and not just passive listening. One that is not chaotic, not juvenile, and not focused on guilt-tripping or current events or political analysis. The words of the Rosh Hashanah liturgy, by contrast, are moving and thought-provoking, and can be accessed in English online and printed prior to the holiday.
Just to prove that synagogue attendance is not the most critical ingredient in this growth process: it doesn’t, shouldn’t, can’t, happen in just an hour or two. In fact, the Sages designated the entire 30-day period preceding Rosh Hashanah as a time of introspection, and take it from me, even those who do it right aren’t spending the whole month in synagogue. Judaism is about bringing thoughtfulness into everyday living, in every moment and every space and every interaction; not just checking in and out of spirituality when you visit certain buildings.
So, gather those shareholders and start looking over those fiscal reports. If you do it right, you very well might be the Universe’s Employee of the Year next time around.
Happy New Year!