Could Losing High Holidays Bring Us Closer To God?
By: Rabbi Patrick Beaulier
According to Pew Research, American Jews are not a particularly religious bunch. Only fifty-six percent of us say that religion is “very” or “somewhat” important to us and although the overwhelming majority of American Jews participate in things like Passover seders and Hanukkah parties, other rituals like lighting Shabbat candles frequently, keeping kosher in the home, avoiding handling money on Shabbat and going to synagogue more than a few times a year are just not on our list of priorities.*
And yet, every year when the weather starts to get a little colder and kids go back to school (remember those glory days?!) we start to get into the all-too-important American Jewish ritual of “High Holidays Stress”.
We ask ourselves:
Where are we going to go?
Do we need tickets?
Do they have kids services?
Will it be entirely in Hebrew?
Can my non-Jewish spouse and family come?
Will the Break Fast have paleo, plant-based or gluten free options?
And ultimately, is the cost of time or money really that worth it?
If we think of High Holidays participation as a ritual (that’s what Pew did) then our skepticism toward ritual certainly wins this year. Under COVID, there are no pews that will be packed with families dressed in white. There are no rousing sermons from the bimah, because there is no bimah. That guy you always see at the kiddush lunch who tries to sell you a timeshare or talk about Israeli politics when all you want is honey cake? Gone!
Bottom line: the ritual of the American Jewish New Year has utterly vanished.
If it seems like I’m being bleak or snarky, I’m actually an optimist this year. In spite of the fact that American Jews are clearly on the fence about religious practices, fully eighty percent of US Jews believe in God. And that’s what’s going to make this High Holidays spectacular.
My favorite spiritual teachers all believe and teach the same thing: that God becomes present among us when we make space for God. For us Jews, that has meant building a mobile worship space in the desert. It has meant replacing that space with small, localized temples. It has meant replacing those temples with a single, central Temple in Jerusalem. It has meant replacing yet again that Temple with the Jewish home and community life. All of this breaking and remaking of worship has existed for one purpose: to glorify the Divine. And the consequence of that? It brings us together as one people.
This year, we’re going to continue our centuries old history of reconstructing Judaism, by losing our High Holidays as we have known them, and replacing them with something else.
Because this year…
What we lose is a fundraiser
and what we gain is a soul-raiser.
What we lose is a suit and tie,
and what we gain are the ties that bind.
What we lose is the building,
and what we gain is rebuilding of our commitments.
We all make the space for God in different ways. This year, you can make holy space by streaming High Holidays classes and services from our local synagogues. You can give to justice organizations engaged in tikkun olam. You can call your mother (see Mom, I promised!) We can take all the anxiety of High Holidays and transform it into what this world is made of: torah, avodah and gimilut chasadim - spiritual instruction, service to the Oneness of all things and acts of loving kindness.
I pray that the Source of Blessing blesses you and those you love. And I know, with absolute certainty, we will have a sweet New Year. Shanah Tovah.
*For references in the first paragraph, please see:
