To be as Abraham: Dust, Stars, Woodstock and the Rhythm of Tishrei

This Yom Kippur I had the amazing opportunity to learn about Avraham’s blessing with a wonderful group of people as the day hit its midway point.  In that covenantal blessing we learned that we will be like dust and also that we will be like stars.  God tells him...

כִּֽי־בָרֵ֣ךְ אֲבָרֶכְךָ֗ וְהַרְבָּ֨ה אַרְבֶּ֤ה אֶֽת־זַרְעֲךָ֙ כְּכוֹכְבֵ֣י הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וְכַח֕וֹל אֲשֶׁ֖ר עַל־שְׂפַ֣ת הַיָּ֑ם 

I will bestow My blessing upon you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven and the sands on the seashore..(Gen 22:17)

While this obviously refers to multitudes, there is a deeper lesson in these images.  On the one hand, we are sand and on the other hand, we are stars. In thinking about it more, it occurred to me that these images are also ones that echo the lessons and the rhythm of the fall holidays. 

The Yamim Noraim, Yom Kippur and Rosh HaShana, are the holidays of the earth.  It is on those days where we reflect upon our earthly existence. We recite in our prayers אָדָם יְסוֹדוֹ מֵעָפָר וְסוֹפוֹ לֶעָפָר--humans begin with dust and end as dust.  Avraham is one of the sources of this idea when he uses the image of dust to refer to himself in his conversation with God. (Gen. 18:27)

While the prayer goes on to tell us that we are like pottery that is fragile and breaks, מָשׁוּל כְּחֶרֶס הַנִּשְׁבָּר, the Midrash tells us that, when going through fire, sand also strengthens.  It becomes glass which is the ultimate vessel to receive.  (Bamidbar Rabba)  When we see ourselves as vessels, we must look inward to ask ourselves how best to fill those vessels in our time on this earth. 

These earthly images remind us of our mortality--a message of reality and hope for the High Holidays.

Sukkot, on the other hand, is the holiday of the heavenly gaze.  The laws of the Sukkah mostly focus on its height--looking up and not looking down--- famously reminding us of the Clouds of Glory that protected the Jewish people.  

Additionally, in the Sukkah we also must be able to see the stars.  Sukkot reminds us that, yes, on the one hand, we are finite, but, on the other hand, we are like stars.  Stars, according to the Midrash, are what our legacy will be--shining brightly, each with a unique eternal and powerful force of light.  

And while Joni Mitchell did not mean it this way in her famous song when she wrote that “we are stardust”--it makes me think that yes, we are dust, but we are dust that has the potential for stardom, for eternity.

This is the power of the holidays.  Rosh HaShanah reminds us of beginnings -- of the birth of the world.  With this lens of birth, it presents us with Avraham, the humble hero, as our paradigm and his challenges in the real, messy and concrete world both with his family and the community around him.  

We then embark on a 10 day journey -- one that is focused within, inside our dust selves asking us to look at who we truly are as we face Yom Kippur. 

On Sukkot, the chagim rhythm forces us to look beyond our finitude, to realize that we are challenged to be something bigger and be part of something grand.  Finally, we dance with the Torah as our guide, the Ultimate guide to living a life of love, justice and compassion -- a life whose lessons will hopefully last long beyond our time on this earth.

Truly, as we conclude the chagim, each of us must say “We are stardust, We are golden, And we've got to get ourselves, Back to the garden.”  It’s not the garden of Woodstock but it’s the sacred Garden -- a garden  of Eden--the space where our deeds, our caring and our legacy will live for all eternity. 

Listen to Joni Mitchell’s words performed by CSNY here.