Hope Springs Eternal

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Episode Transcript

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Thank you for joining me. I'mRabbi David Lyon from Congregation Beth Israel in
Houston. It's that time of yearwhen Jewish leaders, especially rabbis, and
their communities all over the world,are focusing on and preparing for the high
holy days. As you know,it begins with Russia Shunnah. The Jewish

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New Year continues through Yemkipoor, theday of Atonement, and for a couple
of more special holidays after that.Part of the preparation includes focusing on the
messages that will deliver to our congregationsand sermons of great importance. And as
the world is filled with important matterstoday, there is so much to choose
from. Part of the challenges honingour messages to be sure that it's clear

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and concise, without having to accomplisheverything that we need to say and do.
But as I reflect on what theJewish New Year, as the fall
season unfolds, will be, itoccurred to me that is sometimes lacking in
much of the news headlines and insome of our outlooks for the year ahead.

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In an essay on Man written byAlexander Pope in the eighteenth century,
he wrote, hope springs eternal.I know you've heard this phrase before.
It isn't uncommon or unfamiliar to most. Hope springs Eternal is a wonderful message,
and though not a Jewish message froma Jewish man, Pope's memorable vers

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disguise or remains after angst, suffering, and loss, Hope springs eternal because
it's a sliver of opportunity that enablesus to reach out, to get up
and to choose life, which isexactly what the Torah requires us to do.
In the Jewish New Year, weanticipate a sweet year after ten days

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of repentance and introspection. The sacredendeavor annually repeat begins and ends with expectations
for forgiveness and renewal. No oneshould fear retribution or condemnation, even if
one's guilt or transgressions are great,because the process of repentance through the ten

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days of repentance from Russia Shunner toYoung Peophor are all about introspection, acknowledging
who we are, what we've done, and what we can do better.
And such a process leads us toa place where we can be forgiven and
given the chance to do better.Next time. The opportunity for forgiveness,

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symbolized by the gates of repentance,is always open to us. Even one
good deed in the name of repentanceshifts a proverbial scale of justice and mercy
in our favor. Therefore, hopesprings eternal because it's consistent with our faith
that the gift of life is notfor naught. During the course of our

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life, we have time to sortout our goals, to repair our faults,
and to serve well For those whodespair, Hope remains after everything else
is gone. I remember a synagoguemember who have been both broke and poor
told me that there is a differencebetween them. Being poor, he said,

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is a state of mind and circumstancesthat can be difficult to overcome,
but being broke is an episode inone's life that can be overcome with tenacity,
resilience, and hope. Even thosewho are poor are not without hope
that comes from a generous community andhelping hands. Likewise, in the hospital

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with the sickest patients wait for relief, I have often had to tell family
members that there is always hope evenwhen death is near and doctors might be
pessimistic and we have to prepare ourselvesfor what might be unpleasant and inevitable.
Hope remains until life is no moreas long as we live. Therefore,

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we are taught in the Book ofDeuteronomy and reminded over the high holy days
as well choose life. The JewishNew Year is our sacred season to renew
our commitment to Judaism's highest values forintegrity, justice, and equity. When
we succeed in this regard, wecan know that we met the highest standards

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of our tradition. And when westumble or fail, we can try again
with lessons learned and with undiminished hope. That's life. There's no giving up.
There's only the cycle of human attemptsto learn from wells of truth and
wisdom and to do the best thatwe can. And especially for those who
aren't poor, who aren't broke,who are not ill, and who aren't

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suffering in any other particular way,there is the privilege feel grateful. The
gratitude that can overwhelm somebody during atime of introspection and repentance can be fulfilling
as well and help us to feelthat while hope springs eternal, especially in
times of goodness and prosperity. Thoughwe might hope for less because we have

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so much, we might also hopethat it continues. One of the blessings
that we often share in many faithtraditions originates on the Book of Numbers,
and there it begins by saying,may God bless you and protect you.
What does it mean, May Godbless you with prosperity, with the material

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things that you need to make yourlife comfortable, secure, safe. It
doesn't mean gross abundance, but itdoes mean that there is a minimum of
needs food, clothing, shelter,etc. That makes a life comfortable and
and good. And what does itmean that God should also protect you well,

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that no one should rob you ofit, that no one should deprive
you of what you worked hard togain, to earn and to enjoy.
It isn't only about materials things.The blessing continues with the hope that God
also provides a spiritual sense of helping, and of course, the blessing for
peace. In Judaism, we raisea cup of wine when we begin a

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meal or focus on the special momentin an occasion. Rather than saying cheers
or salude, we say lachaim becausewine is a symbol of joy and sweetness.
So when we say lachaium, we'resaying to life. We don't proclaim
suffering or despair. There's no virtuein suffering or poverty. We can learn

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from it, but we don't aimfor it. To be blessed is to
no prosperity, and to be generousto our houses of worship, to our
community, the places where we liveand where need is apparent. In the
new year, hope springs eternal becauseit is inextricably linked to our Jewish outlook

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on life. With hopefulness, westrive for a good life, well lived
according to toward truth and midst votegood deeds that guide us to be at
our very best. The truth isthat none of this is terribly difficult to
achieve, and to have a positiveoutlook is something that we all hope to

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achieve and to enjoy. And whenwe can have a positive outlook filled with
hopefulness, then we can be rolemodels for those who are part of our
life at home, at work,and in the community. In the family.
It's very easy to fall back onnegative words or criticism, cynicism and

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sarcasm too. It doesn't serve usvery well and doesn't serve our family members
well either. But we can teachthrough modeling, through language, through hopefulness,
and through an outlook. Imagine theyoung person who comes to you with
a bad paper, poor great orjust a bad experience at school. A

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parent can be a good listener,an active listener to acknowledge that sometimes school
can be difficult. Sometimes we haveto apply ourselves in ways in times that
aren't comfortable. But if we askfor help, we can find our way.
And for those who are bothered inschool, there are always networks of
support and help that originates at home. When we build self esteem and integrity,

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those are tools and shields of armorthat young people take with them to
school to believe that even if theirpeers may not admire them for their strengths
and skills, they are admired bythe people who matter most, namely siblings
and parents. Today as well,young people have quick expectations for all that

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they can have and achieve. Thehouse, the car, the white picket
fence, the ladder leading to successsooner than later. In the olden days
we called it the corporate ladder.It took time to climb each rung to
be appreciated for the work that wedid and promoted ultimately to a level of
great success. We were tired witha gold watch with a party and maybe

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a proclamation. But today quick expectations, while not something we shouldn't aim to
achieve if that's one's desire, shouldn'tbe replaced too quickly either, because prolonged
effort that leads to sufficient outcomes andsuccess in the long run can be just

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as meaningful, even more enduring,rather than immediate gratification, and we appreciate
what delayed gratification can mean to ustoo. The family can promote such ideals
so that even if one is despairingabout the long way that they're taking to
get to where they want to beacademically, career wise, or in other

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terms too, hope springs eternal becausethere is effort that has to be placed
in at the hard work that ultimatelyleads to a sense of success and achievement
that we're aiming to enjoy, andoutside the family, outside the home and
neighborhood. At work too, wedon't often accomplish what we do all alone.

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We have colleagues and co workers,supervisors and bosses who outline our work,
measure and evaluate our output, andbring us along to be part of
a team that ultimately enjoys success together. Failure is not an end. Stumbling
is not despairing. We learn fromour mistakes, and if we make an

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effort to demonstrate that we're learning alongthe way, it can be appreciated deeply
and we can be lifted up byit as well. And as we learn
from those scars, those mistakes thatheal over, we bring that life experience
with us so that hope is somethingthat we know is always possible in the
future, as long as we don'tget stuck by thinking that every stumble or

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every failure means that we are condemnedand never meant to make any progress in
the future. All of us,including me, have stumbled, learn from
mistakes and aim to do better nexttime. In fact, in Hebrew with
a word for sin transgression, aword that will focus on during the high
Holy days is rhet. Rhet isalso a word that means arrow, and

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if anybody practices archery or throws adart, you know that sometimes when we
throw the dart or shoot the arrow, it doesn't always hit the bulls,
let alone the target at all.So what do we do. We try
again. We take up the dartor the arrow, and we throw it
again to see if we can dobetter next time. That's the point of

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chet, that's the point of asinner transgression, not to be overwhelmed by
the failure to hit the bull's eye, but rather to enjoy the opportunity to
try again. Of course, tryingagain means learning from what we did before,
perhaps taking lessons, listening better,and honing skills that help us to

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reach our mark. The community benefitsin the long run, and we too
lift ourselves up to field part ofsomething larger than ourselves. To get out
of our office, Carol, soto speak out of our home office,
and to connect with those who sharein our work and our outlook as well.

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There are those who would rather despair. There are those who think their
men to suffer in Judaism, andI hope in other faith traditions too.
We do not aim for suffering orpoverty. We do not call them virtues.
As I said, hope is alarge part of every day's outlook,
and especially at the high holy days, when we're called to examine deeply what's

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in our hearts. And our hands. We must always look towards the future
with hopefulness for a sweeter, moreprosperous, and better life. I'm Rabbi
David Lyon from Congregation Beth Israel inHouston. To listen again or share this
message, please find it at mypodcast called Heart to Heart with Rabbi David

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Lyon at Sunday ninety nine dot com, are on the iHeart media app.
As the week unfolds, I hopethat you, even before the high Holy
Days begin, even if you're notJewish, you will consider that as the
fall season begins and children return toschool, it's a natural time to focus
on what the year ahead is goingto be. So what will it be?

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What will you do? What willbe your outlook? I hope that
even as Alexander Pope wrote in anessay on Man, that hope springs eternal.
It is ultimately all that is left. After we struggle and wrestle and
contemplate what has been and what willbe, never give up. As long

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as we live, we are taughtto choose life, and as long as
we have life, then we hopethat tomorrow can be better than today,
And then it always begins, notwith others who urge us along, but
with ourselves, who motivate ourselves fromwithin and join hands with others who share
in our outlook as well. Ihope it works for you. I know

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it has worked for me, andwith others too. Those who are poor
and those who are broke find theirway through to a life of goodness,
of life and peace. Thank youfor joining me. Let's be together again
next time.