The Light Within Me

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thank you for joining me. I'm Rabbi David Lyon from
Congregation Beth Israel in Houston. This is the Hebrew month
of Elul. It is the month that precedes the Hebrew
month of t Schree, and on the first day of
t Schre, the Jewish community around the world begins Russia Shauna,
the Jewish New Year. It's also the beginning of ten

(00:23):
days of repentance that concludes in part with Yom Kipur,
the day of Atonement. It's a reflective time and time
to consider who we are, what we are, what we've done,
what we will do, and how things are going as
a state of the world. Is all of us, Jewish

(00:44):
or not, have reasons to raise these questions, and so
we take a cue from Jewish experience, Jewish history, and
Jewish thought to consider, how do we use these days,
not only of the month of Elul, but our days
to be sure that we're on track doing what we should,

(01:05):
to be sure that we're doing what we can for
our family, for our community, and perhaps even the world
around us. And so we look into some sources to
find insight, drawing from some of the wells of strength
that are traditional in Judaism, we begin with study, we
continue with the soulfulness of an individual, even prayer and spirituality.

(01:32):
There's a new book called Unfolding, a High Holy Day
Companion written by Rabbi Karen Kadar published by the Ccaar Press,
and in her book she shares insights from sources that
help us prepare in the month of Elul for what
is coming. But even any day when we need to

(01:55):
take a closer, more honest look at ourselves, who we
are and who we're becoming. She begins with this. She
calls it the story is told carry the light within.
A young rabbi complained to the Rabbi Arision. During the
hours when I devote myself to studies, I feel life

(02:19):
and light. But the moment I stop studying, it is
all gone. What shall I do? You see? The student,
a good student of Torah finds study to be a
meaningful way. If I like in inspiration, that is such
the way of Torah study. In Judaism, a person who

(02:40):
applies himself for herself to the study of Torah, Jewish
thoughts and Jewish ideas comes as close as possible to
all that God commands us to be and to do.
And so the student naturally feels life and light. But
when he stops studying, he says, it's all gone. What
shall I do? The rabbi replied to the student, that

(03:03):
is just as when a person walks through the woods
on a dark night and for a long time is
joined by another lantern in hand, but at the crossroads
they part and the first must continue on alone. Martin
Boeber Jewish, the elogian of the twentieth century, a great thinker,

(03:24):
taught but if a person carries their own light with them,
they need not be afraid of any darkness. And so
what Boober suggests and the story helps us understand, is
that we may fear the days that we're living, and
cu really the nights that we experience, if they are

(03:46):
not only literally dark, but spiritually dark as well. If
we find light when we're studying and connected to all
that we do, then we feel safe. But when we
walk alone, and when we're not stat which tends to
happen when we have to eat or go about and
run errands and do daily mundane things, we fear. Perhaps

(04:09):
that fear is bound up in our inability to get
out of the house or go down the street or socialize.
But what Boober says is if we can carry our
own light with us, then we don't have to be
afraid of any darkness. He didn't say darkness alone, but
he said any darkness. So we have to ask ourselves

(04:32):
in this instance, what is the source of our light?
If it is study, if it is reading, gaining insight
through scriptural, sacred or ordinary texts. It's important not just
to read for the sake of reading, or study for
the sake of studying. We call it a Hebrew tora ishma,

(04:54):
that is, studying Torah is wonderful. But if it's just
for the sake of studying Torah, it serves a purpose,
but not every purpose. And one additional purpose of studying
and reading and gaining insight is to carry it with
you wherever you go. So when you close the book
or cease from studying or listening to your beautiful music

(05:15):
or reading poetry, it doesn't end there. You have to
be able to engage with it so that you can
grow from it and digest it. Take it with you.
Then when you're walking day or night, or feeling alone
and in the darkness, you have a source of light
with you that depends on nobody else who joins you

(05:37):
or anything else that matters, because if they join you,
it's lovely and nice, and if something changes, it might
be for the better. But if you carry your own light,
then you're never in the darkness, you're never alone, and
you have nothing more to fear. It's a beautiful way
to begin in the month of Elul, to prepare for

(06:00):
what the new year might be. And it is filled
with hope when we come to russish on his services.
And during the season we wish each other the shahannato
va tikatevu, and sometimes we add the word mittuka. May
it be a good and sweet year for you. May
you be inscribed in the metaphorical book of life, and

(06:25):
so it continues. In her book, Rabbi Kadar also shares
this story called Lost and Found Hanouch of Alexander Todd.
One day there was a simple man who each morning
had a difficult time remembering where he had left his
clothes the night before. So one day he got a

(06:48):
pencil and a piece of paper and wrote it down
where he was placing each article of clothing. He placed
the note next to his bed and thought to himself tomorrow,
I will have no trouble finding my clothes. He woke
the next morning, quite pleased with himself, took the note
and followed it to the letter, finding each piece of

(07:09):
clothing exactly where he had set it down. Within a
short period of time, he was completely dressed. Suddenly he
was seized with a terrible thought. But where am I?
He cried? Where in the world am I? He looked everywhere,
but could not find himself, and so taught Hanauch of Alexander.

(07:32):
So it is with us. The story is profound, And
before we come to the question where are we, let's
see how simple Hanauch, who presumably was lost in general,
found a simple way to get dressed in the morning,

(07:54):
to make a note of everything that he needed, and
to find it exactly where he left it before. I
can't diagnose his other complexities. I don't think it's a
diagnosis of OCD, but rather just a simple part of
human nature. We do want to get it right. We
do want to get dressed in the morning and make

(08:17):
our way and accomplish something of meaning and importance. It
doesn't have to transform the world, but it does have
to include us in it. So we don't feel lost, confused,
in a daze, or that we don't matter enough. To
get dressed means to be a respectable human being. To
get dressed properly means we can go out without being

(08:39):
pointed at, or left or scoffed at. So he did
something important. He helped himself in a meaningful and practical way,
proud of himself that he got himself dressed in the morning,
and then was seized with the other question, the more
profound one. There was no posted note, so to speak,
letting him know where he was. Where in the world

(09:02):
am I? He asked? And so it is with us.
The truth is that we could ask ourselves every day
where am I? Well? I think there are some simple
and practical answers to that question too. We might need
to write it down, or remember how to get dressed
or how to put the coffee together in breakfast too.

(09:25):
But if we can locate ourselves physically and spiritually, I'm
in my body, I'm in my home, I'm surrounded by
those I know, it leads us to the question, then
if I am here, then what am I doing here?
And even that question doesn't have to be solved with

(09:45):
a very difficult answer. There may be those who are
young who have the entire world in front of them
and where they are going as part of a longstanding
adventure that they are just beginning to plan and describe.
For those who are older, who have a lot more
life experience, we don't have to conquer the world. We

(10:07):
need to conquer the day. We need to accomplish our tasks.
And so where are we is where we find ourselves,
And as Hanaulch probably did, we're also standing in the
company of God, not disconnected from that which is larger
than ourselves and not insignificant. Just because God is so

(10:29):
much greater than we are, we are meaningfully connected to
that which is larger than ourselves, and in that relationship
we find enormous meaning. We've been taught in other Jewish
settings that it is not ours to accomplish all the
work that needs to be done, but neither are we
free to desist from trying. There is a role that

(10:50):
we play, and even if it's small, it contributes to
the larger hole. So if it's in a family, we
have a role to play because we might be mother
or father, sibling, cousin, aunt, uncle, child, We might sit
at the head of the table or at the side.
But we have a role to play in our friendship

(11:11):
circles too. When we join them, we have a role
to play. We know it. And so when we ask
ourselves where am I here? Our friends need us they
like to hear from us, And even if they're busy
with other things that they're doing, there are times that
bring us together and it makes us all glad because
we are together at work, we have a place too,

(11:33):
something productive to do, and when the day comes to
an end, we can feel good that we did our
very best in that place and in our recreational times.
I hope that all of us have something we enjoy
doing that gives us pleasure when we're alone or in
the company of others too. And at the end of
our days, our tech says al mikomo ya vo bishalom,

(11:58):
may we come to our eternal home in peace, having
accomplished what we needed to do. So where are we?
We answer the question first, I'm right here. And when
God asks Abraham and others in our scriptural text, where
are you, or calls us out by name, the Hebrew

(12:19):
answer is he namey, he namey. It means here I am,
and when we say here, I am, it's also a
way of saying because of the Hebrew word and its meaning, behold,
I I'm here, and I'm ready. I'm ready to respond,
I'm ready to answer, I'm ready to do. And how

(12:41):
do we do it? Toreh makes it clear too, with
all our heart, with all our soul, and with all
our might. So as we prepare our cells each day
and prepare our cells for the new year, too, we
do it with a light within that continues to burn constantly.
As the Bible teaches us, the light of God is

(13:03):
the soul of human beings. So there is a light
that burns within, and we bring with it everything that
we can do and everything that we can be. I'm
Rabbi David Lyon from Congregation Beth Israel in Houston. To
listen again or share this message with others, please find
it my podcast called Heart to Heart with Rabbi David Lyon.

(13:26):
You can find it at Sunny ninety nine dot com
on the iHeart Radio app. And as the week continues,
as the season unfolds, let's remember not only that we
have a light within, but we can also be a
light for others who are still looking to find their
own perhaps not in a dark walk in a dark forest,

(13:49):
but maybe even in the light of day. When we
encounter people who are struggling or suffering or feeling particularly
alone where they are, we can be a light and
share it with them. We can leave our light with them,
but maybe we can help them find their own light,
so they too can walk wherever they go and never

(14:09):
again be in darkness. Where are we? I guess that's
a question we're always going to be asking and seeking
the answer to. But for the time being, let's be
sure that we begin with the answer He name me.
Here I am, here, I am for you. Here I
am for God. Here I am for others. And as

(14:33):
long as we can be present for ourselves and God
and others, we don't have to worry about where we are.
We'll always find ourselves in the right place and God
willing also doing the right thing. So let's use this
week of El Lul as we prepare for the Jewish
New Year for well being, for growth and development, and

(14:54):
for preparation for all that will be. Thank you for
joining me. I look forward to being with you again,
and next time