A Rabbi Walks into a Bar…
Rosh Hashanah 5777/2 October 2016
A rabbi walks into a bar with a parrot on his shoulder. The bartender looks up and says, “Hey, that’s neat, where did you get it?” And the parrot replies, “In Brooklyn — they have thousands of them there.”
It’s amazing how a small change in perspective can make a big difference.
The Torah readings for both days of Rosh HaShanah emphasize the very slight difference between noticing something important and missing it altogether; as one of the midrashim on these stories suggests,
ר’ בנימן בר לוי ור’ יונתן בר עמרם תרויהון אמ’: הכל בחזקת סומים עד שהקב”ה מאיר את עיניהם, מן הכא: “ויפקח אלהים את עיניה ותרא וגו'” (בראשית כא, יט)
Rabbi Binyamin bar Levi and Rabbi Yonatan bar Amram both said: Everyone is presumed blind until the Holy Blessed One enlightens their eyes, from this verse: “And God opened her eyes, and she saw…” (Gen. 21:19)[1]
Sometimes a little bit is all it takes. Rosh HaShanah isn’t about a clean slate; it’s not about becoming some new, ideal person all at once. Instead, we are invited to hear the קול דממה דקה, the “still small voice” calling us to be just a little bit more like the person we want to see.
This Rosh HaShanah, we ask: How would I see the world if I offered just a little bit more compassion? What would it take for me to be just a little bit more forgiving, a little bit more understanding? How would I feel about myself if I showed a little bit more gratitude? What would my life be like if I could say “I love you” a little more often?
Sometimes, a little bit can be enough.
לשנה טובה תכתבו, may we all be inscribed for a year of abundant blessing.
[1] Bereshit Rabbah (Theodor-Albeck ed.), Vayera 53.14.
