D'var Torah
Rabbi Barry A. Kenter
March 21, 2003
17 Adar II 5763
Shalom!
We are at war. I have no answers. I have no predictions. I am neither prophet nor son of prophet. I recall two pictures on my parents’ bedroom dresser, one of my grandfather and one of my uncle, killed in the Battle of the Bulge. I grew up in a family scarred by war and in a family in which some of my father’s strongest memories were of war and of defending the United States.
I have also grown up in a tradition that acknowledges the reality of war. To everything there is a season, to every purpose under heaven --- et milhamah v’et shalom, a time for war and a time for peace.
Verses upon verses of the Bible are filled with descriptions of battles and requirements for warfare; verses of the Bible mandate peace. By the rabbinic period, well aware of the tragic history of wars and warfare, our Sages proclaimed, gadol ha-shalom, great is peace.
The conflagrations have begun. Fires are burning day and night. And from the ashes we hope will arise the possibilities of new beginnings, new starts, and new chances.
In ancient times, there was a continual fire offering that burned throughout the night and day on the altar in the Temple. And every morning, a ritual removal of the ashes occurred. As important as was the offering itself; so was the removal of the remains of the previous day’s sacrifice to make room for the new day’s offerings. Terumat ha-deshen, the taking up of the ashes connected the previous day’s sacrifices to the next day’s offerings. A reminder of past accomplishments preceded the tasks of each new day. The start of every day urged fresh starts, strong devotion, as if nothing had happened before. As noted by Samson Raphael Hirsch, the memory of yesterday’s accomplishments must not detract from the energy with which we must do our duty today. With each day comes the promise of new beginnings.
With each day the war unfolds. This will be a time of testing and trial for us all. And it will be a time when once again, prayer will assume an even greater urgency. The sacrifices that may be asked of us will be all too real.
To Bismarck was attributed the phrase: War is diplomacy by alternate means. I cannot believe that diplomacy does not continue in the usual (and unusual ways), that public proclamations and private conversations may continue to be in major disconnect. An idealist without illusions, I remain convinced that one needs to be a bakesh shalom and a rodef shalom. At the same time, I remain committed to the eradication of idolatry in whatever form it may take – an idol is the creation of human artifice, be it a statue or an ideology. Three times daily, in the Aleinu, we proclaim it to be our mission to help to sweep away idolatry – – l’taken olam b'malkhut Shadei, to perfect and correct the world under the sovereignty of the Almighty.
As this war continues, may we all be spared peril, fear, anguish, and dismay. May this war be of short duration and may the loss of life be minimal. May our spirits remain resolute and may we demonstrate courage in the simple everyday acts of getting on with our lives and pursuing our usual pursuits. May idolatry cease and may there be peace. Oseh shalom b’mirov hu ya-aseh shalom aleinu al kol Yisrael v’al kol yoshvei tevel.