[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 156 (Friday, September 10, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E965-E966]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              RABBI ISRAEL ZOBERMAN--JEWISH HIGH HOLY DAYS

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                          HON. ELAINE G. LURIA

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 10, 2021

  Mrs. LURIA. Madam Speaker, I include in the Record the views 
submitted at the request of a Virginia Beach constituent, Rabbi Dr. 
Israel Zoberman, of Temple Lev Tikvah:

       The Jewish High Holy Days, also known as the Days of Awe, 
     are a ten-day period commencing with the New Year of Rosh 
     Hashana and concluding with the Day of Atonement of Yorn 
     Kippur. With humble Biblical roots and profound Rabbinic 
     transformation, it is a sacred vehicle and opportunity set 
     aside for inspiring soul-searching and heroic resolve to mend 
     the brokenness of the human heart and do our called upon 
     share, individually and collectively, to repair and heal our 
     inner world as well as the outer one. Quite a tall order but 
     a compelling one!
       The celebration this season takes place against the onerous 
     backdrop of a threatening gathering cloud of anti-Semitism--
     the world's oldest and most resistant virus--at home and 
     abroad as critical American democracy, alarmingly violated on 
     1/6, along with the unresolved burden of shameful Black 
     slavery, lingering racism toward minorities, urban unrest and 
     a ravaging global pandemic with the State of Israel begrudged 
     its rightful responsibility to protect its citizens from 
     those intent on obliterating the only sovereign Jewish 
     country while denying the monumental Holocaust. What a 
     perfect storm scenario for the resurrection of history's 
     worst images of hatred for the Other.
       The High Holy Days, peak Jewish religious experience, offer 
     a reflective mirror into an ancient people's awesome 
     spiritual odyssey enabling it to somehow survive history's 
     high waves of relentless tsunamis through offering humanity 
     noble teachings and indispensable lessons. On Rosh Hashanah 
     5782 (Based on calculating the generations enumerated in the 
     Biblical Genesis) as we celebrate the world's creation, our 
     prayerful focus is not only on the wonder of the unfathomable 
     acts of creation, but no less on the confounding complexity 
     of human relationships. Our Biblical heroes, unlike the Greek 
     ones, are flesh and blood creatures who both succeed and 
     succumb, contending with blessings as well as blemishes.

[[Page E966]]

       The first Jewish family of Abraham, Sarah, Hagar, Isaac, 
     and Ishmael, birthing the kindred monotheistic religions of 
     Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, reflects deep convictions 
     along with searing conflicts whose profound impact is still 
     with us today. This we know for sure, our basic human make-up 
     of passions and prejudices, loves and hatreds has not 
     changed. We remain subject to their influences in determining 
     our conduct, positively and negatively. While naturally we 
     tend to dwell on the multiple challenges and struggles of 
     contemporary life, there is much we can absorb from those who 
     laid the foundation for the twin components of Jewish 
     identity, faith, and peoplehood.
       Abraham and Sarah had the stamina to leave their home in 
     pagan Mesopotamia in search of new beginnings--spiritually, 
     physically, and psychologically. They were not deterred by 
     the cumbersome obstacles such a journey and journeys would 
     entail, sustained by a driving vision of an encounter with a 
     God whose unifying message captured their yearning 
     imagination. Soon they would discover, however, that their 
     newly found breakthrough faith was intertwined with a 
     fragmented reality. The shared tenets and tents in an unknown 
     territory would become the testing ground for lofty ideals 
     and binding values. The Rabbis teach us that the founders' 
     tent in the wilderness of Canaan was open on all sides to 
     allow one and all to enter and be warmly welcomed, finding 
     caring respite and appreciated protection from both hostile 
     humans and adverse elements.
       Are we equipped with the capacity to learn from mistakes 
     and chart a new course of conduct and consideration, finally 
     creating Shalom's overarching harmony? The tradition ushered 
     in by our progenitors is an optimistic one, having faith in 
     God as well as us, while sanctifying the precious gift of 
     life. As we enter the portals of a new year may we master 
     from those who shaped us in ways both manifest and concealed, 
     that we may turn hatred into love, violence into vision, pain 
     into promise, adversity into advantage and blemishes into 
     blessings!

  Rabbi Dr. Israel Zoberman is the founder of Temple Lev Tikvah in 
Virginia Beach. He is a member of the Virginia Beach Human Rights 
Commission.

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