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1953

Ideas for Passover Sermon from JHL at Rabbinic Alumni Seminar (1953)

Pesach
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A Past Worth Perpetuating (1970)

At the end of Passover, when we celebrate the redemption of the past, the Exodus from Egypt, our Haftorah bids us turn to the future. It speaks of the coming of the Messiah, the redemption that we still await. This connection between past and future is even more pronounced on the 8th day of Passover when we recite the Yizkor. It is not only the remote past that we tie in with the distant future, but the immediate past that we call upon in order to summon us to greater activity and greater dedication for the days to come. And the more we investigate this relationship, the more profound and germane does it become. The Talmud (Sanh. 98b) records a strange passage. What, asks the Talmud, will be the name of the Messiah? The answers are obscure, even startling. The school of Rabbi Shila answered: the name of Messiah will be Shilo. The school of Rabbi Yannai maintained that the name of the Messiah would be Yinnon. The school of Rabbi Chaninah held that Chaninah shemo, his school would be named Chaninah. Each school gave the name of its own Rabbi to the Messiah!What the Talmud tries to tell us is that, on the one hand, the Messiah would not be a strange, unassociated, unrelated soul dropping right out of Heaven. His character would be a composite of all the finest traits of the teachers of old. And on the other hand, there is a little bit of the Messiah in every one who has ever made a creative effort in his life. Every one has something invaluable in his life, something unutterably precious, to contribute to the redemptive process.It is hard for us to discern what it is that we ourselves can give to the future, to the Messiah. But those after us, contemplating us in retrospect with a sense of perspective and proportion, will be able to tell what in our lives is worth perpetuating, what we can offer to the Messiah, to the redemption.So, each school and each student examined the role of the teacher and found something unique – for a name is a symbol of uniqueness, of indiv…
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Messiah's Credentials (1962)

The readings for the last days of Passover center about three great Jews: Moses, David, and the Messiah. These three focal heroes represent the lofty vision and define the grand sweep of Jewish history. Because at the conclusion of Passover our eyes turn to the Pessach he-atid, “Passover of the future,” it is fitting that today we ponder the description of Messiah as it is given to us by Isaiah in the Haftorah of the last day of this festival. If we read carefully, we find that the Prophet emphasizes two elements in his description of Messiah: the universal and the national, the function of Messiah towards all the world, and his role as the redeemer of the Nation of Israel. Thus, we find both themes in the very same verse: Ve’nasa nes la-goyim v’asaf nidchei Yisrael,” And he shall set up an ensign for the nations and shall assemble the dispersed of Israel.” Both the universalistic and particularistic themes are treated together. In Judaism, universalism and nationalism go hand in hand.Of special interest is the sequence. First comes ve’nasa nes la-goyim, then v’asaf nidchei Yisrael. First, the Messiah will raise an ensign or flag for the gentiles; only later will he gather the dispersed of Israel.Why this order? Why does the Prophet assigned to Messiah first the function of speaking to the goyim, the non-Jewish nations, and only then to the people of Israel?The answer seems to lie in an innate psychological trait of our people; a weakness endemic to the Jews throughout the generations. That is: we have always managed to reserve our greatest esteem, respect, and reverence for those who have already achieved their mark in the eyes of the non-Jewish world.We have had a penchant for judging our fellow Jews and ourselves with the eyes of non-Jews – a failing of which all of us, observant as well as non-observant, traditionalist as well as assimilationist, are guilty. We have been reluctant to accept as great those who have not first proved themselves in the world of the…
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The Universal Appeal of Torah (1968)

The source of indomitable Jewish optimism can be found in our Haftorah, in its Messianic vision. It speaks of the trust in the future, in a future greater than the present, and a future which will allow us to appear to the world as we really are and have never appeared before, in the beauty of our ideals and way of life, unencumbered by bigotry and bias of others and by the failings of ourselves. In this future, Messiah will usher in an epoch of the universal appeal of Torah, whereby all nations will turn to us to seek the word of God. Now, while this vision is one for the future, either eschatological or Messianic, does it have any relevance for us today? In a word: will we endure? Do we have the right to be counted into the future of Torah and its universal appeal?The answer is, Yes, the message of the Haftorah applies to us as well, even in the days where we only anticipate the Messiah. My affirmative answer is neither dogmatic nor hesitant, but thoughtful For I do not ask about the physical survival of the Jewish people* No answer is plausible today without considering the State of Israel. But I refer to the Diaspora, to USA. Many Israelis say No• But I feel today that they are less certain, that since last June they recognize the need for a diaspora of committed Jews. We do have a future for Torah as we see it• We of modern Orthodoxy believe that Torah was given to apply in a real world, and that that world was given to us to elevate through Torah. Hence, we believe neither in surrendering the integrity of Torah nor in abandoning the world. We see no solution to the right or to the left of us.The Left will not and cannot survive. When you give up Torah, the world swallows you up. With a constant attrition of values and precepts of Torah, you end with nothing, and you are caught up in the confusing cross-currents that presently prevail in non-Orthodox circles. I see as a symptom of this disintegration, the recent report of the Reform Rabbi who is the Chaplain o…
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