The basic principle in the Torah's teaching about man is that he possesses dignity – that is, special worth, unique value. Man is something new and something different in the ancient order of nature. He was created not only on the pattern of a biological organism, but also on the pattern of the spirit, in the "image of God," "To be invested with dignity," writes a contemporary thinker, "means to represent something mote than oneself" (A.J. Heschel, The Earth Is the Lord's). It is man's dignity, his essential value, that he is more than just man; he is Representative of God in the world.; It is that which makes man precious, loveable, and worth cherishing. / "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, ani ha-Shem, I am the Lord."It is because both I and my fellow-man are creatures of God and created in His image -- with free will, moral conscience, creativity -- that‘^ we are worthy of love and esteem. Because our very creation is thebe'tzellem Elokim, in the image of God, therefore/nx dignity of52 man 18 democratic, it is distributed to all men alike. It is a dignity £■$ | that 18 Inherent, natural, part of our constitution. It is one which1 we may fulfill or affirm or, if we wish, forfeit and defile. It is a J 4-P^"dlgnity that can be sold -- but not bought" (D.Runes). It la ax this . ^^*'i awareneKS-of his kinship with God that permits«to retain his self-1 ל^ respect even when he has filed Ln his earthly enterprises end Lost allelseome, possessions, family, friends .A "True dignity abides with1 him alone/Who, in the silent hour of Inward thought,/ Can still suspectand still revere himself,/ In lowliness of heart" (Wordsworth). On this holy day, and in this "silent hour of inward thought," let us discuss and reaffirm this true dignity which Judaism teaches and which enables man, though he suspect himself and though he be lowly of heart, to revere himself •si the Godly within him.Never, indeed, was it more important to reaffirm this Jewish teaching of human dignity. …

The Zohar (Lev. 98a) offers a marvelous interpretation of the meaning of Shofar, and presents it in the beautiful symbolic language of the Kabbalah. It is an immensely profound interpretation, which must not mislead us, because it is a charming narrative, into accepting it as really a superficial "story." The Zohar considers each of the first three series of sounds of the Shofar — each series consisting of tekiah, shevarim-teruah and tekiah — as having a different spiritual effect. The first series arouses Father Abraham, who awakens from his eternal slumber and proceeds to the Throne of God to plead for his people. The second series arouses Father Isaac, who proceeds to do the same. And the third blast of the Shofar arouses Father Jacob who takes his turn in joining Abraham and Isaac for the Divine Throne to plead for their mutual descendents. Then, the Zohar concludes, Abraham and Jacob go towards Isaac and they hold him by his arms. Abraham holds him by his right arm, Jacob by his left. As a result, the harsh decree of judgment against Israel cannot be issued. The three together thus form one unit of appeal before God for Israel. What does this mean? What an intriguing and strange explanation, much more than is apparent at first blush. For Abraham, Isaac and Jacob each represents a different quality. Abraham symbolizes the quality of hessed, that of love. Isaac represents din or justice. And Jacob is identified with the theme of emet, truth. In order for Israel to survive on the Day of Judgment, Abraham and Jacob, or hessed and emet, love and truth, must surround Isaac or din—justice—and thus appear before the Divine Throne. Justice must be subdued and surrounded with love and truth if divine compassion for Israel is to be. Justice is more than just an abstraction discussed by philosophers, analyzed by jurists, and debated by lawyers. It is a way of looking at life—a critical ethical, profoundly moral way. It is the way of reward for virtue and punishment for vi…

Rabbi Lamm explores themes relating to Rosh Hashana.