My dear friends and gentle hearts, "WE'RE TALKING TORAH!" During these high Holy Days, you and I will ponder and study Torah together. Of course, only a small fragment of it; certain aspects of each one of its five books.
 

Understand, that our goal shall be neither the literal nor the empirical- ours is the search for the eternal. And our purpose, shall be message: what does this treasure we call Torah offer us as 21^st Century Jews for the living and enhancement of our lives?
 

Where else to begin than at the beginning: Bereshit-Genesis. After all, this Rosh HaShanah is often called, "Yom Ha-rat HaOlam - the day the world was created." So, as we welcome another "Birthday of the World," our reflection will take us all the way from the Torah's accounts of creation to "A Question Beyond All Others."
 

In 1927, just about the same time that Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryant were going at it over evolution versus the Bible in Dayton, Tennessee, an African American poet named James Weldon Johnson was writing this well-beloved account of how and why The Creation might have occurred:
 

Then God walked around,
And God looked around
On all that He had made.
He looked at His sun,
And He looked at His moon,
And He looked at His little stars;
He looked on His world
With all its living things,
And God said: I'm lonely still. . .

. . . Up from the bed of the river
God scooped the clay;
and by the bank of the river
He kneeled him down;
And there the great God Almighty
who lit the sun and fixed it in the sky,
Who flung the stars to the most far corner of the night,
Who rounded the earth in the middle of his hand;
This Great God,
Like a mammy bending over her baby,
Kneeled down in the dust
Toiling over a lump of clay.
Till He shaped it in His own image;
Then into it He blew the breath of life,
and man became a living soul.
 

Now listen to this. There is a lot of foolishness out there about the Bible and its inerrancy. Don't ever let yourself be drawn into a war of words as to the How of Creation! Our Judaism has virtually no interest in the scientific details of the How of Creation. Ours is rather the passionate and continuing preoccupation with the Why of Creation. Why did God create all of us? Toward what purpose? What was in Her mind?
 

Do you know that in its Creation stories, Torah treats us to two very different takes on Adam's origins. Genesis, Chapter One introduces an Adam who is male and female and is endowed with the "image and likeness of God." This first Adam enters the world a vegetarian, I'm sure with admirably low cholesterol level, who is given the mandate to exercise dominion over the entire earth. God looks upon all that has been made and says, "V'hee-nay tov m'ode- It is very good."

Genesis, Chapter Two brings us "Adam Two"- and what a different fellow he seems to be: vulnerable and incomplete! Maybe a tad overweight. This is a man who is a lonely, lump of clay invigorated by God's breath, and whose dominion is limited to the Garden of Eden. His instructions from God were simple: To get the most out of life, till, and keep My garden. In Eden there were none of those bothersome signs that we see today: "Park closed at sundown," "Pets must be on a leash," "Pick up after your dog," "Stay off the grass."

Adam's deal contained just one line of fine print: "See that tree over there right in the middle of the garden? Yeah, that one. You and the Mrs. stay away from it. Don't eat from its fruit. Don't even so much as touch it."
 

Well, let's think about that for a moment. What made Eden into paradise? Answer: The relationship between Adam and Eve and God! The rabbis want us to understand that every mature relationship has to be built on trust, and trust occurs when, and only when, people are capable of misbehaving, and they choose not to.

Enter the wiley tempter and two willing temptees! If Adam and Eve were alive today, they would have sued that snake! Adam says-

Quick, I hear something. Put on that fig leaf. Cover those up! Hide!

Certain questions are put to us not so much that we should answer them, but that we should spend a lifetime wrestling with them.

And here comes one of those questions from God to Adam. It's "A Question Beyond all Others":

Va-yikra Adonai Elohim el-HaAdam
Va-yomer lo, Ayeh-ka?

And the Lord God called out to the man
And said to him, 'Where are you?'

God knows full well what's wrong here. Adam, standing there in deep moral "do-do", does what most of us males would do. He blames the whole mess on "her". She, of course, blames the snake. Male and female, they both realize that they are naked- in a far deeper sense than being merely without clothing.

My friends, this is still the central and burning question which is addressed to us each: "Ayeh-ka: Where Are You?" "A QUESTION BEYOND ALL OTHERS," it strikes at the core of human ethical choice and accountability.
 

• What's become of God's creation and dream for us?
• Are we enlarging or diminishing the sanctity of our creation?
• In our society straying far afield? Have we lost our way?

Do you know that ethicists point out that, for the very first time in history, a national government has declared that a specific human being created through the process of cloning is, at its earliest phase of development, to be considered an invention in the eyes of the patent office. And only last month the company declared that it intends to use cloned human embryos as research tools!

And then there is Dr. Peter Singer, occupant of the Chair of Bio-Ethics at Princeton. Have you heard about him? People tell me he is a likeable, affable man, yet many of his views are frankly appalling. All the way from abortion to infanticide, to a waiting period of a month to decide whether a child should be allowed to live or not, and opportunities to end the life of those suffering from diseases like hemophilia.

Word came just yesterday from the FDA that the French abortion pill- the so-called "morning after pill", the RU 86 will soon be available for American markets. Now, I don't know what you think about that pill. We all vary in our thoughts on this subject. I for one am unalterably Pro-Choice, but that doesn't mean that I take abortion lightly. And I fear that this new pill will only trivialize abortion all the more.

As men and women of conscience, is all of this in keeping with Genesis and its message of the holiness of creation- B'tzelem Elohim- in the image of God? Are all values simply relative? Is there to be no objectivity where morality is concerned?

No, I do not have any magic answers for you this Erev Rosh HaShanah! I do know that Jewish tradition insists that scientists have an obligation to employ the gifts of research and wisdom God has given us to further healing and advance our knowledge. But I'm not going there! You know what, in fact, I'm going no further tonight with Genesis. No cruise on Noah's Ark, no Abram and Sara or any of the other founding kin of Judaism. I'm sticking with creation- for it takes us all the way to its profoundest intention: human redemption.

I could ever so easily, because I'm a preacher after all, fill up our time with high-faluting bio-ethical theories and theologies about the Bible and creation. But you see, I want to talk with you heart-to-heart on this eve of our New Year.

Tell me, do you ever sense that Question Beyond All Others, the one that God asked Adam-

"Ayeh-ka? Where Are You?" Do you ever feel lost or as if your life isn't yet what it needs to be?

Most of us do from time to time.

Let me suggest four perhaps deceptively simple steps by which to locate ourselves- to find ourselves in 5761. You know sometimes what seems so simple can prove to be so decisive.
 
 

Remember how James Weldon Johnson's poem went?

He looked on His world
with all its living things,
And God said: I'm lonely still.

This year we need to become even more of a friend to God. That's number one. There I've said it- And I know, that sounds hopelessly simplistic and square to so many of you. But, our Torah teaches how delighted God was when we were created: "And God saw everything... and, V'hee nay tov m'ode, behold it was very good."

Now I have reason to suspect that God could still use a few good friends today as well. A rabbi colleague writes how, on his way to the Detroit airport, he looked up and spotted along the highway a huge black billboard with stark white letters that read:

Keep using My name in vain and I'll make rush hour an hour longer! Signed: "God".

Well my rabbi friend got off the plane in L.A. only to spot several others of these billboards along the highway there in California.

We need to talk. God.

What part of 'Thou shalt not...'didn't you understand? God.

Don't make Me come down there. God.

You think it's hot here? God.

They tell the story of a group of scientists who got together and decided that we humans have really come so far that God is no longer necessary. So they chose one of their group to go and inform God. The scientist did just that. He said, "Look, we're at the point where we can now clone people and work our own miracles. So I guess, God, you're unemployed."
 

God listened- patiently and kindly. God's response was- "Tell you what, let's have a man-making contest. We'll do it just like I did back in the old days with Adam." The scientist accepted.

"Sure, no problem." And he bent down and grabbed himself a handful of dirt.

But God looked at him and said, "No, no, no! You don't understand! Go get your own dirt!" Are we so impressed with ourselves? Are we tempted to worship at our own altars? God could use some humble friends these days.
 

Moreover, God needs us, not only as friends, but as friends to our world. That's number two. If we view our own world as nothing but a zero sum game, where nothing new can happen, then, we must ask, what's to hope for? We can enjoy our capital gains and let the rest of the world go to hell- a world in which billions of souls are barely surviving the ravages of famine, drought, and sickness.
 

We can have our luxuries, and our fun, and we Americans can just keep on being the arms merchants to the world- and to our children in their classrooms.
 

But you see- Torah teaches us to be responsible for tilling and tending this orchard we call earth. True, we are its stewards, but even more, we are God's partners in the ongoing creation and sustaining of earth.
 

That means it is our fault when the air we breathe and the water we drink is killing us with cancer, and when irresponsible waste management policies keep our lake polluted. Every time and every place where greed overrules restraint, we fail to be God's partners.
 

Do you know that Jewish tradition forbad all manner of wasting trees? The Torah explicitly forbids the chopping down of a fruit tree growing in enemy territory during a war. It's called "Baal Tashchit- Do not destroy." And Scripture asks:
 

Are the trees of the field capable, like human beings, of running away from you as you besiege a city?
 

In other words, the trees of our orchard earth, and by logical extension, all elements of our delicate eco-system, are defenseless, vulnerable, and at risk. As God's partners, we are responsible for befriending our world. It's awesome! You and I are God's hands. And God's hands simply do not throw garbage out of the car window while driving down St. Charles Avenue- or anywhere else!

Want to know how to answer- "Ayeh-kah, Where Are You" in this New Year? Become a friend to God. A friend to our world. And third, you and I are fully able to continue and expand the awesome goodness of God's creation this new year by becoming a true and loyal friend to someone else. Have you stopped making new friends? Have you let old friendships dry-up?

I read only recently these thought-provoking words of playwright, Stephen Dietz, who asks:

What do we affect during our lifetime?

I like that. I like that a lot. Let me ask you what kind of friend are you? Devoted or just a good time friend. I believe in genuine friendships because they serve to insulate us from what can often be a lonely and indifferent world. God's continuing creation demands friendship. In fact, you were created to befriend. We all were.
 
 

Finally, don't you think it's time to allow yourself to be your own friend? This is no small matter because I know how many of you are not, and due to too many psychological reasons to elaborate. Theologian G.K. Chesterton used to say that "Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly." Maybe that's it: Maybe we take ourselves too seriously and don't give ourselves a chance to be liked.

There is a grandeur that God put within each one of us, a nobility waiting to be claimed. Don't you sense it? Says theologian Lewis Smedes,

There is more to me than meets my eye, and more to you than meets yours. You've not even begun to unravel the mystery of yourself and your mind ...

It's high time to get to know and befriend yourself in 5761.

We need to acknowledge that pain is an inescapable part of life. Giving birth hurts. And giving birth to ourselves hurts too! Of course we want happiness, but happiness doesn't come by studiously avoiding pain. And to be fully alive is to allow ourselves a place to struggle, to wrestle, to fail and to grow. When we do so, we need to give ourselves some credit. Sometimes we actually think and say and do the right. We don't always mess it up!
 

I know this is personal but, what do you do when you're standing alone in front of your mirror first thing in the morning? No one else is there. Do you give yourself a big smile? Do you offer a word of appreciation and encouragement? You ought to! One thing more.

Somewhere in this phenomenon of on-going creation I just know that there has also got to be a sacred place for laughter. Have you heard the one about the two kids in the hospital, lying side by side on gurneys waiting to take their turns in the operating room. The first child leans over and asks, "What are you here for?" And the second child replies, "They're going to take out my tonsils, and I'm scared."

"Nothing to worry about," says the first boy. "I had it done when I was four. They put you to sleep, you wake up and eat your fill of ice cream."

Somewhat reassured, the Tonsillectomy then inquires of his companion, "And what are you here for?" And the first kid replies- "Something called a circumcision." "Bummer," replies the second boy. "I had that done when I was only eight days old, and I couldn't walk for a whole year!"

The story is told of a woman, who, facing the great existential issues of life (as are we at this holy season) sets out to meet the world-renowned maharishi. After flying half-way around the world, then riding on trains, rickety buses, and on the back of a mule, until finally walking on foot, she reaches her goal.

"I must see the maharishi," she insists.

"I'm sorry but he is in deep meditation," his disciples reply, "and cannot be disturbed."

"But I have traveled half-way around the globe to see him."

"I promise," she continues, "I only need three words with him."

Reluctantly, the students lead her up the winding path to the small hut perched near the mountain overlook. She takes a deep breath, enters the hut, and looking into the eyes of the maharishi says, "Sheldon, come home!"

Well, we all need to come home in 5761. We need to come down from the mountain tops of our inflated egos in order to hear that question beyond all others: "Ayeh-kah? Where are you?"
 

Won't we lay claim to the promise of Genesis; to the obligation of our own ongoing creation in this New Year, that we are so blessed to enter? Remember: Trust occurs when and only when people who are capable of misbehaving choose not to. Sheldon, come home! God needs you! Well, God also needs you and me!

Yes, I know how the Torah teaches that Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit. But for us it's Rosh HaShanah, so let's eat our apples, and with lots of honey on them! Because life can be so sweet, and because we know that we can still grow toward the stars of our greater destiny.
 

People who know all of this also know the answer to that question beyond all others: Ayeh-Kah? Where Are You? Ours is but to answer, "By the Grace of God, we are here tonight together! "V'hee-nay, tov m'ode- and it is very good"!