The Days of Awe are about self-improvement and repentance. Reflecting on current events distracts us from facing our own personal demons and becoming better people.

Rabbi N. Daniel Korobkin
Beth Avraham Yoseph Congregation, Toronto

Rabbi Lisa Grushcow
Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom, Montreal

Rabbi Korobkin: A federal election in Canada, Republican leadership debates in the United States, a problematic Iran deal – there is so much going on politically today that directly affects Israel and the Jewish community. 

Now that the High Holidays are upon us, we rabbis are looking forward to having packed pews and plenty of attentive parishioners. When our synagogues are filled the most, there’s a natural urge for us to discuss our views on Israel and the state of the Jewish world. At the same time, our congregants would probably benefit more from hearing words of religious inspiration and spirituality, especially during the Days of Awe, when people are searching for more meaning and purpose.
 

Is it appropriate to discuss the larger societal and political issues during the High Holidays? Politicize or proselytize? What is your recipe for a proper balance?

Rabbi Grushcow: As we enter the Days of Awe, I think long and hard about what to say. 

It seems to me that the authority we have comes first and foremost from Torah – the Torah we have studied, and the Torah we have learned from the lives of the people we serve. I have my own opinions about the upcoming Canadian election, the Iran deal and a host of other issues, but I am well aware that I am no pundit. My political analysis is no better than anyone else’s. Moreover, I have no desire to alienate my congregants by seeming to impose my own political views. I don’t think that’s what people come to shul to hear.

So what can we say, and what can we do? 

We can acknowledge what is on people’s minds, and speak to what is in their hearts – political, existential, and everything in between. Where we find wisdom in our tradition that relates to present problems, we can share it. We can try to draw out the values and attitudes that Judaism can teach. And we can encourage people to be engaged and to vote, whatever their political views may be.

Rabbi Korobkin: When dealing with major issues facing the future of Israel and the Jewish People, many of our congregants are looking for us to construct what sociologist Peter Berger called a “nomos,” or a sense of order out of what sometimes seem like chaotic or random events. 

Rabbis are no prophets, to be sure, and historically some rabbis made tragic judgment errors, such as those who reassured Jews that they had nothing to fear from Nazism. But our tradition has always encouraged us to make sense out of current events and take appropriate action.

The High Holidays, however, are different, in that these days are all about self-improvement and repentance. Reflecting on current world events only succeeds in distracting us from the task at hand, which is to face our own personal demons and become better people. That’s why a different tone should be conveyed, especially now.

Rabbi Grushcow: I approach the Days of Awe, like my congregants, in all my individuality. And yet, I do so as part of a community, extending across space and through time. 

So much of the power of these days comes from knowing that Jews everywhere are hearing the call of the shofar, as we have for thousands of years. But we also come together as Canadians, as family members, as human beings. We walk into our sanctuaries with so much in our hearts and on our minds, whether it be the flurry of getting children dressed and ready, or an elderly parent ill at home, or being at the cusp of an exciting new chapter in our lives. 

We also walk in, many of us, thinking about Israel’s dreams and realities, Canada’s history and future, our hopes and fears for the world. All of these interwoven identities and connections make us who we are. The great challenge is for us to emerge from these days somehow connected, having shared something sacred and profound. 

We gather in great numbers on these days more than any others, and yet we want to walk out feeling like something spoke to each of our individual souls.

And that, as I’m sure you agree, is why writing High Holiday sermons is much harder than a newspaper column!