Each in His Own Way
This week we observe Yom Kippur- a day of fasting and prayer, a day of fresh beginnings. I share with you a story that gives an insight into the potential that each of us harbors. On Yom Kippur we can harness that potential or ignore it for another year.
The rabbi noticed a man in the back of the synagogue who was crying. While the rest of the congregation stood dutifully intoning the holiday prayers, this man stood silent except for the faint sound of his weeping. Hoping to console him the rabbi made his way back to him to inquire why he wept. The man told his story: “Everyone else has come to pray to the Almighty. They recite the holy words of our ancestors and God hears their prayer. I cry because I am a simple farmer. I never learned to read. All I know is to recite the Aleph-Bet. Surely God will not answer my prayer.”The rabbi responded: “Your sincere tears are prayer enough for God to hear. You may worship God by reciting the Aleph-Bet. That is your special way to petition your Creator.”
This is an important lesson to learn for Yom Kippur. We can fall into the trap of thinking that everything we do has to be judged in comparison to others. We may be a part of a congregation reciting communal prayers but only we know what is in our hearts. The man in the story mistakenly thought that only formal prayer was worthy of God’s attention. His simple recitation was as precious as the prayer of the most gifted Cantor. God allows each of us to be a unique individual. Doesn’t make sense that each of us might have a special, individual way to worship Him? No matter how you are able to address God the simple fact of wanting to address Him is the essence.
Although Yom Kippur is a “community” holiday, it is perhaps the most personal and intimate of the holidays. We all ask for forgiveness but only you know why you are asking. We all ask for long life but only I know what I hope to do with the years I am given. We all say we will do better but that phrase means something different to each of us.
In Hebrew we call worship “avodah,” a word that means service or, in modern Hebrew, work. If we truly want to worship God we do so through service. Very often we best serve God by serving our fellow human beings. Like all aspects of worship, that service may be something different for each of us. In the year ahead you may be presented with many opportunities to live up to the words you recite on Yom Kippur. Whether you are fluent in Hebrew or can only recite the Aleph-Bet God hears and heeds the petitions you place before Him. What he asks in return is that you find your unique way to serve Him in return. That is the real potential for the year ahead- to find that unique talent or gift that God has given each of us and put it to use in creating a world that is a little bit more like Yom Kippur- all of us working toward the same goal.