Our Stories – The Best Stories

Erev Rosh Hashanah 5767

by Rabbi Sim Glaser

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Whenever the Baal Shem Tov, the great master of Hasidism, saw misfortune threatening the Jews, it was his custom to go into a certain part of the forest to meditate. There he would light a big fire in just a certain way, he would say a special prayer, sing a little nigun, a melody with no words, (such as we sang earlier this afternoon) and the miracle would be accomplished and the terrible threat averted.

A generation later, when his student, the Maggid of Mezritch, needed to do the same thing on behalf of his community, to pray to heaven for protection, he would go to that same place in the forest and say "Master of the Universe, listen! I do not know how to light the fire… but I can sing that little tune, and I still remember the prayer!” and again, the miracle would be accomplished.

And yet another generation later, Rabbi Moishe Leib of Sasov, the heir to the Maggid of Mezritch, in order to save his people once more, would go into that same spot in the forest and say," Dear God I do not know how to light that fire, and I do not know the prayer, and even the little song I don’t remember so well, but You can see I know where the place is, and this must be sufficient." And what do you know? It was enough just to be in the place and the miracle was accomplished.

Then, years later, it fell to Rabbi Yisroel of Rhizin to overcome misfortune for his community. Sitting in his armchair, his head in his hands, and he spoke to God, saying: "I am unable to light the fire and I do not know the prayer, can’t remember how the song goes, and I can not even find the place in the forest. All I can do is tell the story about how the Baal Shem tov used to go and do these things in that place. I only remember the story. And it was sufficient.

The Stories we tell one another are powerful. There are many reasons, no doubt, that God created human beings, but one has to be because God loves stories. God gave us the facility of language to tell those stories, and gave us each other to listen to them.

We spend a lot of time hearing and seeing stories, most of them at the movies - or those TV series that go on and on about one family or a group of characters – Sopranos, Weeds, Survivor, Desperate Housewives, Last Rabbi Standing, Studio 60, etc. And we read about a lot of stories about people all over the world doing a lot of important things.

But most of the stories we are told now are written by novelists and screenwriters. They have beginnings and endings; they are not real. The stories we tell each other have no beginning and end. They are a front row seat to real experience.

One thing those fictional stories have in common with our own real stories is that they all begin with something missing. If the situation is perfect from the beginning, you have no story. If there were no tension in the script you’d walk right out of the theater. “This is boring… everything is working out for everybody!” When did you last hear a story like that??

Our lives are very similar. On RH we open the entire book of our life to our own scrutiny, in order to try and makes sense of who we are and what is missing in our lives. It isn’t easy. But a good way to begin is to tell our own story and listen to those of others.

I imagine many of the adults here have experienced friends from decades ago who are reconnecting because they found you on line?

This last week I received an email from Jane, whom I almost spam-deleted before I realized it was a woman with whom I grew up in our California neighborhood and have not seen in 38 years. Old stories came back and they flooded me with memories. Some were somewhat embarrassing. She recalled the funny little super heroes that I used to dress up as, how I was the “boss” of the neighborhood, how I played air guitar with a tennis racket, and she even reminded me of how I used to talk back to my mother – something that was absolutely forbidden in her own home how the Glaser family deeply influenced theirs.

She said she thought it was interesting that I had become a rabbi, but not at all surprised that I had kept up with my music. She said how important my parents had always been to her, especially during a difficult point in her life.

It is amazing how we affect one another, and don’t always realize it. Also, to listen to a description of myself as a young boy reminded me of all the things I have wanted to become, and the elements that are critical to my nature. During these holidays, as we open the books of our lives, it is important to write down: Who are we really? And in this last year, have we traveled closer to our real selves or have we strayed further away from shlemut… from our integrity, our us-ness.

Sure you can sit alone and meditate on this if you want to, but when we share with each other, we see ourselves reflected through the eyes of another person, and that is very important. If it just us alone all the time trying to figure out the essence of who we are we can become lost. We lose objectivity.

One of my favorite lighthearted old Jewish stories on this subject involves a prince who took ill and decided he was a turkey. Stripping off his clothes, he crouched naked under the royal table, refusing to eat anything but crumbs which had fallen to the ground. The king was obviously pretty upset, (though he admitted the possibility that this could come in handy at Thanksgiving time).

Many doctors were called to the palace to examine the prince but none could offer a cure. One day a wise man came to the king and said, "Let me live in your home that I might befriend your son. Be patient and I will make him well again."

As soon as he was approved, the sage immediately approached the royal table, stripped off his clothes and crouched down naked next to the prince under the table.

"Who are you and what are you?" gobbled the king's son. "I am your friend, a turkey like yourself," the wise man replied. "I thought you might be lonely and decided to come and live with you for a while."

Some weeks passed. The "turkeys" grew accustomed to each other and soon became good friends. They ate crumbs, drank from tin plates, talked turkey, reminisced about their days in Istanbul, and discussed the advantages of being domesticated birds rather than men. Went out to the local Turkey bar and got basted…

One night, when the royal family was having dinner, the wise man signaled to the king, whose servants brought two silk robes and placed them under the table. The sage quickly donned one of the robes and before the king's son could utter a word proudly announced, "There are some dumb turkeys who are so insecure that they believe putting on a silk robe might endanger their identity." The prince thought for a moment, nodded his head and began to clothe himself.

Some days later the wise man once again signaled the king. Broiled beef, baked potatoes, and fresh green vegetables were brought and placed on the ground near the sage. Looking quite pleased with himself, the wise man bit into his food and exclaimed, "Absolutely delicious! It's good to be a turkey sophisticated enough to enjoy the food of human beings!" The prince readily agreed and hungrily ate his fill.

Eventually, the wise man called for some silverware and asked to be served from the king's good china. "After all," he explained to the prince, "why shouldn't intelligent turkeys want the best for themselves? Here, put this in your drumstick.”

Finally, after many months the sage came and sat by the table. While eating and drinking with the royal family, he called down to the prince and said, "Come join me. The food is the same but the chairs make an appreciable difference. Besides we turkeys have a lot to offer. Why should we restrict ourselves by remaining aloof? Certainly our ideas can benefit the minds of men."

The king's son came and sat by the table. It was only a matter of time until he was cured.

The next ten days are for us to consider the story of our life as the most amazing story ever told. To see how much we may have strayed from our true selves, and to seek out others who appreciate our story, and can help us write the next chapter. And let us pay attention to the stories of those around you. A little empathy for one another is always welcome, and shared pasts can lead to glorious futures together.

Never underestimate the power of your life as a story to guide others, and the importance of others’ stories for you!