(Video/Text) Rosh Hashanah 5781/2020 – Physically Distant, Spiritually Close

Please note: Text of this d’var Torah appears below.  To view video of this d’var Torah click here.

וְכָל הָעָם רֹאִים אֶת הַקּוֹלֹת וְאֶת הַלַּפִּידִם וְאֵת קוֹל הַשֹּׁפָר וְאֶת הָהָר עָשֵׁן וַיַּרְא הָעָם וַיָּנֻעוּ וַיַּעַמְדוּ מֵרָחֹק:

The entire nation perceived the thunder and lightning and the sound of the shofar and the smoking mountain, and the nation saw and trembled and stood at a distance.[1]

In Shofarot,[2] we remember the great theophany at Sinai and pray for our next great redemption, the messianic era.  Interestingly, this verse reminds us that this unprecedented moment of intimacy between God and Israel occurred at significant physical distance.  I would argue that this physical distance is no accident.  Similarly, in Deuteronomy Moshe tells us that it is important to remember that God did not even physically appear at Sinai:

וְנִשְׁמַרְתֶּם מְאֹד לְנַפְשֹׁתֵיכֶם כִּי לֹא רְאִיתֶם כָּל תְּמוּנָה בְּיוֹם דִּבֶּר ה’ אֲלֵיכֶם בְּחֹרֵב מִתּוֹךְ הָאֵשׁ:

But be very careful for yourselves – for you did not see any form on the day that the LORD spoke to you at Horev[3] from within the fire.[4]

The fact that Israel distanced themselves from Sinai and that God did not appear in physical form at Sinai tells us that we don’t achieve intimacy with God through physical location or physical representation.  Rather, we connect with God by achieving a spiritual and emotional connection – by having awe for God, by hearing God’s words, and by walking in God’s ways.  The incomparable closeness that Israel felt with God at Sinai was achieved by hearing God’s commandments and by allowing God’s spirit to enter into their hearts, not by being physically close to God.

The experience of human relationships is similar.  In the beginning, God said “Let us make humanity in our image and likeness.”[5]   Like our relationship with God, the essence of our relationships with each other is our spiritual and emotional connection rather than our physical proximity.  We are closest to each other not when we physically touch, but when we recognize the divine spark in each other and when that recognition inspires us to care for each other and to share emotionally with each other.

5780 presented many challenges to our ability to connect with our friends, family, and community.  Unfortunately, one of those challenges was what I would call a branding error.  We’ve heard a lot about “social distancing” now for months.  But coronavirus does not require us to be socially distant from anyone.  Rather, the only thing it ever requires is physical distance.  In fact, our social and emotional closeness, our caring deeply for each other, is a vital tool that will help us find our way through this pandemic.

Connecting with God required the sense of awe that led the Israelites to distance themselves from the mountain.  But in moving physically farther away from Sinai, the Israelites did not miss out on the intimacy of the moment.  Coronavirus creates the opportunity, and responsibility, for us to understand that our relationships are about far more than physical closeness.  The most profound parts of our relationships are when we care for each other and when we share time with each other, even at a distance.  Ironically, when keeping our physical distance from others helps keep us, them, and/or others safe, that physical distance is itself an intimate act filled with love and care for others.  When we work to fill some of the void caused by physical distance, for instance by calling our friends on the phone, or showing up ten feet outside their doors to chat, or arranging video conference get-togethers, we are caring for their emotional and physical well-being in ways that are far more profound than going to a restaurant, a concert, a party, or a sporting event was in the “before times.”  When we go that extra mile to connect with each other and to care for each other – for instance by tending to the needs of those who are at highest risk or simply by working to raise the spirits of someone who is understandably down, rather than being socially distant, we are emotionally close.  Hopefully, even when we get to the “after times,” we’ll carry with us some sense of what is truly important and intimate about our relationships.

The entire nation perceived the thunder and lightning and the sound of the shofar and the smoking mountain, and the nation saw and trembled and stood at a distance.[6]

In awe and reverence, the people stood at a distance as they heard the shofar blast at Sinai.  But despite their physical distance, they were spiritually closer to God than any people have ever been.  As we stand unfortunately physically distanced from each other, may the blasts of the shofar passing between us carry with them a spirit that connects us all, a spirit of love and caring that goes far beyond physical proximity.  May these blasts of the shofar inspire a spiritual closeness with God, a recognition of the divine that is in all of us, and an emotional closeness with everyone around us.

[1] Exodus 20:15.

[2] The third special section of the Musaf Amidah.

[3] Another name for the mountain where Israel received the Ten Commandments.

[4] Deuteronomy. 4:15.

[5] Genesis 1:26.

וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים נַעֲשֶׂה אָדָם בְּצַלְמֵנוּ כִּדְמוּתֵנוּ וְיִרְדּוּ בִדְגַת הַיָּם וּבְעוֹף הַשָּׁמַיִם וּבַבְּהֵמָה וּבְכָל  הָאָרֶץ וּבְכָל הָרֶמֶשׂ הָרֹמֵשׂ עַל הָאָרֶץ:

[6] Exodus 20:15.