Order, Joy and Trembling in the Court

I am typing this post in the “quiet room” of the city courthouse. I’m here for jury duty and hoping not to be called into a courtroom for possible jury selection. It’s 11:17 a.m. and so far, so good. Only five hours to go but I’m silently praying that they’ll let us out early. Meanwhile, the quiet room is just that - a quiet space to relax, read, reflect, repeat until (when/if) your number is called. The only sounds are the click-click of laptop keyboards and jurors-in-waiting squirming in their seats, trying to find a more comfortable sitting position. Decorum here is the order of the day. 

It is Friday, September 12, the 19^th day of Elul.

Elul. The Jewish month of preparation for Tishrei; for Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Succos. I think this is the third time I’ve been summoned for jury duty in Elul. And every time, it has been the perfect opportunity to concentrate on everything physical and spiritual that the calendar will demand of me in the weeks ahead. (A few years ago, a popular Jewish magazine published a piece that I wrote about a previous Elul-in-the-Courtroom experience. Message me if you’d like a copy.)

The courthouse is not in a particularly pretty part of town but once inside, the architecture and design are surprisingly stunning. 

Marble stairways, Ionic-style stone pillars, cathedral ceilings...

and a stained-glass domed window featuring a depiction of Moses, I presume, with tablets in hand. The grandeur evokes feelings of delight mixed with reverence.

The Elul connection is obvious. We are about to be judged by the Judge of all judges, in the grandest of all courtrooms. The order of the day is “gilu bir’ada” - Rejoice with Trembling. To take the stand before G-d with a mix of happiness and awe. In a way, that's been the theme of this entire year. Rejoicing over the triumphs; trembling over the tragedies. And nowhere as much as in Israel. Naturally, at this time, we Remember Jerusalem and pray that the new year will bring peace to our Holy City and Land. 

And so, without further ado, my not-necessarily-annual Rosh Hashanah poem, slightly edited for the new year.

Rosh Hashanah 5786

We ponder again the year in review, what was accomplished, what's still left to do. Looking back, we can count all the ways we've been blessed and assess how we've scored on G-d's many tests. So many should’ves and could’ves but didn’t. Surely I would’ve if my heart had been in it. No more excuses! Or at least not as many. Gotta work hard to make hardly any.

What have I learned in the year that has passed? That no two people will take the same path. Be it highway or foot bridge, a road lies ahead. Walk yours with G-d, King Solomon said.

Our heartfelt prayers and beloved traditions see us through challenges and transitions. From day to day, from year to year, our faith and our trust calm every fear.

The years come and go in the circle game. Events ever-changing; the cycle, the same. Like wood being shaped by the artisan's lathe, we marvel at eych ha'galgal mistoveyv.

How do I even begin to say "thank You for all that You’ve sent our way? For the obvious blessings; the hidden ones, too, gently prodding me to reach out to You".

We'll begin a new calendar, start a clean slate, fill it with good deeds and character traits; with memorable moments and meaningful days, months full of emulating G-d’s holy ways.

We'll look for the signs that come from Above, signs of Hashem's unconditional love. Signs of the times, signs of the seasons, time to make changes for all sorts of reasons.

Yomuledet Sameyach! Congratulations, dear Earth, on the 5,786th year since your birth. What shall we wish you on your special day? Global peace. Gentle weather. Prosperity. Each truly awesome piece of our planet is the work of His hands so that we can man it. Inspiring wonder and veneration, gifts to humanity, to every nation.

Soon the air will turn brisk; the foliage, bright. First, the table we'll set and the candles we'll light. The challahs are baked; the honey dish glistens. The shofar will blow; to its call we will listen.

Ripe pomegranates bursting with seeds remind G-d of our merits, not our misdeeds. The angels are ready to plead every case to the Judge of all judges Whose verdict we'll face. He will open His books, review them and rave, about every character, how each behaved. How we all tried our best to stick to the plot, about who we are and who we are not. 

May He grant us good health and joy that is true, contentment and nachas and simchas "by you". Let this be the year that He takes our hands and leads us back Home to our holy Land. 

May we all exercise our right to return, to our Source, to our Land, to the lessons we learn from our Torah, the treasure that keeps us alive as we wait for Mashiach, soon to arrive.

Now we are ready, the holiday's here. May it be the start of a wonderful year. As we don our finest, it is so nice to know that for Rosh HaShanah we're all Good to Go!

********************

It's 2:20 p.m. and they just announced early dismissal from jury duty! 

My prayer was answered!

May they all be. 

With revealed good and sweetness. 

With every blessing for you and yours; for peace in Israel and the world.  

In the new year and beyond. Amen.