Building Dedication Sermon
Dedication Sermon by Rabbi Stanley M. Davids on August 23rd, 2003
It has been written: “As roots seek the source of their sustenance, as branches soar upward toward the life-giving light: so do we, rooted in blessing, reach upward in faith and deed to become a blessing.” (Dolores Kosberg Wilkenfeld).
What a magnificent evening; what a wondrous evening of celebration as we reach upward in faith and in deed to become a blessing.
Do you feel it? Do you feel that spiritual love of community, of caring, of toil, and of commitment radiating from every corner of our renewed synagogue? Do you feel the sacred, scintillating vibrations sent heavenward by the Shofar blasts, by the sweet sound of guitars, by choruses of teens and of adults – and even by the gentle sounds of a screwdriver setting those tiny screws that hold in place the Mezuzot now blessing the doorposts of this house?
Outer surfaces so filled with beauty. Tapestries, reminding us of our sacred stories; a Ner Tamid and an Aron HaKodesh confronting their ancient tasks to be receptacles and reminders of all that which is holy to our people; classrooms for study; a social hall for celebration. A building, a setting, within which God will be worshipped in joyous thanksgiving; a building, a setting within which we can bring our most painful concerns; a place of solace and of consolation; a place of remembrance and of reach; of hope and of memory; of faith and of faithfulness.
But there are inner walls, inner surfaces, that are being rededicated this evening as well. The inner walls have been built not out of stone and cement, but rather out of the souls of those who have gathered here in the past, who gather here this evening, and who will gather here in the decades yet to unfold. Hear the whisperings wings of those souls. Feel and acknowledge their presence. They are like fragrant incense drifting heavenward to offer praise and thanksgiving before the Throne of Glory. They wrap around, they envelop our prayers and petitions; they lift them beyond all physical barriers, all moments of doubt. Surely even the angels must be smiling on occasions like this – after all, the stories of our people tell us that the angels were none to happy when God chose not only to create humankind, but also to entrust the Torah to the Children of Israel.
Who were we, but flesh and blood, to be of concern to God? Who were we, so susceptible to sin and transgression, to be asked to carry the Torah in eternal covenant? The angels knew that we would be imperfect and fallible, that we would often turn away from the path of truth and righteousness, that we would too often prove unworthy of our calling. But tonight – at least for tonight – those whispering wings affirm God’s wisdom as our songs and our hopes rise on high.
MA NORA HAMAKOM HAZEH. How wondrous is this place. ZEH HAYOM ASAH ADONAI, NAGILAH VENISM’CHAH BO. This surely is a day special unto God: let us rejoice and let us be glad in it.
Over the central doors leading into our Main Lobby, the following phrase from the Book of Psalms has been placed: KAWL HAN’SHAMAH TEHALLEL YAH: Let every soul praise God. That same phrase now girds the Ner Tamid suspended over the Ark in our Chapel. KAWL HAN’SHAMAH TEHALLEL YAH: Let every soul praise God.
I suspect that over the course of the next years, that phrase will echo through our congregation, teaching us and informing us. Let’s explore those four words:
KAWL: All; every. This place is not designed nor intended to be a place of exclusivity, a place for the few, the limited, the invited, and the previously initiated. A synagogue is of course a sanctuary setting for the Jewish people, as the old Union Prayer Book phrased it: “The synagogue was born out of Israel’s longing for the living God. It has been to Israel throughout the centuries a visible symbol of God’s presence in the midst of the people.” But the synagogue is also intended to be a place for all those who are spiritual seekers, no matter what their origins, their backgrounds, their prior commitments. ALL are welcome here: our doors are now open wide so that anyone whose spirit is thirsty, anyone whose soul yearns for meaning, anyone who wants to overcome solitude and discover community – can enter here, and here find warmth and acceptance.
HANESHAMAH: Soul. The inner core of our beings. An assertion that the physical world, though clearly palpable and real – and sometimes far too palpable and far too real – is not the only world. This word asserts a universe within, a place wherein the spirit reigns, a place that animates the physical, transcends the temporal, and embraces the eternal. We are not just flesh and blood, even as this building is not just bricks and mortar. Despite all of the current worries in Cobb County schools, we here are fully capable on our own of acknowledging that even though we are most assuredly the product of an evolutionary process – we are far more than that as well. Nothing but dust and ashes, we are simultaneously but little lower than the angels. Our souls link us to all life, everywhere. Because of our NESHAMA we learn to thirst for knowledge, yearn for beauty, and discipline ourselves to perform acts of goodness. Because of our NESHAMA each of us is part of an eternal light of hope and of aspiration that continues to lift our eyes toward the horizon. Because of our NESHAMA, even when we falter and we fail, even when we stumble to our knees in frustration and in despair, we somehow manage to stagger to our feet and to begin anew our encounter with destiny.
KAWL HANESHAMAH TEHALEL. TEHALEL. To offer praise. From the same root out of which the word HALLELUYAH is constructed. We are intended, commanded, called to offer praise. That’s what we are all about. To offer praise for life, so long as life can be sustainable with hope and in dignity. To offer praise for all that which gives meaning and joy to us on a daily basis: friends, family; opportunities for love. And how do we offer that praise? Surely with song and prayer. But also through deeds of lovingkindness. So many of you who chose to contribute to this project of renovation and expansion did so as acts of praise for those who mean the most to you, for those whom you embrace in life; and for those whose memories ever abide within you. But this synagogue is meant to be not only a setting of beauty, but also ‘the champion of justice, of brotherhood and of sisterhood, and of peace.’ There is no beauty here, there is no soul here, if we do not cause to emanate from out of this place our concerned efforts to fulfill the Mitzvah of TIKKUN OLAM. We offer praise by tending to the poor, the hungry, the homeless, the lonely, the ill. We offer praise by gathering our strength in defense of the people of Israel and of the State of Israel. We offer praise by refusing to allow civil liberties to be trampled, or falsehood and deception to reign, or injustice to triumph. We offer praise by demanding from this spot that all of us learn not just to care, but to actively intervene, when our environment is threatened, or when those who hate seek power, or when the fanatic seeks domination. We offer praise when we become champions of peace.
KAWL HAN’SHAMAH TEHALEL YAH. YAH is one of God’s names. We are to acknowledge that there is a purpose to life, even when the nature of that purpose eludes us. We are to acknowledge that the universe itself is the product of intention, not of happenstance. Though chaos daily affects us, though our own decisions and the decisions of others impact upon us – yet there is a vision, a purpose that animates us, that strengthens us, that calls us toward the highest and the noblest. There is unity, a unity that transcends all possible universes, a unity that can help us make sense out of our lives. As Jews, we walk a 3500-year-old path toward that unity, a path that best expresses our own experiences and encounters from Sinai until now. We never would claim all truth nor deny the possibilities discovered by others, but we declare precious that which we hold in our own embrace. To say YAH is to breathe – YAH – because that breath of life is God’s hidden name. YAHHH. YAHHH.
(sing): Kawl…….