Rosh Hashanah I: What Do We Owe Ourselves? (2 of 5) Our Humanity
Save
Copy
Add to Collection
Export to Google Docs
ShareRosh Hashanah Alternative Service (Bereishit) that looks at social contributors to depression and the Creation Myth
Rates of depression are sky rocketing. And it's my lay, entirely unprofessional opinion, that this is due to a loss of our humanity. So to answer the question rather quickly, "what do we owe ourselves?" I would say simply: we owe ourselves our humanity.
But what does that mean? What does any of this have to do with Judaism? The answer is in the text I just read, Bereishit, but it's also in the social sciences.
I'm a big fan of Johann Hari's Lost Connections. The first three (of nine) factors causing depression according to his book are:
- Disconnect from meaningful values
- Disconnection from meaningful work
- Disconnect from others
I'd like to explore that with you.
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֔ים נַֽעֲשֶׂ֥ה אָדָ֛ם בְּצַלְמֵ֖נוּ כִּדְמוּתֵ֑נוּ וְיִרְדּוּ֩ בִדְגַ֨ת הַיָּ֜ם וּבְע֣וֹף הַשָּׁמַ֗יִם וּבַבְּהֵמָה֙ וּבְכׇל־הָאָ֔רֶץ וּבְכׇל־הָרֶ֖מֶשׂ הָֽרֹמֵ֥שׂ עַל־הָאָֽרֶץ׃
And God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, after our likeness. They shall rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the cattle, the whole earth, and all the creeping things that creep on earth.”
וַיִּבְרָ֨א אֱלֹהִ֤ים ׀ אֶת־הָֽאָדָם֙ בְּצַלְמ֔וֹ בְּצֶ֥לֶם אֱלֹהִ֖ים בָּרָ֣א אֹת֑וֹ זָכָ֥ר וּנְקֵבָ֖ה בָּרָ֥א אֹתָֽם׃
And God created the Human in the divine image,creating Them in the image of God—creating Them male and female.
Human beings are made in God's image, and that is the ultimate religious value. If you're a humanist, you're good in my book. But Religious Humanism is like "Humanism+". It adds that extra element that brings us from a good like to a holy life. And a holy life is a meaningful life, with meaningful values, no matter where life takes you.
וְהָאָ֗רֶץ הָיְתָ֥ה תֹ֙הוּ֙ וָבֹ֔הוּ וְחֹ֖שֶׁךְ עַל־פְּנֵ֣י תְה֑וֹם וְר֣וּחַ אֱלֹהִ֔ים מְרַחֶ֖פֶת עַל־פְּנֵ֥י הַמָּֽיִם׃
the earth being [wild and wasteful], with darkness over the surface of the deep and a wind from God sweeping over the water...
וַיִּקַּ֛ח יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהִ֖ים אֶת־הָֽאָדָ֑ם וַיַּנִּחֵ֣הוּ בְגַן־עֵ֔דֶן לְעׇבְדָ֖הּ וּלְשׇׁמְרָֽהּ׃
God יהוה settled the Human in the garden of Eden, to till it and tend it.
We are meant to be creative just as God is. God creates all of this, everything, from the primordial nothingness. We create, just as God does, in our own way. Being productive, making good use of life, elevates us from mere existence to truly living.
וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהִ֔ים לֹא־ט֛וֹב הֱי֥וֹת הָֽאָדָ֖ם לְבַדּ֑וֹ אֶֽעֱשֶׂה־לּ֥וֹ עֵ֖זֶר כְּנֶגְדּֽוֹ׃
God יהוה said, “It is not good for the Human to be alone; I will make a fitting counterpart for him.”
(כח) וַיְבָ֣רֶךְ אֹתָם֮ אֱלֹהִים֒ וַיֹּ֨אמֶר לָהֶ֜ם אֱלֹהִ֗ים פְּר֥וּ וּרְב֛וּ וּמִלְא֥וּ אֶת־הָאָ֖רֶץ
(28) God blessed them and God said to them, “Be fertile and [multiply]..."
We are not meant to be isolated. Covid taught us that we need to fall in love, we need to marry, we need to create families (and there are a lot of ways to make a family, and there are a lot of ways to define family in your life.) Sure, we need our downtime. But as the author Shalom Aleichem said: life is lived with other people.
- Disconnection from meaningful values is remedied by seeing yourself and others in the image of God
- Disconnection from meaningful work is remedied by giving yourself the chance to be creative
- Disconnection from others is simply remedied by finding your tribe. I hope that Kehillah will be part of that tribe in some way.
The Sheva Brachot [sang at weddings] ends with a blessing for a God who "who created joy and happiness, gladness, jubilation, cheer and delight, love, friendship, harmony and fellowship." This is what we owe ourselves. We owe ourselves meaning, creativity and community. What do we owe ourselves? Our humanity.