Sign In Forgot Password

STOP... In The Name of Love

Last night I was rocking my 10 month-old daughter to sleep and at the moment I was about to place her in the crib, her hand tightened around my shoulder, as if to say, “Don’t go yet, Abba. Stay a little longer.” I had so much to do. I had this drash to write, I had lesson plans to complete, not to mention the dishes that were waiting for me in the sink. But how could I leave her when she was clearly asking me to stay? Without using words, in the depths of her sleep, Eliana was able to communicate that she was just not ready to be let go of; not ready for her Abba to leave her for the night. In the Jewish tradition we not only have a moment like this, but a complete day devoted to this very emotion.

After days of sitting in synagogue through Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot, reflecting on the year that has passed, renewing ourselves for the better, celebrating Z’man Simchatenu, the season of our joy, we arrive at Shmini Atzeret---which tells us to ‘stop’. It is a day which separates Sukkot from the renewal of the cycle of Torah. It seems so anti-climactic. We have renewed ourselves, celebrated the joy of that renewal and are about to sing and dance, rejoicing in the completion of the Torah, yet we pause for a day? Have we not had enough time in synagogue? Are we gluttons for a good sermon and a bisel of kichel?

The Torah teaches, “On the eighth day, you shall hold an Atzeret; you shall not work at your occupations. You shall present burnt offerings, a gift of pleasing odor to the Lord…[1].” We understand from this set of verses that Shmini Atzeret is a separate holyday in and of itself. The word atzeret has multiple interpretations. The Editors of the Etz Hayim Chumash translate it as a solemn gathering, while literally the word atzeret comes from the root Atzar, meaning, to stop. So, we gather and stop. But, have we not gathered and stopped, taking a break from our typical daily routines for nine days already? Why one more day?

Rashi, (11th Century Biblical Commentator) explains that atzeret is the language of affection, like children departing from their father. God says, “your departure is difficult for me. Delay it one more day[2].”

How often have we not wanted to leave someone we love, not wanted a certain moment to end? How often have we been so busy that we have forgotten to stop and just be present?

The Psalms teach us: Ze hayom asah Adonai, nagilah vnismecha vo- This is the day that God has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it[3].  This is the day- not yesterday and not tomorrow, but today. Sometimes, after all of these Holydays, we need an atzeret, a day to stop and hold close those whom we love, and say, “your departure is difficult for me. Delay it one more day.” The beauty of this is that we have a built-in Atzeret once a week, only, we call it Shabbat.  


[1] Bamidbar 29:35-36
[2] Bamidbar 29:36
[3] Psalm 118:24

Thu, March 28 2024 18 Adar II 5784