Rosh Hashanah Sermon Day 1
The Importance of Small Things
Rabbi Tziona Szajman
This sermon was inspired by a sermon written by Rabbi Simon Greenberg in his
book Hiddden Hungers
A friend, Rabbi Danny Gottlieb, shared with me the following story:
Once, in a small village, there lived a poor tailor who barely subsisted from
Shabbat to Shabbat. He worked hard all week long: stitching, sewing and mending.
On Shabbat he would enjoy a little restful time with his wife and only child, a
beautiful and charming daughter.
He had one strange habit- each Friday afternoon he would gather up the
fallen pieces of material in his shop- little scraps and remnants- and would lovingly
sew each piece into a tiny, perfect square. These he kept in a box week after week,
year after year.
One happy day his daughter became betrothed to be married. She knew
there could be no money for a wedding dress- the family had nothing to spare. With
joy the little tailor took his daughter by the hand and led her to his workshop. There
on a hanger was a beautiful wedding dress, the most beautiful she had ever seenmade
of tiny little squares, each different, each one perfect, sewn together in a
gorgeous pattern.
The tailor had taken small pieces and woven them together for something of
great value.
The high holidays are dramatic, imposing, lofty and grand. After all, we call them the
HIGH HOLY DAYS, not the medium holy days.
The grandness gives our year focus, we stop our chase in the rat race, we spend
time with family, we spend time with ourselves in contemplation and study. The
grandness inspires us- life, death, sin, and repentance.
But, it is the small things, not the grand that truly form and influence our lives.
Like the tailor’s dress, small things, gathered together, becomes great. Hours,
years of hours of small things –add up with the right intention.
Yud is the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet and yet it begins a very important
word – Yud, heh, vav, heh, God’s holy name. So holy we don’t even pronounce it,
but say Adonai, out loud.
Think of the greatness that can be woven together with small acts of kindness, small
moments of human giving.
Important in life is the time you are there for a friend, the hug you give your child, the
week you make minyan for a mourner saying kaddish, the dog you adopt from the
Humane Society, the committee you join, the loving calls to a parent or grandparent.
God has given us each small gifts, gifts that are ours alone, unique and perfect,
which we can share with the world.
There is a woman in our synagogue with the gift of smiles, she makes every activity
in which she participates a joy and adventure for those around her. There is a man
in our synagogue who will always attend minyan when called, and charm three
friends to come along with him. We have members who use their gifts for cooking to
care for mourner, and members who use their gift of storytelling to inspire and
amuse.
Each gift when given, adds to our community, supports and cares for fellow human
beings.
Let me convince you of the importance of small things.
The very small things that have triggered great discoveries:
• A child’s soap bubbles led Newton to his important optical discoveries
• A spider web over a garden path suggested the suspension bridge
• A teakettle whistling on the stove inspired the steam engine
• A falling apple led to the formulation of the law of gravity
Like the story of the poor tailor’s wedding dress- we can weave together small things
to make greatness, to make beauty and holiness.
We tend to look for big grand things in life:
• Movies that start with an earthquake and then build up to a climax
• Supermodel beauty
• Weight loss of 30 lbs a week
• Grand buildings, Olympic sized pools
• Synagogue programs that draw hundreds of people and tzedaka donations
that make newspaper headlines
But these are the parapets, not the building blocks of life.
Small courtesies: how we interact with a clerk at a store. Small kindnesses: when
we choose not to pass of a piece of gossip. Small mitzvoth: when we work in our
synagogue or community. These all add up. Their absence leaves us a cold painful
place to live, their inclusion brings us joy, comfort, support, safety, community.
On Rosh Hashanah, we have 5 aliyot and 5 blessings for our Torah reading- on Yom
Kippur 6 and on Shabbat 7! The Torah readings increase with holiness, Shabbat
being the most holy. Shabbat seems routine, 52 in a year, compared to the
grandiosity of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, which come only one in the year.
It is the small weekly habit of prayer that surpasses all in holiness. Why? Because
the small act of praying regularly changes who we are, makes us mindful of our
riches and gifts.
Unlike prayer in great desperation, pain, or even great joy- regular prayer is about
the small things for which we are grateful.
Modeh ani lefarecha: G-d I am grateful to have awoken this morning and to
be standing alive before you. A small prayer said every morning which
reminds us how precious is the gift of life, of health.
Modim: the last paragraph of the Amidah, which we recite three times daily.
We are grateful to you G-d for everyday miracles, for creating morning, noon
and night.
Yotzevov: thank you G-d for making the sunrise, plants grow, rain fall
Shema V’Ahavta: G-d I will be mindful of my covenant with you, to walk in the
ways of the mitzvoth, to keep a Jewish home to teach my children.
Awareness is appreciating the small wonders of life.
When we pray to God thankfulness for small things, we grow an awareness of
the importance of small things, of doing small goodnesses for others.
Moses said of the Torah:
“It is not in heaven that you should say: Who shall go up for us to heaven and
bring it to us…? Neither is it beyond the sea that you should say: Who shall go
over the sea for us and bring it to us…? But it is very near to you, in your mouth,
in your heart, within your reach.”
Our strengths and gifts are here within our reach:
Our minds that think, our hearts that love, hands that lift, loved one to whom
we matter, freedom to grow and seek, friends to find joy with, books to read,
music to hear, and to see.
There are 613 mitzvot. Some are large: keep kosher, stay faithful to your spouse,
and some are small: begin each meal with a blessing, read a Jewish book, enroll in
a Jewish class, light Shabbat candles- not spectacular but so important- serve on a
synagogue committee, buy an Israel Bond, attend a 15 minute evening prayer
service just because- quite undramatic. Judaism is spelled out in humble acts.
Just so, with those mitzvot we can do for those around us:
- a reassuring word, a friendly visit, a sincere compliment, an encouraging
gesture, a warm smile.
It is within our reach to make our own small world, our community a better place. We
have the power to transform our environment with small acts of kindness.
Let this year be filled with small gifts. Let each of us search and discover the
gift within our own souls. Let us find our most beautiful gifts and encourage
and bring in our neighbors, friends and loved ones. Let us be present for one
another in kindness and joy.
Together we will thread our souls’ gifts together in community and tikkun olam.
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