If Not Me, Who Will?
F
or many of us, the High
Holidays are characterized by
our childhood memories. We
recall how we used to go,
with our parents or grand-
parents, and sit in syna-
gogue sometimes bored
and impatient. We would
pray — not for forgiveness
from God but for the ser-
vices to be over so we'd be
able to go home.
On these days of awe,
there is something in the
air that brings back those
old beloved memories and
moves us to strengthen
our connection to our
ancestors as well as our relationships
with our families.
As I sat down to write this mes-
sage I called my father, Rabbi Moshe
Greenberg, who is now in his 80s living
in Israel, to wish him many more long
healthy and happy years. Once we were
on the phone we started to shmooze
and reminisced about his years living
in the former Soviet Union.
We discussed his challenges of
obtaining kosher food, observing
Shabbat and the most difficult one
of not sending his children, my older
siblings born in Russia, to school on
Shabbat. I asked him where he found
the strength to defy the government
and literally put his life on the line.
He humbly answered by remind-
ing me of the story of (Daniel 3),
Chananya, Mishael and Azariah,
advisers in the court of the
Babylonian King, Nebuchadnezzar.
Nebuchadnezzar had a statue con-
structed in his image and invited
all the nations to send delegations
to Babylon to inaugurate the statue
and to bow down before it. The three
Jewish advisers were also invited.
They went to the inaugural event
and when the time came to bow
they were the only ones remaining
standing upright. Nebuchadnezzar
ordered that the trio be thrown into
the furnace to be burned
alive for their impudence,
but through a miracle from
God they emerged from
the flames unscathed.
This is what my father
was telling me, and he said,
"If they were willing to do
that, so what's the big deal
for us?"
Still, I said that the
Talmud tells us that they
were able to withstand
this test with self-sacrifice
because it was a one-time
challenge. Had they been put to such
tests every day, their resolve could pos-
sibly have broken down. But my father
faced these challenges every day for
years!
"Where,' I asked my father, "did you
draw such courage from?"
At this point my father's voice broke,
and he told me the most powerful
words I've ever heard. He said to me,
"I'll tell you the truth. Every time I
felt that I had no more strength, that I
simply could not go on, I'd ask myself
this question: If not me, who will?"
During the High Holidays I wish
this question should always stand
in front of me. When it comes to
doing mitzvot such as giving charity,
reciting Kiddush or lighting Shabbat
candles, we must constantly ask our-
selves, "If not me, who will?"
The Lubavitcher Rebbe, of
righteous memory, would encourage
each of us to take on an additional
mitzvah for the new year. After all, the
responsibility for the continuity of our
nation rests squarely on the shoulders
of each and every one of us.
Rabbi Schneor Greenberg is rabbi of the
Chabad Jewish Center of Commerce.
L'Shanah Tovah
from the Board, musicians,
and staff of the Ann Arbor
Symphony Orchestra
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Rabbi Edut from page 84
May this New Year of 5772 fulfill for
each of us the words of the Prophet
Isaiah at 58:9-14, which we read on
Yom Kippur:
"If you will remove from your midst
the yoke of oppression, the finger of
scorn and the tongue of malice, if you
put yourself out for the hungry and
relieve the wretched, then shall your
light shine in the darkness, and your
gloom shall be as noonday. And the
Lord will guide you continually. He will
refresh you in dry places, renewing your
strength. And you shall be like a watered
garden, live a never-failing spring. And
you shall rebuild ancient ruins, restoring
old foundations. . ."
Shana Tova V'tikatevu B'sefer
Ha-Chayim! I I
Rabbi Dorit Edut is a "rabbi without
borders" who makes her home in Detroit
and New York City. She is actively involved
in the revival of downtown Detroit and
bringing together interfaith leaders in the
Metro Detroit area.
September 22 • 2011
85