Rabbi Howard Morrison

With the new year of 5785, I am beginning my twenty-fifth year with you at Beth Emeth. One of the best decisions in my life was accepting your invitation to move here with my family in the Summer of 2000. My boys, Elie and Yonah, were six and two respectively when I stood here on Rosh Hashanah a quarter of a century ago. Now, my young men, here in shul today, are 30 and 26. Elie is a meteorologist living in New York city, and Yonah intends to soon start a career as an air traffic controller in the United States.

For many years, my younger sister, Andrea, has joined us on Rosh Hashanah. I am thrilled that she is here today. On this Rosh Hashanah, my siblings and I are observing the twenty-fifth Yahrzeit of our dear mother, Helen Morrison. We remember her every day. May her memory always be for a blessing.

At a young age, my mother explained to me the derivation of my name. I am named Avraham Tzvi in Hebrew and Howard Bradley in English, in memory of my maternal great grandfather, Harry Abraham, who was Avraham Tzvi. Years ago, Andrea showed me his burial plot in Massachusetts. How did this Avraham Tzvi become Howard Bradley and not Harry Abraham? My mother preferred Howard over Harry. In the 1960's, Howard was a popular name. Now the dilemma for my mother - The initials of Howard Abraham Morrison would spell HAM, not very appropriate for a religious Jewish boy who would later become a rabbi. If you remove the "A" from Abraham, the next three letters are "B.R.A." thus BRADLEY. Nevertheless, my Hebrew name begins with Avraham for the middle name of my great grandfather, Abraham.

As we know, the very first Abraham-Avraham was our first patriarch and the founder of our faith, heritage, and history. It is interesting to note that while Rosh Hashanah commemorates the creation of the world, the Torah readings for both days take us back to the creation of the first Jewish family, Abraham and Sarah, four thousand years ago. The Talmud teaches us that God remembered Sarah's infertility on Rosh Hashanah. Our ancient tradition also teaches us that Abraham underwent ten divine tests upon being selected to parent a new faith and peoplehood. the tenth test is the most famous and which is the Torah reading for the second day of Rosh Hashanah, the binding of Isaac.

Today, I want to focus on one of the other tests experienced by Abraham, the founding patriarch of our people. It is a test that established his virtue at the outset of our history and which is relevant today as well. 

One of the more unusual stories is that of the battle of the kings. There were four kings from the West who fought five kings from the East. As a child reading this particular story, I always thought of it as being comparable to a professional wrestling battle royale, the likes of which one watches on WWE. However, in the serious truthfulness of this Biblical narrative, the kings from the East captured Lot, Abraham's nephew, and Lot's family, taking them as hostages.

News of Lot's capture reached Abraham, who was deeply concerned for his nephew's safety. Despite the risks, Abraham gathered a small army, three hundred and eighteen of his own men, and set out to rescue Lot. 

We should remember that some time earlier, Lot's shepherds had quarreled with Abraham's shepherds, resulting in the permanent separation of these two segments of a single family. Regardless of internal differences, there was no doubt that a Hebrew, to be called a Jew in later history, was going to do everything possible to save and protect a member of his family and peoplehood.

With determination and courage, Abraham and his men pursued the enemy kings. In a surprise attack, they defeated the enemy forces and rescued Lot and the other hostages. 

The Midrash, ancient rabbinic commentary, elaborates on Abraham's bravery in rescuing Lot and his cunning strategy. The Midrash portrays Abraham as a skilled warrior. It suggests that Abraham was an expert in military tactics and devised a clever plan to defeat the powerful kings who captured Lot. Abraham must have been an expert tactician since his 318 men were probably not a match for the various kings and their greater armies. Other Midrashim emphasize that Abraham's success in the battle was due to Divine intervention.

The story of Abraham and the war of the kings and the modern war between Israel and Hamas are distinct historical events separated by millennia. While both involved conflict and force, drawing distinct parallels between these two situations can be challenging. But there is some merit in lessons that can be learned. After all, we have the expression, "Maaseh Avot Siman Labanim - The deeds of the fathers are a sign for the children." This ancient rabbinic notion reflects the idea that the actions and behaviors of one's ancestors or predecessors can serve as a guide or lesson for future generations.

By studying the actions and consequences of past generations, individuals can learn from their successes and mistakes, and apply those lessons to their own lives. What moral and ethical lessons can we learn from Abraham rescuing his nephew/hostage Lot to today's conflict with Hamas holding over 100 hostages almost one year later?

1. Pikuach Nefesh - The saving of life. This is a fundamental concept of Jewish tradition and ethics. It implies that saving a life takes precedence over almost all other religious commandments. 
2. Justice and Righteousness - The Torah emphasizes the pursuit of justice and righteousness. "Tzedek Tzedek Tirdof - Justice, justice, shall you pursue," says the Torah. Rescuing hostages can be seen as a manifestation of these values, as it involves freeing the unjustly oppressed, and upholding justice.
3. Pidyon Shevuyim - Redeeming of captives. Jewish law underscores the importance of rescuing captives/hostages whenever possible. The story of Abraham rescuing Lot is the first such story in the Torah which emphasized how important it was to rescue one's kin and restore them to safety.
4. Moral courage - Through the story of Abraham, the Torah encourages us to exhibit moral courage and take action when we witness injustice or the suffering of others. We cannot stand idly by and do nothing, another Mitzvah stated explicitly in the Torah. 

This past May, twenty-one of us from Beth Emeth journeyed to Israel on a solidarity mission to offer support in the wake of October 7^th and its aftermath. On this Rosh Hashanah of 5785, each of us and every Jew around the world enters the new year with grief,anger and sadness over what has transpired in Israel, here in Canada, and in many Jewish communities around the world. Many of us sit today in shock over the way Israel and the Jewish people have been targeted and attacked by people who we thought were friends, by evil enemies of the Jewish people, by hired outsiders to spread their venom, and even by echelons of government. 

Except for we the Jewish people and very few others, the world has turned a blind eye to what transpired on October 7, to the plight of hostages who were kidnapped on that day, and for the unknown whereabouts of over a hundred precious people right now. Every day, we pray for the hostages and sing Am Yisrael Chai with fervor and passion. Last May, our Beth Emeth delegation visited among other places the Nova Festival site and hostage square. We also met and heard Rachel Goldberg-Polin when she and her son, Hersh, were the beacons of our hope. Today, I dedicate my remarks to the hostages who have been rescued, to the hostages who have perished, and to the hostages for whom we still pray. Thus, I have shared a Torah lesson about the very first hostage situation in Jewish history, when Abraham's nephew, Lot and family were taken hostage, and how Abraham responded.

Our tradition provides us with a moral ethical framework for approaching our overwhelming challenges today. When we read about Abraham rescuing his nephew Lot and his extended family who were taken hostage, let us take note of the lessons to be learned. Yes, we need to have expert tacticians who know how to fight and win. At the same time, we also need to have Divine intervention and guidance. May the same God who helped Abraham fight and win during his ancient battle of the kings help Am Yisrael win the battle against terrorism, and safely bring back our hostages. 

Am Yisrael Chai!!!!!!

I wish us all Ketiva v'Chatima Tova,

Rabbi Howard Morrison