The Role That Hope Has Played in My Life

Introduction by Rabbi Herzbrun

On Rosh Hashanah morning, I addressed the congregation on the theme of "hope." I noted, for example, that ~ in contrast to all the various national anthems from countries around the globe, the Israeli national anthem (Hatikvah = "The Hope") is the only one that speaks to the yearnings of a people for a better future. Indeed, Hatikvah stands alone in that it includes no mention of the country's "bounty"; nor is there a reference to the glory or war or to the belief that "God is on our side"; rather Hatikvah reminds us that our lives are still incomplete, and that tomorrow holds a promise unfulfilled by today.

In that address from the pulpit, I also noted that the ability to hope is elusive ~ and that it is easily lost. In a search of the prayer book for the High Holidays, I found little in the way of liturgy that could direct us to regain a hope once abandoned or discarded. And so it was instead that I asked four members of our congregation to describe the role the hope has played in their own lives… to reflect on the way(s) that they found themselves (perhaps even unexpectedly) encouraged by a sense of hope and optimism in the future. 

What follows then, are three of those four essays from members of our Temple Emanu-El family. I hope you are energized by their words, as we were as a congregation on the morning of Rosh Hashanah.

Rabbi Michael Herzbrun

THE ROLE HOPE HAS PLAYED IN MY LIFE by Daniella Mendenhall

I was reading my 5-yr old a bedtime story, Dr. Seuss' Oh The Places You'll Go. My son seemed enthralled with the activities the book urged him to try: heading out of town to explore the world, flying high even with the possibility of failure, and paddling up many a frightening creek.

Mid-way through the book, Dr. Seuss took us to The Waiting Place, a huge meadow dotted with unsmiling people, half-finished furniture, and various non-operational machines. In this place, everyone was

"...Waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake

Or a pot to boil, or a Better Break..."

We finished the story but I thought about that Waiting Place, and how most of us find ourselves there at times... not standing in line at the DMV, but, rather, waiting for a life condition to change, especially when that change could take quite a while. Hope relates here.

I think that hope lies in working to improve your life DURING the time you're stuck in The Waiting Place.

Someone may say: when I rise to the rank I want to within my company, then I'll spend more time with my family. Well, who knows how long that promotion may take. In the meantime, take small strides toward more family time, strides of hope.

Someone else may say: when I find a type of exercise I really like, then I'll start taking care of my health seriously. Personally, there is NO type of exercise I like, but I've started in on a type of exercise I dislike less. So I jog, on a road of hope.

My family and I have made quite a few work-related moves, over a large geographic area. In the past I stayed un-involved in the communities we were in, using the rationale: When we move to a community where we'll stay long-term, then I'll "put down roots". For my family, waiting to live in one geographic area long-term could be a permanent Waiting Place. So I abandoned my resistance to putting down roots, and grew roots of hope. 

So whether you're waiting, as Dr. Seuss lists: for "a string of pearls, or a pair of pants

Or a wig with curls, or Another Chance",

work to improve what you have, while you're waiting for what you don't have. To me, hope lies in this. Shanah Tovah.

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THE ROLE HOPE HAS PLAYED IN MY LIFE by Rich Yarmel

I'm an attorney and I often speak about maintaining compliance with laws and regulations. When I started writing this essay, I immediately resorted to the tools I use when preparing presentations to professional organizations.   If I continued down that road, you would have had to endure an essay titled "Hope--Best Practices and Pitfalls to Avoid." 

I believe you first have to define hope. In my mind, there are two basic concepts.

The first relates to hope as a wish.  In general, I  wish for things that are out of my direct control (e.g., world peace, for it not to rain on a particular day, for a professional sports team to win -- I stopped hoping for the Bills to win long ago). This is in   contrast to results that are in my control (e.g., getting a particular result for a client, spending time outdoors, exercising).  I believe it's counterproductive to simply hope or wish for things that are within your direct control and do nothing more.  I have seen people rely on hope, or wish for results to happen or situations to improve, rather than develop and implement a plan to achieve an objective that is within their control.

The second and I believe more important concept of hope, is that hope is the original thought that inspires and motivates us to dream of what could be. This spark, or inspiration, or belief, if acted upon, can lead to great things. I'll give you a recent example that is near and dear to me.  For several years, my wife Patty would volunteer every Friday at the same inner city school. In addition to other activities, she would read to one particular child each week. This led her to realize that over the summer there would be no one reading to the child because she did not have any books in her house. Patty "hoped" or believed that this child and other similarly situated children should have books to read in their homes. Her "hope" became the seed of an important program.  A summer reading program was developed and implemented by Patty and her dedicated partner, our immediate past president, Leslie Schwartz. The first year 200 children from the school where Patty started volunteering received books every other week during the summer, the second year the program grew to 1100 children at 4 schools, and this past summer 2000 children at 9 schools received approximately 14,000 books. This all started with a single thought -- that is hope. Hope can be the spark or inspiration that can lead to great things if you take the time to determine what is in your control and you develop and implement a plan to make what you hope for, a reality. You would be surprised what is actually in your control if you set your mind to it .

To me the importance of hope in improving our society was best expressed by Ted Kennedy almost 30 years ago:

"For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die." Ted Kennedy (1980)

 

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THE ROLE HOPE HAS PLAYED IN MY LIFE by Judy Greenstein

When I was a child my hope was that my father would not take too big a bite of my ice cream cone and to become a Broadway Star. When I was a teen my hope was to become a cheerleader and to find the love of my life. When I was in college my hope was to save the world and become an inner-city teacher and also to find the love of my life. When I started my first job teaching 6^th graders in Webster, not exactly inner-city, my hope was not to mess up any of my students and to find the love of my life. I am glad to report that as far as I know all the kids survived and I found Merrill, the love of my life. Actually my parents found Merrill and they brought us together. Six months later in the summer of 1968 we got married and my hope was for a life of happiness and a new apartment. 

The next few years my hopes actually went on the back burner. My father died at age 56 a week after we moved to Chicago. Merrill’s father died two years later and his mother 16 months after that. All this happened before I was thirty. We learned very early on that life is fleeting and that you do not know what tomorrow will bring and that today, this day, must be the best day of your life. After losing three parents in five years, my hope then was that all our life lessons were over, how naive.

As I got older and experienced more of life surprises, some actually very nice, I began to realize that it is the hope that things will get better and that I can endure which allows me to get though the tough times and to relish and enjoy the good times. Merrill and I are now retired and living in our dream home and back with the family that we love and have missed. Although there have been many demands on us since our return, this is the place that we belong especially at this time in our lives. I hope we live a long, healthy and happy life here but we are prepared for life’s detours. 

Temple Emanu-El has become an added bonus in our new life. The Temple and its congregants give us a sense of community and a place that encourages hope as we thank God for what we have. I truly believe that without hope, life would become a drudgery and could easily become unbearable. Hope is a positive force that lets me feel joy when there is sorrow and to be strong when there is adversity.

Merrill and I sincerely hope that you and yours have a healthy and happy New Year. L’Shana Tova

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