blogs/rabbi-joshua-hoffman

When the Valley Beth Shalom Day School meets throughout the week for communal prayer �" for tefillah �" they learn the structure of the liturgy and practice the modes and melodies of our vast prayer tradition. The words of the prayer, “Aleinu” are often welcomed as the last major prayer piece and are often sung with full voices and even danced to with some choreographed moves. Typically, the end of the first paragraph leaves us in harmonious bliss as we recite “Ain Od” or “There is no Other.”

And then, we fall silent.

Mumbles at best, awkward pauses linger before the next lines are recited. Our absent gestures leave us standing in limbo wondering, “What's happening next?” “Do we really mean the next part of the prayer once we've finished singing and dancing to the words before?”

It was years ago that I suggested to the students that we look into the second paragraph and focus in on its key concepts. There we find the words, “LTakein Olam B'Maluchut Shaddai” “To Repair/​Perfect the World under the Sovereignty of Gd.” Four simple words to express the essence of this prayer. It is this concept we're intended to focus upon and translate into the world around us. At best, our silence is meditation. Often, we miss this idea altogether.

In response, I asked the students to recite those four words in full voice, in addition to the first paragraph, to express the very best of the prayer �" our work is not yet complete.

It was a great surprise when I heard, LTakein Olam B'Maluchut Shaddai, sung sweetly and powerfully at the conclusion of Friday night prayers last week in the Amijai Synagogue in Buenos Aires, Argentina. As a participant in the Jewish Federations of North America Rabbinic Cabinet mission there, we had a unique opportunity to celebrate the vibrant and active Jewish community in Buenos Aires, home to some 250,000 Jews. I was astonished to watch hundreds of congregants expressing this simple and profound message of universal purpose and truth in a part of the world seemingly so far removed from Southern California. In that moment, their prayers and the prayers of our children were one. Tikkun happened.

The connections between the Argentinean Jewish Community and our North American Jewish Community are glowing examples of this kind of Tikkun. In the past, it was the North American Jewish community that poured millions of dollars back into their infrastructure after the economic collapse there in the early 2000's. More than protecting families for their survival and children for their education, it was our greater community that helped establish communal organizations and ensured self-sustainability. With our support, the community can now weather the turbulent storms that often afflict these noble and colorful people.

More than words on a page and chanting melodies which indicate our prayers are nearing their conclusion, this expression, ‘our work is not yet complete' is the anthem of our congregation. LTakein Olam B'Maluchut Shaddai �" Our Work is not yet Complete �" challenges us to reach out into the world and respond to the crises of our local, national and global communities with open hearts and caring hands.

It's these four words we can sing out loud when we're conclude our prayers and return into the world. It's these four words that will inspire us to aspire toward the very best our Tradition and our Faith offer to this world.