Kol Nidre 2009 - 5770
Rabbi Marvin Schwab
Temple Beth Shalom

Kol Nidre. In conversation, the words seem to demand the kind of awe that requires one to whisper. Kol Nidre. In the entirety of the Jewish Ritual Experience, there is no other night like this. For some of us, this is the holiest experience we can have in the Synagogue. Yom Kippur is so exalted that we even read the holiness codes from the Torah on this day: Kedoshim t’hiyu, key Kadosh Ani Adonai Eloheichem - You shall be holy for I, the Eternal your God, am Holy.

Holiness is here defined as both an attribute of God, and an attribute that can be exhibited by human beings. And while it seems to be an intrinsic quality of God, it is an optional characteristic for humans as we can choose to be God-like and holy, or not. The Holiness Codes taken from the Torah portion Kedoshim, in Leviticus give us specific instructions if we wish to be "holy." Oddly enough, praying regularly, or even just often, is not mentioned. Many of us seem to have caught onto that fact and taken it to heart already. Neither is it required of us to sit on a mountain top and meditate. Nor are we told that we must undertake a Nazarite vow abstaining from haircuts, grape leaves, wine, liquor, or normal human pleasures to obtain the appellation of holy. So then how, in the Jewish world, does one become holy?

The instruction begins simply enough: revere your parents, keep God’s Sabbaths, and do not practice idolatry. These are injunctions we might expect in Torah. Anything else? Yes. You know that crop that you planted, weeded, watered, watched and sweated over: it’s not all yours and you do not get to keep it all. The corners of the fields have to be left for the poor and the disenfranchised in the society. Wait a minute. I do all the work and I do not get to keep all the rewards? The holy do not. They recognize that all that they have is simply a gift from God. A gift enhanced by human toil, but a gift nevertheless and a gift that comes with restrictions like, you have to give some of it away. Wait. What if the people I have to give it to did not work as hard as I did? You still have to give them some. Wait. What if they are in the position they are in because of bad choices they made? Yep, same answer, you still have to provide for them if you are going to live up to the title "holy." Holy is not a state, it is an action. In the words of Forrest Gump, “Holy is as holy does.”

Oh yes, and by the way, that is not all you have to do to be holy. You are not allowed to steal, act deceitfully or lie. Much as you might like to, or be able to, you are not allowed to oppress your neighbor. I know he deserves it, he should take some personal responsibility for his situation, but sorry, you cannot take advantage of him, or her either. Your employees? You must pay them promptly, if you want to be holy. A holy person will see the image of God in the disabled and not mock them. And if you want to be holy you have to be sure that justice dispensed is, in fact, just. No bribes allowed.

Finally, to be holy means having honest weights and measures in business. It also means that immigrants in your land are to be treated just like the home born, i.e. just like citizens. In fact, not only are they to be treated with fairness, we are commanded, if we want to be holy, to treat them with ... love. Wait a minute. Are you telling me that holiness involves business and that dirtiest of all words, money? Yes, that is what Torah is telling you. Holiness is not some distant entity, disconnected from every day life. To be holy is to act with holiness in the minutia of everyday life and commerce. How we treat money and how we use it are part of holiness.

According to the Torah, our most ancient, sacred text, holiness is defined by a set of actions we are to carry out that have nothing to do with communing with God. Most importantly, these holy actions all carry within them what we would call in our day and age "social conscience." To be holy means to treat other human beings with the respect we want for ourselves. To be holy means to be concerned with the well-being of other human beings. To be holy means, according to the Torah, that everyone must be treated justly, and it is our responsibility, our religious obligation, to ensure this.

So allow me to give you a few examples of where we have fallen short with regard to medical care. Two people undergo the identical medical procedure, a colonoscopy. Both are covered under the same medical insurance policy provided by the same employer. One pays nothing. The other pays $2,500 out of pocket. The difference? In the former case nothing was found. In the latter case, a single benign polyp was found and removed. There were no other differences in the procedures. Both patients are healthy. And this is no hypothetical case. It is an absolute reality here in Santa Fe, New Mexico with coverage provided by Blue Cross/Blue Shield. Is there justice in this? Without justice, we cannot be "holy."

The Torah commands us to be an "Ahm Kadosh, Mamlechet Kohanim," a Holy People, a Dominion of Priests. This is what the Jewish People, in the most inclusive definition we can conceive, is all about. We are to be a people that, as priests, serve God by being holy which means we are commanded to seek the well-being of other human beings.

A rabbinic colleague in Los Angeles switches jobs. He is still a rabbi and he still lives in Los Angeles. Since his medical coverage is independently provided by each congregation he may work for, there is no automatic transition. He loses one policy and must apply from scratch for the next. The difficulty comes from the fact that my colleague is a diabetic. The new insurance company regarded his disease as a pre-existing condition, and refused to insure him. He was left without real medical coverage for himself and his family. Cobra medical coverage is temporary and, in my experience, woefully expensive. Is there justice in this?

According to the Huffington Post, and I know this is a controversial statistic, in 8 states in these United States of America, health insurance companies can define spousal abuse as a pre-existing condition. That is correct: if your spouse has abused you, hit you, that is considered your disease. It predisposes you to more injuries. Therefore, you can be denied health coverage on the basis of this "disease." And let us not forget that even if you leave the abusive spouse, this condition still has to be reported to the insurance company. It may drop off your chart after 5 years, just like my bout with cancer in 2002, but it may haunt you and disqualify you for those five years. Is there justice in this? Is this what a people commanded to be holy, who begin a day of t’shuvah now, should allow to be the reality in their country? If we remain silent about the plight of others, can we ask, can we expect, mercy for ourselves on this night of Kol Nidre? Remember that God spoke and the world came to be. We have that same Divine creative tool: speech. We dare not remain silent in the face of injustice.

Here in New Mexico, for every $6 we spend on Medicaid to care for the disadvantaged, $5 is reimbursed from the Federal Government. We have the second highest dependence on Medicaid in the entire country with 24% of New Mexicans relying on it for health care. We want our citizens to be healthy. So why, why I ask, in the special legislative session that is coming up, are our leaders considering cutting our Medicaid spending as a way to balance the budget? How can they seriously consider cutting spending in an area where for every dollar cut, only 20 cents will be recovered?

When Governor Richardson took office $300 million dollars in tax cuts went to the highest income reporters in the state. Now we face a deficit of $300 million dollars in the realm of education. Is that simply a coincidence? How might you balance the budget? Call State Senator Peter Wirth, and discuss this with him.

While I do not endorse a particular health care bill, I do endorse our involvement in the process. I do endorse doctors being able to practice medicine and to be properly compensated for that, while at the same time their care is not denied to human beings who need it. V’ahavta la rayacha camocha: you shall love your neighbor as yourself, is the greatest of all of our mitzvot according to Rabbi Akivah.

Speak out on these basic human rights issues. Call Senators Bingaman and Udall. If you are in favor, tell Senator Udall that you, like me, want a single payer system or at least a public option. If not, tell him why. Call Representative Benny Ray Lujan. Call State Senator Peter Wirth and tell him to protect the children of this state through fully funded Medicaid. Let them all know how you feel. It is our sacred duty.

On Kol Nidre we express our fallibility as human beings. On this Kol Nidre let us rise to the level of Holiness through action that Jewish Tradition demands of us. Only then may we ask to be sealed in the Book of Life. It is through active holiness that this will be a good, sweet year. I pray it be so for all of us. Amen.