What if there was no sermon this Shabbat? Can I get an Amen? (Loud Amen)

Sorry to those who responded with Amen. 

Deuteronomy 27 paints the following scenario:

(11) Thereupon Moses charged the people, saying: (12. After you have crossed the Jordan, the following shall stand on Mount Gerizim when the blessing for the people is spoken: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin. (13) And for the curse, the following shall stand on Mount Ebal: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali. (14) The Levites shall then proclaim in a loud voice to all the people of Israel: 

(15) Cursed be any party who makes a sculptured or molten image, abhorred by יהוה, a craftsman’s handiwork, and sets it up in secret.—And all the people shall respond, AMEN (16) Cursed be the one who insults father or mother.—And all the people shall say, AMEN. (17) Cursed be the one who moves a neighbor’s landmark.—And all the people shall say, AMEN. (18) Cursed be the one who misdirects a blind person who is underway.—And all the people shall say, AMEN. (19) Cursed be the one who subverts the rights of the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow.—And all the people shall say, AMEN. (20) Cursed be the [man] who lies with his father’s wife, for he has removed his father’s garment.. —And all the people shall say, AMEN. (21) Cursed be the one who lies with any beast.—And all the people shall say, AMEN. (22) Cursed be the [man] who lies with his sister, whether daughter of his father or of his mother.—And all the people shall say, AMEN. (23) Cursed be the [man] who lies with his mother-in-law.—And all the people shall say, AMEN. (24) Cursed be the one who strikes down a fellow [Israelite] in secret.—And all the people shall say, AMEN. (25) Cursed be the one who accepts a bribe in the case of the murder of an innocent person.—And all the people shall say, AMEN. (26) Cursed be whoever will not uphold the terms of this Teaching and observe them.—And all the people shall say, AMEN.

Before 92,003 attendended a Nebraska womens’ volleyball game or 109,318 attended a Michigan Wolverines football game, this was the ultimate crowd event, a great moment of theater. In this corner…Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin…and in this corner Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali.

This is one of two sections in the torah that we call “the curses,”  but when you hear it recited out lout, it really could be called the “amens.”   

So as luck would have it, in thinking about the power of amens, and in figuring out this sermon yesterday afternoon, I luckily had a fantastic teaching from Rabbi Elie Kaunfer of Yeshivat Hadar in my email inbox from just a few days ago. We love Hadar’s weekly Dvash Parsha magazine , so why not utilize their torah teachings for this week’s portion. So I thank Rabbi Kaunfer in advance for taking over the next few paragraphs:

The use of “amen” in our parashah lays the groundwork for meaning #1: accepting the consequences of a statement. In Parashat Ki Tavo, Israel is accepting upon themselves the consequence of not following various laws (being cursed). R. Yosi bar R. Hanina, therefore derives from this scene in the Torah that one general function of reciting Amen is kabbalat devarim, accepting the consequences of a statement.

The word amen has two other meanings in prayer, beyond acceptance of a consequence. Meaning #2 is to express agreement about something that has happened or is currently the case. In this way, amen is similar to emet, meaning: I affirm what was said is true. Meaning #3 is to express belief in something that will happen, but has not yet come to fruition. This is also a form of request: I hope that this will happen. Here, the tradition that amen (אמן ( is an acronym for the statement: “אמן נ לך מ ל -א – God the king is trustworthy,” and will act in the future, is particularly resonant.

But the word “amen” is not limited to its meanings: it also has a role and function in ritual performance. The Mishnah describes the performative element of the amens in Parashat Ki Tavo: Mishnah Sotah 7:5 

 They turned their faces to Mount Gerizim, and [the Levites] opened with a blessing… and both groups of Israelites [standing on both mountains] answered “amen.” Then they turned their faces to Mount Eval, and [the Levites] opened with a curse… and both groups of Israelites answered “amen,” until they had finished [reciting and responding to] the blessings and curses. (Note that the Mishnah assumes all the Israelites said “amen” to the blessings, not just the curses, even though in the Torah itself amen is only explicitly recited in response to the curses.) 

This is a moment of deep symbolism, in which one mountain (Gerizim) represents the potential blessings, while the other mountain (Eval) represents the potential curses. When the Levites face each mountain in turn, they are directing their focus to the blessing or curse embodied. The people on the mountains provide the ritual response of the blessing or curse with their response of “amen.” The “amen” recited by the people, over and over again, is not only an indication of their acceptance; it is also a public ritual that elevates the moment. Imagine the power of hearing amen again and again, recited by the entire people, at each stipulation of the covenant. It is a powerful image of a group of people focused on words and responding with agreement and acceptance. 

This is the power of Amen:

Talmud Bavli discusses the importance of “Amen” in tractate Berakhot 53b:

R. Yose said: Greater is the person who answers “amen” than the person who recites the blessing. R. Nehorai said to him: By heaven this is so! Know that this is true, as the military assistants descend to the battlefield and initiate the war, but then the military heroes descend and prevail.. Aer R. Yose claims that the one who recites “amen” is greater than the one who triggered the recitation with a blessing, R. Nehorai attempts to explain this with a parable: the one who recites the blessing is simply preparing the way for victory. It is not until the appearance of those who recite amen that victory is assured”

Thus begins the origin story of the phrase, “Can I get an amen?” Blessings, even curses are a contract between the one blessing and the one hearing the blessing. There is no given that an amen will come your way. As we think of our bar mitzvah this morning- many of the major moments of Bar Mitzvah- the torah blessing, the haftarah blessing, are moments in which the kehillah, the congregation, responds verifying the eligibility of said blesser and affirming that they can be that shaliach, that emissary for all of us in the giving of the blessing. 

Last Shabbat, our city was in the national spotlight following the brutal murder of Angela Michelle Carr, Jerrald Gallion, and Anolt Joseph Laguerre Jr by a racist white supremacist, radicalized by hateful rhetoric.

The next day, I found myself downtown for a trio of events- The first two taking place at the Jessie downtown. THe first was a meeting of Jacksonville leadership spearheaded by Rudy Jamison, Jr., who now serves as the Executive Director of the Jacksonville Human Rights Commission. Following the meeting, a program (already on the books) marked the 63rd anniversary of the Jacksonville Youth Council NAACP 1960 Sit-ins and Ax Handle Saturday The program was led by activist Rodney Lawrence Hurst Sr and attended by our Mayor, the first time a mayor of Jacksonville attended such a commemoration in, well, 63 years. And finally a prayer vigil organized by Councilwoman Ju’coby Pitman and our Mayor. The bulk of the vigil, attended by New Town residents, members of the Jewish community, elected officials and more, was a place where many came to grieve, to share their frustrations, to pray. In fact, it was noted that before the 15 or so clergy spoke, they were told to “pray, not preach” for two minutes each. And throughout all these experiences, I listened. Yes, I heard anger, I heard “Jesus” mentioned once or twice, but I also heard “Amen” or rather “Can I get an Amen” throughout each prayer offered. And speaking in the vernacular and in the language of prayer, the “Amens” stood out. Those who offered an “Amen” knew what they were Amen-ing. And even if I as a Jew wasn’t always ready to Amen every blessing offered, I understood the blessing being offered, the power that the collective held in offering a congregational “Amen” and the power of those who offered prayer as a vehicle for change.  

And I thought to myself:

How can we as individuals, as a collective, be better equipped to offer “Amen,” as Rabbi Lubliner often says at the end of a service with a Bar/Bat Mitzvah, a “heartfelt amen”? As outlined before, Amen means a number of things:

Amen means understanding; literally. To know what we are Amen-ing 

Author and Liturgist Rabbi Lawrence Kushner, in an interview with Rabbi Mike Comins, author of “Making Prayer Real” explains the following:

I hear people say Hebrew is a barrier, or it’s not welcoming, and I say phooey! A book isn’t welcoming or not welcoming; a group of people are welcoming or not welcoming. In my former congregation in suburban Boston, we prayed the same service every week at the same time for thirty years and people came to know the whole service by heart. We have a lot of data from over fifteen hundred years that’s incontrovertible: the more you pray, the more likely you are to pray in Hebrew.

On the scale of linguistic difficulty from one to ten, of which Finnish or Turkish is a ten, and pig latin is a one, English is a seven and Hebrew is a three. There are five times more words in the English dictionary than the Hebrew dictionary. Once you get over the hump of the funny letters going in the other direction, you’ve got an easy language on your hands. And I think what rabbis Ought to say is, “Cut the complaining and learn the fricking language already.”

His words, not mine. But a friendly reminder that the great sage Rabbi Akiva started learning at age 40. And even if you don’t plan to learn a liturgy class at an Israeli university in 6 months time, how about learning about the structure of our tefillot, how about learning the meaning behind the blessings that precede the Amens, so that they become more meaningful affirmations – not only to you, but to the one reciting the brakha. 

Amen means active listening. Amen means showing up. If we aren’t there- in synagogues or the holy and ordinary places that our brothers and sisters offer prayer, how can we give an Amen? If we don’t show up for one another at all times- (because all times warrant blessing- the times filled with gratitude, the times marred by struggle,) how can we offer Amen??! What conversations are taking place that we aren’t coming to, or aren’t invited to, where we can offer “Amen”? What conversations should be taking place to offer “amen”?

Amen means that even if we aren’t the one talking,  we are the ones confirming and sealing the deal, for the blessing is not complete until someone else recites “amen.” We, as listeners, are part of the story. So as we approach a new year, and many of us will be in this space in just two short weeks, standing and sitting, standing and sitting, Amen-ing Ad nauseam, what can we do to better Amen others- to listen, to affirm, to know? What blessings in the coming year do we offer as blessings of merit, of gratitude, and humility, so that others will affirm their collective value? Whether you sit on this side of the mountain or that side of the mountain, may this year be one of blessing for you, of health for all and an opportunity be present for the blessing of others, Amen Amen Amen.