Yom Kippur Kol Nidre - October 10, 2024

For the last three years I have taken on a personal learning project and shared it with the congregation. Five minutes of Torah from Sinai is literally a Torah lesson that takes five minutes to read. The last two years I have chosen two midrashic compilations as the source for the lesson. This past year the midrashim came from Midrash Tanhuma, an 8th century compilation of midrashim on the Torah portion of the week. This coming year I am going to try something different. I will review commentaries from three very different commentators, mefarshim, Rashi, the most significant Torah commentator from the 11th century in France, Rabbi Ephraim of Lunshitz, from 16th century Prague and Arnold Ehrlich a 20th century critical Biblical scholar. But to close out this year I want to share with you the Tanhuma’s telling of the Yonah story. The Yonah story is associated with Yom Kippur because it is the haftarah we read tomorrow afternoon. As always, the midrash amplifies and modifies the biblical narrative. And the question for midrash is why the changes to the story?

What are the sages trying to teach us?

So here is the Tanhuma’s version of Yonah and the Big Fish:

Yonah fled from God. Why did he flee? This was not Yonah’s first task as a prophet. The first time, during the reign of King Jeroboam ben Nebat of the northern Kingdom, [God] sent Yonah to restore the border of Israel; and his words were fulfilled (II Kings 14:25). The second time, God sent him to Jerusalem to warn the people it would be destroyed because of their sins. But the people did enough teshuvah so that the Holy One did not destroy it. As a result the people called him a false prophet. The third time, God directed Yonah to Nineveh to destroy it, this is the story we will read tomorrow.

Yonah said: I know that those people, though, are close to repentance. If I go on my mission, they will repent and God will have mercy [on them]. And the Holy One, will become enraged towards Israel. “God will say, 'The nations, to whom I did not give laws and judgments, when I threaten them, they immediately repent. While I send them My prophets to Israel all the time, yet they are stubborn.' Yonah continued, “And then not only will Israel call me a false prophet, but even the nations of the world [will] criticize me as a phony since my prophecy did not come true! So Yonah said, "I’m out of here and will find a place where God’s glory is not [found]. Where is that? He reasoned, God’s glory is in the heavens, as stated (Psalms 113:4), 'upon the heavens is God’s glory.' And it is also on the earth, as stated (Isaiah 6:3), 'the whole earth is full of God’s glory.' Behold, I will flee to the sea, as I am not aware of any verses describing God’s glory being there." Yonah went down to Jaffa to board a boat. In order to test Yonah what did the Holy One do? Although a boat was two days' journey from Jaffa, God made a great storm on the sea that brought [the ship quickly] to Jaffa. Yonah rejoiced but was unaware that the Holy One caused this to occur. Yonah was so excited that unlike the normal custom of paying for the journey at the point of deportation, he paid up front as stated (Jonah 1:3), "And Yonah arose to flee to Tarshish from in front of the Lord... and he paid." Within one day a great storm arose as stated (Jonah 1:4), "And the Lord placed a great wind upon the sea." [But only the ship Yonah was on was affected by it]. Rabbi Chaninah added, "[Men of all] the seventy languages were on the ship, and each and every one had his god in his hand."

[70 is a magic number in Jewish sources that represents global humanity] They said, "The god that answers and saves us from this distress, this is the [true] God." They prayed to their gods but nothing helped. Yonah fell asleep in deep distress; the captain found him. He said to him, "We are standing between death and life, and you are sleeping? From which people are you?" Yonah answered, "I am a Hebrew." The captain responde, Haven’t we heard how powerful the God of the Hebrews is? 'Cry out to your God' (Jonah 1:6). Maybe God will do for us like God did for your people at the Sea of Reeds." Yonah admitted, "This is all my fault, I am fleeing from God, as I thought I could escape God’s glory on the sea, and now I see that truly God’s glory is on dry land and in the sea. Your only hope is to throw me overboard”. Rabbi Shimon added, "The men did not want to do that [so] they cast lots to determine who was at fault, and as stated in (Jonah 2:7), “the lot fell upon Yonah.'" Still they would not throw him overboard. Rather they unloaded their wares but nothing helped. Finally they took Yonah and stood him upon the edge of the ship and said, "God of the world, Lord, 'do not put innocent blood upon us' (Jonah 1:14), … yet he says to us 'because of me has this distress come upon you.'" They placed him [into the sea] until his knees, and the sea stopped from its fury. They [then] took him back towards them, and the sea stormed against them. They placed him [into the sea] until his navel, and the sea stopped from its fury. Finally they threw him overboard and the sea calmed. "And the Lord designated a great fish to swallow Yonah, and Yonah was in the innards of the fish three days and three nights"(Jonah 2:1) - Rabbi Tarfon noted that "The fish was designated from the six days of creation to swallow Yonah, as it is stated (Jonah 2:1), 'And the Lord designated a great fish. The midrash described Yonah’s entrance into the fish’s mouth like a man enters a large synagogue; the two eyes of the fish were like opened windows giving light to Yonah. [It was like he was on the submarine in 20,000 Leagues under the sea. Rabbi Gerald Friedlander speculated that the comment about a large synagogue was a reference to the Great Synagogue of Alexandria to indicate how large this fish was.] And Yonah could see everything that was in the sea and its depths.

Then the fish says to Yonah, "It’s a bummer you showed up today because just today I am supposed to be eaten by the great Leviathan." The Leviathan was a mythical creature that in pre-Israelite mythology battled with God in the creation stories. In rabbinic literature, the Leviathan will be part of the feast that the righteous will celebrate partake of at the end of time. Like a piece of delicious smoked sable. In the midrash, Yonah’s attitude changes at this point. No longer ashamed and remorseful, he takes control and says, "Take me to him and I will save you and my soul." It took him to the Leviathan and he taunts the mythic beast, "Because of you have I come to see your dwelling place in the sea. And not only that, but in the future I will come down to put a rope on your neck and to bring you up for the great meal of the righteous ones." Then he showed it the sign of the Covenant of Avraham, that is, his circumcision and Leviathan saw it and fled. Not clear why but it saved the fish from being eaten. Yonah turned to the fish, "Since, I saved you from the mouth of the Leviathan; [now] show me all the wonder that is in the sea and in the depths." The fish showed him the great river of the waters that surround the earth; the Sea of Reeds where Israel passed through. It showed him the place from where the breakers of the sea and its waves go out. The pillars of the Earth’s foundation and Geihinoam, the underworld. It brought him to the space under the Temple and he saw the Foundation Stone from where the world developed.

Each of these locations interpreted from the verses in the prayer Yonah prays in Chapter 2 of the book. The fish said to Yonah, "Behold, you are standing under the Temple; pray and you shall be answered." And Yonah began to pray before the Holy One, "Master of the Universe, You have been called the One that brings down and raises up - behold, I have gone down, [now] raise me up" But he was not answered until he pledged (Jonah 2:10): "that which I have vowed, I will fulfill.” Immediately the Holy One hinted [to the fish] to spit out Yonah.

And then the midrash adds a final note: When the sailors saw all of the great miracles that the Holy One, did for Yonah, they went back to Jaffa, went up to Jerusalem, circumcised themselves, and vowed to bring up their children as Jews. About them it is said, These are righteous converts.

This is the story of Jonah retold by one midrashic text with many added elements to the book we will read tomorrow afternoon. And the question is what lesson can we learn from these shifts in the story?

Let me offer three.

The first addition tells us why Yonah has run away. This was not Yonah’s first rodeo as a prophet. He assisted King Jeroboam and was tasked with prophesying doom for sinful Jerusalem. In both cases he did as he was told to do, but since God accepted the Jerusalem’s penitence and spared them, Yonah was attacked as a false prophet. Another midrash explains that the current king of Ninevah is the pharaoh from the Exodus story. He survived and learned his lesson about God’s power. Yonah is afraid that Ninevah will take God’s demand to repent seriously.

What is ironic here is that Yonah is afraid of failure not due to incompetency but from being successful.

This is classic fear of failure. We are good at what we do which makes us more terrified to look foolish. Abraham Twerski, both a Jewish scholar and a psychiatrist, writes that such fear usually comes from a lack of true self- esteem. He shares a Charlie Brown cartoon in which Linus tells Charlie Brown that they just put in a new horseshoe pit at the playground and suggests to Charlie Brown that it might be fun to go over and try horseshoes to which Charlie Brown responds “Just one more thing to lose at”. Twerski writes that “if one is absolutely convinced of failure, there is no purpose in trying.” It is easier to accept passive failure than active failure.  But if one has known success, why refrain from trying again? Because we are sure the first time was the fluke. Why would we think that? Because we hold to a self image that tells us we must be perfect. Instead of acknowledging that he was quite gifted at being a prophet, Yonah’s attitude was if I can’t be great every time, I don’t want to try. Because the people telling me I am a failure are the truth tellers.

We all do this. Years ago the congregation did a survey about where the synagogue was at and how we wanted to develop. One of the questions of course was about the rabbi, me. I think 90 respondents thought highly of the new rabbi and many shared compliments. One person suggested the congregation made a mistake in hiring him and we should look for a replacement. I don’t remember one detail from the complimentary comments. I can still see the one criticism.

Lizzie read my Rosh HaShanah sermons and told me she thought they were great. Did it boost my confidence to write the next sermons? Of course not! Because How can I ever do it again? I’ll never write a sermon as good as that again? (She’s just a terrible person). But this is obviously a silly way to look at what we do. Being good or even competent most of the time is fantastic. Remember, a batter who fails 7 out of every 10 at bats, what do we call him? An all-star, maybe a hall of famer.

The first lesson of the midrashic rereading of Yonah is be proud of your success, don’t let your fear of not being perfect undermine you.

The second lesson maintain your integrity for it gives strength and can influence others. Yonah changes when he acknowledges that he is a Jew. That is the turning point in the book but also the midrash. For as soon as he does this, he is able to acknowledge that his act of running away is what has put the ship in peril, that he must take responsibility for his transgression to save the men on the ship. It is after this that he is emboldened to scare off the Leviathan that represents chaos and terror. And the conclusion of the story, his actions, unknown to him, influence the Gentile sailors to become Jewish.

We too find strength in our Jewish heritage. A number of Jews interviewed this October 7 about the past year spoke about how despite their pain from the post- Oct. 7 hate and attacks on Jews, they have experienced greater pride and boldness in being Jewish. It is almost an inverse of the 6 Day War when the quick victory brought about a renewal of Jewish pride in Israel. Now it appears the vicious response to an inhumane attack on Jews has prompted Jews to stand up for our religious heritage, our ethical and spiritual teachings, and to delight in our universal culture in food, music, literature.

Whether we are aware it or not, we Jews model for others what it means to be Jewish. Yonah’s experience according to the midrash led the sailors, representing the global community, to becoming righteous converts. My introduction to Judaism class has 20 people who have asked for materials.

Let me just take a moment and reviewing the midrash, I need to say, and I cannot stress this enough - Male Jews do not, under any circumstances, in an attempt to show your pride in your Jewishness, show off the sign of the Covenant as Yonah did. You will end up in jail and it will be very difficult to explain to your family what the point was.

Finally, why does the midrash give us this long description an underwater travelogue? This is not in the book and to be fair the attempts to link the words in Yonah’s prayer to the locations in the midrash are really overblown. So where does he go? He sees the natural wonders of creation; he tours historical sites – the Sea of Reeds; he visits spiritual locations of exaltation – the Temple and the Foundation Stone – and despair – Gehinoam. What is significant about these places?

Nature, legacy, holy spaces: These are places which give Yonah the inner strength to be the best Yonah he can be – places that inspire awe within him. In this sense, the Fish was the instrument that gave Yonah the courage to be his true self. After this experience, he is able to continue his prophetic journey.

Each of us, at this time of year need to reflect on Yonah’s experience and ask ourselves: “What is your fish?” What is the instrument or means that helps you to be your truest self? Like Yonah does it include Awe of creation? Or your Jewish inheritance and sacred moments? Or maybe it is family and community? Does knowing thyself require looking within or maybe looing out at the world around you? Yom Kippur is the time to find our truest self.

Yonah, while stuck in the Fish, could have sulked about his condition and chapter 2 of the Book of Yonah does have that type of quality. The author of the poem expresses shame and contrition at having been driven from God’s Presence, hoping to once again enter the Holy Temple. But the authors of the midrash, see the Yonah experience as one of self-assertion and growing self- esteem. We also on this night must begin our journey, not to focus exclusively on our failures, but to motivate ourselves to move in the direction of our best and truest selves.