| Rabbi's Weekly Teaching Parashat Noach October 28th, 2011 Where would we be without the timeless lessons of clichés? Shakespeare - as taught by my 7th grade English teacher, Mrs. Werther - is perhaps the best example of the art. His gift of language, in all of its complexity and character, has given rise to some of our most enduring turns of phrase. To this day, we wander along the primrose path, encounter star-crossed lovers, and come full circle. In other words: the game is up; the play's the thing; and the world is one's oyster. But Shakespeare certainly took some inspiration - if not also some lessons in poetry and punnery, from that ultimate source text, our Scriptures. I've included some of my own favorite clichés from the Hebrew Bible here: "A leopard cannot change its spots," "Ashes to ashes; dust to dust," "Am I my brother's keeper?" "Beat swords into ploughshares," "Be fruitful and multiply," "By the skin of your teeth," "By the sweat of your brow," and that classic from Ecclesiastes, made even more popular by the Byrds in their immortal 1965 song Turn, Turn, Turn: "To everything there is a season." Finally, one of my all time favorite clichés - perhaps the most timeworn and timeless of them all, is the one I spoke about on the evening that began Rosh Hashanah; the most important teaching of Torah: "Love your neighbor as yourself." Whether clichés come from William Shakespeare, or the Hebrew Scriptures; clichés become clichés because of their valued truth. Yet, sometimes we dismiss them, because we think they're overused, sentimental, stale and sappy. Here are four examples that I referred to in my sermon: "We're all more capable than we think we are" "The sun will come out tomorrow" "When life hands you lemons, make lemonade." "Put on a happy face" These four statements, in particular, are often dismissed as trite. Some of them we can practically hear being sung in our heads (cue the soundtrack from Annie here.) But before we close our ears to the schmaltzy song and dance, take a moment to consider the cliché's subtle - perhaps even hidden - power. Sometimes, in times of adversity, we even get angry or offended by the lack of empathy in clichés. But the truth inherent in these "Pollyanna-ish" clichés is important. Clichés have lessons to teach and important truths to express. And in the end, what perhaps makes a cliché eternal is that it is wise in spite of itself. Echoing our own very human need for the familiarity of ritual and tradition, we, as humans, might need the cliché to help us define those moments in our lives which defy description. Like Shakespeare, and like the cliché, the human struggle is eternal. It never goes out of style and it never subsides. No person escapes this life unscathed. Since the time of our biblical ancestors, the need for love, acceptance, hope, and connection has played out in the human drama, and repeats itself in every generation. And just as we would never dismiss our Scriptures, or consider Shakespeare anything but a literary genius (for liberal arts majors, perhaps a little more so than for those science and engineering types), we should not be so quick to turn ourselves from the truths that have been part of our human experience for centuries. Take, for example, this week's Torah portion: the story of Noah. There is perhaps no story in the Bible that we know better. Even just a few months ago, when Hurricane Irene struck our community, the story of Noah was very much in the minds of all those of us who feared the storm. Noah, and his Ark, and the animals marching two-by-two are symbols that could all perhaps fall into the cliché category. They are elements of a story that tells us what we already know - that even when we feel most vulnerable to destruction and danger, we live in hope that beyond the storm, there is safety, peace, and sunlight. The rainbow and the dove are symbols which perhaps exemplify the cliché above all others. But consider their power - and their power to change minds and hearts - even to this very day. In the spirit of Noah's story, I'm enclosing the full sermon text in which I talk about how the four clichés to which I referred above can help, in a very real and concrete way, to move us from despair to hope, from inertia to action, and from the mundane to the sacred. And in the spirit of literary light, I am also enclosing a link to some of my favorite Shakespearean phrases. I think that Mrs. Werther would be proud. Wishing you peace and light this Shabbat, --Rabbi Mitch
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