That is what 2021 feels like. Given the year we have slogged through, anything is possible in this new year.
We have vaccines being distributed. There will be a time this year when it will be safe to gather again as families, as a congregation. At some point, we will be able to hug one another, to not wear masks. And I can’t wait to mark those dates on my calendar.
Do you know about gematria? Each Hebrew letter has a numerical value. When we add all the letters of a Biblical verse and the total value is — say, 2021 — it suggests that the verse has a special meaning.
In the Biblical book of Haggai, there is such a verse, whose gematria is 2021. Before I share the verse, though, some information about Haggai.
This is a short Biblical book, comprised of only two chapters. It is believed to have been written about 520 BCE, after the Jewish people were given permission by Cyrus to return to Israel, but before the Second Temple could be rebuilt. In other words, it was a time of turmoil and of great anticipation...just like now.
We know little about the author, Haggai. However, his name comes from the Hebrew root, meaning to make pilgrimage or go on a journey.
Here’s the verse: Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, says God. (Haggai 1:8).
Add up all the Hebrew letters in this verse and the total is 2021.
So, what’s the hidden meaning for us?
We are on a journey in this new year, to (re)build a house. What is that house? It is our community. It is our family. It is our friend circles. To do so, we have to still trek up a mountain. It will not be easy. Our climbing may have some falls along the way. And, in our journey, we have to bring wood - we have to carry our load. That means we still wear masks. It means that we do not gather. It means getting the vaccine. It means that hard work still needs to be done.
However, if we are steadfast in our journey, if we climb the mountain, if we bear our share of the burden, then God (and we) will find pleasure for we will have (re)built something beautiful. We will have restored ourselves to wholeness following a devastating pandemic.
So, as this new year begins and I start to add events onto my calendar, I look forward to the days that mark the moment when — having climbed the mountain, having borne my share of the load — we will see our community be back in-person. And we will take pleasure, just as the Jewish people did millennia ago when then were able to rebuild the Temple.
Until then, though, I am anxious for what we can learn from our virtual time together, to discover what new and innovative ways we can celebrate, pray, and learn. And those, too, will be moments I will mark on my calendar.
And I hope you will, as well.
Rabbi Nemitoff is senior rabbi of The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah,
