Today we are going to do something we don’t usually do. We are going to help one individual make a “birkat hagomel” a blessing on surviving a dangerous situation. Our prayerbook. Siddur Sim Shalom, tells us that this special blessing is to be recited by “one who has recovered from a serious illness returned safely from a long journey [usually stated as over an ocean) or survived a life-threatening crisis (including childbirth).” Sadly, in this country, childbirth still counts as a life-threatening occurrence. I talked about that recently.
While, there is an individual here who recently had a brain tumor removed, and we are thankful it was beneign, I have the feeling that after two nights of tornado warnings and 11 that touched down in northern Illinois, some right in Elgin, many of us in room may feel that we have survived. As far as I can ascertain, no one in our immediate community has suffered any damage. As far as I know no one in Elgin had any injuries. NO injuries. That is a clear reason for Birkat Hagomel.
And then, one more reason. We have a member whose apartment sustained a fire. But again—no injuries, and the cat was rescued too! (Update—no damage to her unit and she is fully insured) Another reason for Birkat Hagomel. We’ll wait for that one until she is here.
The language for Birkat HaGomel has interested me for a while. Usually translated in flowery language as someone who bestows. Who bestows favor or goodness or chesed, lovingkindness. G-d bestows favor upon me. But if you listen carefully you hear the root, g-m-l, like the letter gimmel, a pictogram for a gamal, a camel. A camel is an animal that is filled up and can then nourish us with water in the desert. So each of us who is feeling deep gratitude today has been filled up with G-d’s goodness.
There is a connection here with today’s Torah portion as well.
“If a householder makes a vow to יהוה or takes an oath imposing an obligation on himself, he shall not break his pledge; he must carry out all that has crossed his lips.” (Numbers 30:3)
As we begin to approach the High Holy Days with its plantif sounds of Kol Nidre, All vows, it is important to understand this verse. We know that there is no accident when a word is repeated in the Torah. It is usually there for emphasis. It is a chance to sit up and take notice. In this verse we have three words that seem to mean something very similar. Vow, Oath and Pledge. So what is going on here?
First lets see if we can figure out what each of those mean? Are they just synonyms or do they mean something different?
Vow: in Hebrew Nedar
solemnly promise to do a specified thing.
“I vowed that my family would never go hungry”
ARCHAIC
dedicate to someone or something, especially a deity.
“I vowed myself to this enterprise”
The most common use seems to be wedding vows. I promise to love and cherish you all the days of my life til death do us part.
the word “neder” is mentioned 33 times in the Torah, 19 of which occur in Numbers, the book we finish reading today. A neder is a kind of vow or oath. It may consist of preforming some kind of act in the future or abstaining for some kind of act. It could mean taking on an obligation. In the Orthodox community, not making a vow is taken so seriously that you often hear the phrase” I will do x, y or z, bli neder, without a vow.”
Oath: in Hebrew, shevua
a solemn promise, often invoking a divine witness, regarding one’s future action or behavior.
“they took an oath of allegiance to the king”
Both Neder and Shevua appear in the language of Kol Nidre.
Pledge:
a solemn promise or undertaking.
“the conference ended with a joint pledge to limit pollution”
a thing that is given as security for the fulfillment of a contract or the payment of a debt and is liable to forfeiture in the event of failure.
“he had given the object as a pledge to a creditor” A wedding ring is an example of this kind of pledge.
Our system of rabbinic Judaism has many obligations. We are obligated to do x, y, z. It can be as simple as saying the morning Sh’ma–and we might even argue and debate until when we can do so, as they do in the Talmud—or even who is obligated. But once that obligation is taken upon by ourselves it is an obligation for all time.
Fast forward to the High Holy days. Now comes Kol Nidre. “All vows we are likely to make, all oaths and pledges we are likely to take between this Yom Kippur and the next Yom Kippur, we publicly renounce. Let them all be relinquished and abandoned, null and void, neither firm nor established. Let our vows, pledges and oaths be considered neither vows nor pledges nor oaths.”
This sounds like it is in the future tense. Aren’t we asking forgiveness for things we have done in the past year? Why then are we renouncing our vows to come?
Shrouded in mystery, there are theories about Kol Nidre’s origins. Perhaps, as one popular theory has it, it takes to the time of the Spanish Inquisition, where Jews were forced to renounce their Judaism and convert to Christianity. Nonetheless the remained hidden Jews, crypto-Jews, practicing Judaism secretly in the privacy of their homes. These cypto-Jews created Kol Nidrei to nullify their vows of conversion before God. The formal and legalistic nature of the prayer lends validity to this theory. However, most scholars date Kol Nidrei to much early times. It is very similar to contracts written by the Babylonian Jewish community in the 6th and 7th century.
Kol Nidre is a legal formula to annul vows. It is said before a court—three judges, upstanding members of the community, holding at least one Torah, before the open ark as witnesses. As such, it must be completed before sundown on the evening of Yom Kippur, just before the holy day actually begins. The response is instantons. “I have forgiven you according to your word.”
Swearing or making an oath or a vow is a very serious undertaking. It is one of the 10 Commandments. It is similar to making a covenant, a brit. If you do x, then I will do y and it is binding.
There are several reasons one might make a nedar: personal piety as a way of making a commitment to the Torah and mitzvot, personal improvement, as a way of improving ones behavior for the better, in times of need, essentially bargaining with G-d, for instance if there is a health crisis or you want to pass that math test. One of the biggest forms of a neder is for gratitude. You might have made a vow this week as you were hiding in a basement. “If no damage occurs to my house, then I will go to shul. If I get out of this alive, then I will keep kosher. Very similar to the Birkat Hagomel.
In preparing for this morning, I learned that we should be especially careful when it comes to charity pledges. According to many rabbinic authorities, even if you just mentally decide to give to a charity but didn’t verbalize it, it is a binding vow. In the old days, when the Holy Temple stood in Jerusalem, this is based on the verse, “Hezekiah answered and said, ‘Now you have invested yourselves to the L‑rd; come close and bring [peace] offerings . . . and every generous-hearted one, burnt offerings,’”6 which refers to voluntary commitments or “contributions” made in one’s heart to bring a burnt offering to the Temple. Rabbi Yosef Caro rules that nowadays, since donations aren’t made to the Temple, a charitable vow must be verbalized to be binding. Rabbi Moshe Isserles, however, rules that even nowadays, if one made a firm commitment8 in his mind to make a charitable contribution, it is binding like a vow, and one should be extra careful to keep his commitment. This becomes especially important as our new fiscal year begins. A vow is about honoring our commitments and must be taken as a binding and serious obligation.
What then do we do with this week’s verse? I think it is a call to really watch our speech, very, very carefully. If you don’t think you are going to fulfill your obligation, don’t promise to do something.