Rosh HaShana starts this evening celebrating the birthday of the world. Science aside for the moment, the poetry of the holiday inspires questions. Like this one: if the world was created out of nothing, what was here before?
Our mystical tradition teaches that before the world there was only God. But if God was all there was, where exactly was the world going to be created? The Kabbalist Isaac Luria explained that in order to create, God had to withdraw or contract (tzimtzum) in order that creation might begin. The poetry of Luria’s answer is as beautiful as it is powerful, for it recognizes that growth and flourishing depend as much on others stepping back as they do our own willingness to step forward.
I first learned of this story when I was a teenager in my synagogue youth group through an article by Rabbi Eugene Borowitz.* Borowitz used the story to illustrate its lessons for rabbinic leadership. Generalizing the point, great leaders must inspire others and then get out of the way to give them room to grow.
Creating the space to grow is only half the story. For not only do leaders have to create the space, each of us has to take advantage of that opportunity to make our own distinctive contribution. The story has been an inspiration to me for 30 years and guided how I view both leadership and my role as a follower. And it has continued to guide how I view my roles whether as a father, a teacher or now as the head of a community organization.
At Federation we are creating a culture—both inside and outside—dedicated to creating opportunities for others to serve and give back to our community. And we are committed to creating the space into which our agencies grow, to feed the poor, comfort the lonely, and provide a Jewish education to children.
May we go into this year ready to create the space for others to thrive and the willingness to take a step into the void for the sake of serving others. It should be a year of health and happiness for us all.
Shana Tova,
Andrew
*“Tzimtzum: A Mystic Model for Contemporary Leadership,” Eugene Borowitz, in Religious Education 69(6) November-December, 1974.