When L doesn’t mean ‘Loser’

True story:

Several years ago, when I served as the rabbi/chaplain of the local Jewish senior care facility, I gave a sermon one Rosh Hashanah on modern Jews’ disconnection from “G-d talk”—the fact that, despite our giving the world the belief in one (and only one) Supreme Moral Being, so many modern Jews seem at best ambivalent about that belief, or at worst reject it completely. Indeed, so many Jews associate discussions about G-d as “decidedly Christian”.

Although I received several compliments from residents, family members and community folk who were in attendance, the executive director called me into his office the next day to ask me about my remarks at the previous day’s service. Expressing not a little surprise, I told him and assured him that 1) given the main theme of the holiday–Israel’s G-d is Sovereign of the world– it was an appropriate topic and 2) there was absolutely no mention of politics.

My response was followed by an obvious question: was there a problem, and if so, what could it possibly be? He said that he had received a phone call from a community member who had attended the service and was quite upset about the sermon. The caller said in no uncertain terms that the topic absolutely was NOT appropriate with so many community people in attendance. When asked what he thought the rabbi should have spoken about, the man said, “He should have spoken about Israel, or current events, or some other topic. BUT I DIDN’T COME TO SHUL TO LISTEN TO A SERMON ABOUT G-D!”

As my mouth dropped open and I watched my boss give me a “can you believe this guy?” smirk, I suddenly remembered that delicious scene from the film Dr. Strangelove when the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (George C Scott) suddenly starts fighting with the Russian ambassador during a meeting to try to recall American bombers flying into Soviet airspace. As the two men scuffle, the President (Peter Sellers) chides them loudly: “Gentlemen, you can’t fight in here… THIS IS THE WAR ROOM!”

This episode pops into my memory every Rosh Hashanah since then, along with its accompanying sad irony: a Jew attending worship on the very holiday that affirms G-d’s sovereignty was miffed because the rabbi’s sermon urged Jews to become more comfortable talking about G-d’s sovereignty.

This past Rosh Hashanah was no different. It came to mind as I conducted services this past Rosh Hashanah during the recitation of the special Kedushah which is all about affirming G-d’s sovereignty. But this year the memory led me to thinking not just about the “G-d talk” in the High Holiday liturgy, but in all of Jewish liturgy. As I reflected on the blessings, various verses of praise, words of petitions, and expressions of gratitude, I noticed what I’m sure others have noticed before me: often in the same prayer/blessing, both the 2nd person singular pronoun and the 3rd person singular pronoun will be used, often with each being expressed in an alternating manner. Perhaps the most obvious example is the familiar blessing formula before performing a mitzvah: it begins with the words “Blessed are You…”, then switches to who “has sanctified us with His commandments…”. When we recite the blessing, we first address G-d directly and then switch to speaking ABOUT Him.

Numerous other examples of this syntactical curiosity include:

–Exodus 15: 1-22 (aka the Song at the Sea),

–Psalms 23, 27 and 145 (aka “Ashrei”).

–The Aleinu prayer which concludes each of the three daily services, begins with the first paragraph reminding us ABOUT G-d and our responsibility to praise Him. The second paragraph is a petition TO G-d to hasten our redemption and the redemption of the world.

NB: Desiring to maintain gender sensitivity, some non-Orthodox prayerbooks have removed the 3rd person male pronoun entirely and use only the 2nd person singular pronoun. Alternatively, a proper name for the Deity may be substituted where the 3rd person male pronoun had heretofore been used.

Thinking about this frequent dynamic of alternating between switching back and forth from addressing G-d directly and to speaking about G-d (3rd person), it occurs to me that perhaps there is significant intention here—namely to keep our kavvanah/prayer direction simultaneously focused on both the “vertical” and the “horizontal”: talking TO G-d in one phrase (vertical) and then talking ABOUT G-d to each other in the next phrase (horizontal). This can be illustrated with the thumb and index finger: pointing the index finger upward (2nd person, TO G-d) and extending the thumb horizontally (3rd person, ABOUT G-d). Doing so makes the sign of the letter “L”.

In our culture, making this sign is often shorthand for calling someone a “loser”. But in this context: au contraire! In this context, what is often understood as communicating a negative becomes a sign of something quite positive. In typical Jewish fashion, something perceived as “profane” is transformed into something sacred.

I would suggest that the L sign illustrates this sanctity even more strongly when the space between the two fingers is considered. Called the thenar space, it is also called the first web space because most people have a webbing between thumb and forefinger. Consisting of skin, fascia, and underlying muscles, this is a critical region because it facilitates the complex range of motion and gripping capabilities unique to the human hand (“How marvelous are Your works, O Lord!”).

But as a spiritual metaphor, it helps us better grasp and appreciate the connection between us and the Divine: the thenar space in our souls make us more capable of “gripping” the fact that this connection is not supposed to be one-dimensional. We are not called to relate to G-d only vertically or horizontally but both simultaneously, because the two are very much connected. Ideally, we affirm this connection not only when we recite prayers but hopefully also when we are going about our daily business.

For the spiritually attuned among us, the above-mentioned is a given. For those like the man who called to complain, may this new year see them strengthening their “gripping capabilities.”

G-d forbid they choose to remain “losers”.