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| Title: The Heaven is My Throne Artist: Paul Palnik Year: 2006 |
This week we celebrate Shabbat Rosh Chodesh – when
Shabbat and Rosh Chodesh, the New Month, happen together. When we have this
combination, the haftarah of Rosh Chodesh
supercedes that of Shabbat.
The opening words of the haftarah are dramatic: “הַשָּׁמַיִם כִּסְאִי וְהָאָרֶץ הֲדֹם רַגְלָי - The heaven is My throne, the earth
My footstool.” The statement is one of God’s transcendence – that God reigns
above our earth. But it is also one that recognizes God’s immanent presence in
our world, that God still has a foot, still has investment in human affairs.
Dr. Michael Fishbane teaches that we recite this on Rosh
Chodesh because the haftarah mentions when all of Israel is gathered from the
exile, that all flesh will worship God, “new moon after new moon” (Isaiah
66:23). The haftarah promotes the particular prophecy of the Jewish people
along with universal redemption, that Rosh Chodesh in the future will be
celebrated as God’s festival for the Jews and all humankind.
This week, I will be at
Camp Ramah in Wisconsin for Shabbat. And at Ramah there is a beautiful
illustration of this verse, seen on this page. Paul Palnik, the artist, creates
a literal throne that rests on the earth. While the partial physical
manifestation of God can seem heretical to many, the piece movingly represents
God’s total omnipotence on the one hand, and God’s having footing on earth on
the other.
I deeply appreciate that Ramah tries to bring to life Jewish
themes and content through every media, including art, at camp. This
neighborhood sends 60 campers to the Ramah Day camp in Wheeling and overnight
camp in Wisconsin. I am so proud of that,
and hope that those numbers will only continue to grow because
at Ramah, our campers get a better of understanding of themes like that in this
week’s haftarah.
So whether at Ramah or Anshe Emet, I hope that this piece creates food for thought for you as it does for me every time that I see it. I hope that you will consider what it means for God to on the one hand be distant in the heavens and on the other for God to be immanently close; that you will consider what it means for the Jewish nation to be redeemed while simultaneously working towards the redemption of the entire world.
So whether at Ramah or Anshe Emet, I hope that this piece creates food for thought for you as it does for me every time that I see it. I hope that you will consider what it means for God to on the one hand be distant in the heavens and on the other for God to be immanently close; that you will consider what it means for the Jewish nation to be redeemed while simultaneously working towards the redemption of the entire world.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi David Russo
