Rabbi Michael Beals, Temple Beth El
(Following my blasting of the shofar):
In the Bible, the Torah was blasted to announce Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, to conclude Yom Kippur—the Day of Atonement, at a time of battle, at the Jubilee, and at the crowning of kings. It seemed appropriate to blow the shofar today.
How does a Rabbi bless the Incoming Governor of the First State of Delaware? What words will capture the moment and best serve this man of great promise and potential as he takes the reigns of the highest position in our First State?
When in doubt, the Torah has always been our people’s refuge. There, in the 31st chapter of Deuteronomy, as Moses prepares to transfer his authority to Joshua, Moses says: “Chazak veh’amatz,” “Be strong and resolute.” Furthermore, Moses tells Joshua: “And the Lord Himself will go before you. God will be with you; God will not fail you or forsake you. Lo tirah v’lo taychat—Fear not and be not dismayed!”
So, I begin, Matt Meyer, by blessing you with Moses’ leadership blessings of 1. strength, 2. resolution, 3. bravery and 4. fearlessness.
The next big transition worthy of blessing comes when Solmon becomes king after David. In First Kings chapter three, God says to Melech Shlomo, King Solmon, “Ask what I should give you?” And King Solomon answers: “an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil.”
So, on the eve of your inauguration, Matt Meyer, in keeping with Scripture, I ask that God blesses you with Wisdom, just as God blessed Melech Shlomo.
Long before I entered your life as your rabbi 20 years ago, your beloved parents, Bob and Ellen, blessed you, upon your birth, with three Hebrew names:
Melech, meaning “King,” (even at birth they knew you were destined for great leadership).
Shmuel, bringing to mind, Samuel, the only man in the bible to simultaneously hold the three positions of Prophet, Judge, and High Priest.
And Shaya, a reference of Isaiah, one of the greatest of the Biblical prophets. And how appropriate, on this King Holiday, that we bless you with vision of the prophets and the confidence of the Kings.
But, aside from my blessings for you, I thought it wiser to ask you what you needed to be blessed with, as you take on the most important position of your lifetime.
In keeping with the beauty of Psalm 133, verse 1: Hiney ma tovu mah naim shevet achim gam Yachad—Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brothers and sisters to dwell together IN UNITY, “Yachad,” you asked me to bless you with the ability to “bring our community together during these incredibly divided times.”
In keeping with the Biblical injunction, repeated 36 times, to remember, the almanah, widow; yatom, orphan; and ger, the stranger—that is, those most marginalized in our society. You asked me to bless you with the ability “to protect every vulnerable person in our state.”
And borrowing from Moses’ charge to Joshua, you asked me to bless you “to have the courage to push Delaware forward at a time when we can truly lead the nation.” How timely this last blessing on this MLK Birthday Morning, when Dr. King often urged us to be “the headlights NOT the taillights.”
Photo Credit: Brad Glazier
As your family’s rabbi, let me go beyond what you asked for in blessings for yourself, and extend blessings of good health and long life, not only to you, but to
- your wonderful wife, Lauren, the First Lady of Delaware,
- your gorgeous son, Levi, the First Son of Delaware,
- your stunning stepsons/bonus kids, Wyatt and Owen,
- your lovely parents, Bob and Ellen, the First Parents of Delaware, and
- your beloved siblings, Allison, Jeremy, and his wife, Rebecca….um, the First Siblings of Delaware.
Our tradition teaches that our families come first. If your family is alright, then YOU will be alright too. We also extend our blessings to the Southern California branch of your family who are joining you for your Inauguration, even as their homes continue to be threatened by fire. My God bless your Californian family, and bless all the people of that region with resiliency and homes rebuilt, as well as a quenching of all the fires that currently threaten life and property.
Finally, on this day after the release of the first three hostages from Gaza back to their homes and families in Israel, you asked me to pray for the release of the remaining 94 hostages who have been held in darkness for the past 450 days, and with their release, a complete cessation of violence in the Gaza Strip, so Palestinians can, with the help of the international community, reclaim or rebuild their homes, beginning their lives anew, and Israelis can go about their lives free of fear of missiles and invasion. Above all, we pray for a lasting and just peace between Israelis and Palestinians, as well as Russians and Ukrainians, among the factions of Sudan and Haiti, and in our own city streets throughout America.
Matt, as was done for your bar mitzvah and for your wedding, we now bestow the ancient three-fold benediction upon your head, with those gathered responding with a rousing and heatfelt amen:
Yivarehecha Adonai v’yishmrecha—May God Bless You and Keep You (amen).
Ya’air Adonai Panav Aleycha vee-chuneka—May God deal kindly and graciously with you (amen).
Yisah Adonia panav aylecha v’yasame leach shalom—May God turn toward you, and grant you that most precious gift of all, the gift of wholeness, the gift of completeness, the gift of peace (amen).
I end my series of blessings for you, Matt Meyer, on the eve of your inauguration as Delaware’s 76th Governor, and for all those gathered here this morning or virtually, the way Rabbis, going back almost 2,000 years, have been instructed to end all our prayers:
Oseh Shalom Bimromav—May God who makes peace on High,
Hu ya’aseh Shalom aleynu—Also make peace on all of us,
V’al kol Yisrael—And on all Israel,
V’al kol yoshvei teyvel—And on all who dwell on Earth,
V’imru—And let us say
Amen.
