Shabbat Sermon: Brothers and Sisters with Rabbi Wes Gardenswartz

From the Bimah: Jewish Lessons for Life

I have been thinking a lot about something that many of us—not all, but many—have in common: brothers and sisters. I have been in a deep brother and sister place this week for two reasons.

I am the youngest of six children. My five older siblings live in different places. Two live in Los Angeles, one in New Jersey, one in Denver, and my sister Jill and I live in Newton. This past Monday night, for a brief, incredibly sweet, totally-to-be-cherished nano second, we were all in the same place together, Brooklyn, for the wedding of Jill and Steve’s son Ari to his wife Esther. Between geographical challenges, health challenges, Covid, and life, the six of us don’t get a chance to see one another altogether in the same place nearly as much as we would like. The last time all six of us were together was at another nephew’s wedding in Denver before the pandemic. So it felt incredibly special, and rare.

And, just as we were dancing at Ari and Esther’s wedding, my brothers on Shira’s side of the family, Ari in Jerusalem, Daniel in Atlanta, and I were concluding saying Kaddish for our father after the 11 months. Every morning, and every evening, in Jerusalem, Atlanta, and Temple Emanuel, we said Kaddish for our father, and it was deeply meaningful that we were doing so together in our respective cities. This past Tuesday we said our last Kaddish.

Sharing the wedding and the Kaddish with brothers and sisters made me think about the special blessing, and special challenge, of brothers and sisters. A deep paradox lies at the heart of the sibling relationship.