My father loves photography. He would lug out his 35 millimeter camera and insist on taking pictures of my mom and me on vacations, hikes, even sometimes just going out to lunch. Now that he has a DSLR, it’s even worse; Emily and I joke that we have to build dad’s camera time into our activities due to the number of times he asks us to stop in front of this or that tree, bridge, flower, sunset … you get the idea.
A young boy ran away from home, and was quite far away. In fact, it would take a journey of 100 days to return. He friends beseeched him, Return to your home! He said, I cannot, for I do not have the strength. Upon hearing this, his father then sent a message, Come back as far as you can according to your strength, and I will go the rest of the way to meet you.
In 2012, Neil Gaiman gave the commencement address at the University of the Arts. Gaimon is a prolific author of fantasy books, including the well-known and critically acclaimed, *Coraline,* which was made into a stop-motion animation film in 2009.
I’m guessing that Gaiman did not have Rosh Hashanah and Judaism in mind when he delivered his speech in Philadelphia. His words, however, could not be a more perfect introduction to the beginning of our New Year:
Life is sometimes hard. Things go wrong, in life and in love and in business and in friendship and in health and in all the other ways that life can go wrong. And when things get tough, this is what you should do:
Make good art.
A new Rabbi comes to the synagogue and leads Shabbat services for the first time. Everything is going well. But just before the Sh’ma, half of the congregation stands up while the other half remains seated.
During the Oneg following the service, the rabbi asks some congregants about this interesting happenstance. The congregation is split. Each half argues vehemently – some for standing – and some for sitting.