Jewish life has always beenaboutTrack&Trace
ITISoneof themostetherealmoments of the High Holy Days. We stand and chant in unison the timeless words: “On Rosh Hashanah it is written/and on Yom Kippur it is sealed…” Our deep-seated belief in Judaism is that, during these majestic days, all the events and happenings for the coming year are set in motion and play out until the next Rosh Hashanah, when it allhappensagain.Thiswouldmeanthat theeventsof 5780—2020—werewritten into our script last September.
Normally, we can take comfort in this annual “state of the union”, as we recall the happy memories and experiences of the past year: weddings, births, birthdays, exam successes, family members’ and friends’ achievements, sporting triumphs, narrow escapes. We can also recall the difficult times, loss, disappointment,challenge,dashedhopesand missed opportunities. The stuff of life.
But then a pandemic arrived and everything we have known was thrown off kilter. Has there been anything in this continually unfolding episode that has been redeeming?
If we follow another great author, King Solomon (by most accounts), this is not a new phenomenon: “That which has been, it is that which shall be; and that which has been done is that which shall be done: and there is nothing new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9).
We can understand this in two ways: “everythinghasbeentriedandthereare nonewsolutions”or“whateverwedidin thepast,wearestillherenow,sowemust have confidence that we will be here in the future as well”.
One of the paths being adopted to try to overcome infection rates in this pandemic is Track & Trace. It is presented as a socio-medical approach: if you have caughtthevirus,listthepeopleyouhave interacted with since just before/after diagnosis, then ask all those people to isolate;therebyhopingtoensure(if they have caught the virus) that they pass it on to as few other people as possible.
I would like to propose that, in anticipation of Rosh Hashanah and the New Year ahead of us, Track & Trace isn’t a response to a pandemic. It is, and always has been, the correct Jewish response to life itself and the latest terminology for what we inherently understand at this time of year.
All Jewish literature is replete with Track & Trace language, often hiding in plain sight. In the cautionary tale of the murderof AbelbyhisbrotherCain,there lies one of the most spectacular phrases in the Torah. In the delicate moments between Cain’s offering being rejected byGodandthecatastrophicresponseof Abel’s murder by his brother, God introduces Cain to Track & Trace.
Cain is crestfallen — God actually asks him, “Why has your face fallen?” (Genesis 4:6) and acknowledges the precariousness of his situation. Emotion is welling up inside of him and he faces an ultimate choice.
God continues: “Surely, if you do right, there is uplift. But if you do not do right, sin crouches at the door; its urge is toward you, yet you can be its master.”
Track & Trace. Understand what you are experiencing. Acknowledge the moment. Know there will be direct consequences that hinge on your next move,andthattheimplicationsof those actions will define you irreversibly. Cain does not/cannot/will not engage with theseemotionsand,asweknow,hisnext actionisshocking.Buthewaswarned.By Hashem Himself!
The second paragraph of our Shema Yisrael prayer — our central declaration of faith — contains a broad correlation betweenourbehaviourandtheprosperity and success of our agricultural and spiritual efforts. Do well, keep dedicated to Hashem and His guiding principles and rain will fall when it should and we will be protected.If not (and sin always crouches at the door…), there will be implications and consequences to our actions. Track & Trace.
The Jewish year itself has a majesty and a metronomic harmony to it that also speaks of tracking and tracing its graceful movement.
Starting from any festival in the year, there is a meandering narrative that tracks and traces our Jewish story in a series of perpetual moments that speak of the relationships between us and our Creator;betweenusandourfellowJews, betweenusandourfamilies;betweenus and the world at large.
FromthesummermonthsofTammuz and Av — re-experiencing the anguish of theDestructionof theTemple—through the contemplation and anticipation of themonthof Elul,leadingtothecrescendo of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, to the sublime experience of Succot; it is the ultimate symphony of Track & Trace.
We fell short once. We did it often. We lostourway.Butwehavefactoredintime to reflect, to heal, to determine a way forward and the daily sound of the shofar for a whole month of Elul helps to sharpenourfocus.We becomeacutelyaware of the passage of time and its power to create urgency, as well as allow us to resolve to redouble our efforts to do better.
T h e y e a r h a s brought immense difficulty and uncertainty. But it has also enabled extraordinary compassion, consideration, focus on the needs of the less fortunate and timetoreflectonwhereweareallgoing.
We came to last year’s High Holy Days with a small sense of what we would like for the coming year. We come to this year’s High Holy Days with a greater understandingof whatwetrulyneed,as opposed to a vague idea of what would be nice to have.
We will do our best to look forward with hope and optimism to a future that is, as yet, unwritten and is beckoning us to write it well. If we have Tracked our experiences and we have Traced them to the best of ourselves and the bits we are looking to do better, then the process may not be perfect, but it is our best effort.
And we should be proud of our achievements to date and grateful for the blessing of time to come, to make our Creator proud of what we can still achieve.
Wishing all of us a very happy and healthy and safe New Year ahead.
In Genesis, God introduces Cain to Track & Trace’