I love good, smart science fiction films and shows, particularly with time travel or multiverse storylines. Aliens from outer space sci-fi themes speak to me too, if they are not the monstrous kind of extraterrestrials that want to destroy us, but actually endeavor to teach us about what it means to be human. This summer many of us saw at least two such blockbusters: “Project Hail Mary” with a cute, friendly little being that pairs up with Ryan Gosling to save both home planets, and of course, “Disclosure Day,” by Steven Spielberg.
“Disclosure Day” follows a meteorologist and a cybersecurity analyst trying to expose a government cover-up of the existence of extraterrestrial life. I am not giving much away (in case you haven’t seen it) by saying that empathy is the superpower these beings want to share with us earthlings. As the world is on the brink of nuclear destruction, the most important thing people can do is listen and connect with each other. It’s no surprise that this is a highly Jewish message.
As we spin out of control and believe we cannot reconcile or trust each other as a species, can we stop and listen? The final word of the film is “Listen” – intentionally written by Jewish screenwriter David Koepp. Stop fighting, quiet the noise, and truly connect with one another.
This line resonates with the centrality of “Shema Yisrael” – Listen People of Israel, there is one God. The Divine Oneness connects all, is the source of all. In a world with so much division, we all need reminders to listen.
This is the season of turning, teshuvah, often translated as “repentance” in older prayer books. The literal root of the word is shuv – turn, return, begin anew, taps into a redemptive force that is always available.
The key to teshuvah, according to our sages, is knowing how to live in this very moment. To break through the noise that is filling our devices, lives and minds. How can we not get caught up in arguments no one can win? How do we keep ourselves from going down the dark tunnels of doom scrolling on our phones? How do we not get carried off in the waves of anxiety, fear and melancholy that characterize contemporary life – and American Jewish life?
Shema. Listen. Take a breath, then another, then another. Where am I, in this very moment? Where is the “I” underneath the constant, automatic thoughts and words that carry me away from my essential self, and from God? Can I step back before I say that thought, write that comment, counter that person who thinks differently? How can I listen? How can they?
Teshuvah is a return to what it means to be human, not just for myself, but for my ability to truly see the humanity in other people, to connect and to care.
Teshuvah is a homecoming, an awareness of the Divine Oneness from which all life emerged. We are all connected, and if we quiet ourselves, we can sense this mystical reality underneath all of the division.
Jewish legend teaches that before God created this universe, God created teshuvah as a redemptive, healing force embedded in all of creation. Without teshuvah, the world could not endure. Each of us, in our precious uniqueness, are part of the great unity that is all life on earth – and all life out there, in our mind-blowingly vast universe.
When we gather for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur – and even the days surrounding these holy days – we have the chance to stop, listen, breathe and feel embraced by our community.
May we find renewal and connection.
Shana tova u’metukah, a good and sweet 5787.
Rabbi Alison Adler is the spiritual leader of Temple B’nai Abraham in Beverly.
