RH Day 2 5777
September 13, 2026
HINENI
Hineni. Here I am. I stand before you, imperfect, trying to find the words that will cut through the spiritual malaise of this moment. I pray that these words will inspire you to say Hineni to your soul, your people, your Jewish lives. Today we say Hineni to the sound of the shofar, the piercing blasts that cut deep into our hearts and souls. After its absence yesterday, those blasts connect us to our powerful story of sacrifice, of relationship, of holiness, of frustration and so much more--the Akedah.
This morning we heard Abraham bind his son on the altar. Abraham, the same man who argued with God about Sodom and Gomorrah, the same man who brought so many people into our faith, the same man who demonstrated hospitality even after circumcising himself. This man did not wish to protect his son? This man, our man, our father, our teacher, Abraham demonstrates showing up, Hineni for God, but what about for his own soul, for his people?
Three times in the Akedah, we see the word Hineni. Three times that teach us different lessons relevant not only to the story of Abraham, but also to this very moment.
At the opening, Avraham says, "Hineni, here I am." Later on, at the moment when he is holding the knife, when the angel has to say not once but twice, "Avraham, Avraham, Avraham," Avraham says, "Hineni." Yet there is a third "Hineni," one in between those two, not spoken to as a divine being, not spoken to God, but spoken to Isaac. It is a moment of deep connection between father and son.
When does that happen? As they are on their journey together, as they are heading up,
וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יִצְחָ֜ק אֶל־אַבְרָהָ֤ם אָבִיו֙
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אָבִ֔י
Yitzhak says to his father Avraham, "Avi, my father." In that moment, he is present.
Avraham is present for his son, and he says, "Hineni." In that "Hineni," it is not just "Hineni"; it is "Hineni B'ni, here I am, my son."
וַיֹּ֖אמֶר הִנֶּ֣נִּֽי בְנִ֑י
The conversation continues: Isaac asks,
וַיֹּ֗אמֶר הִנֵּ֤ה הָאֵשׁ֙ וְהָ֣עֵצִ֔ים וְאַיֵּ֥ה הַשֶּׂ֖ה לְעֹלָֽה׃
Here is the fire., the wood, But where is the offering? Where is the sheep for the offering?
וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ אַבְרָהָ֔ם
Avraham says,
אֱלֹהִ֞ים יִרְאֶה־לּ֥וֹ הַשֶּׂ֛ה לְעֹלָ֖ה
It is God who will show the sheep for the offering.
בְּנִ֑י
my son.
וַיֵּלְכ֥וּ שְׁנֵיהֶ֖ם יַחְדָּֽו
and the two of them continue together.
On this exchange, Rashi--comments--
הנני HERE AM I — Such is the answer of the pious: it is an expression of meekness and readiness (Midrash Tanchuma, Vayera 22).
I look at these three "Hinenis":
the "hineni" of the showing up enthusiastic to do God’s Will
the “hineni” of caring, of being in relationship with others
the “hineni” of being focused on ourselves, our tasks, our needs
Sometimes we are ready to pray, to connect to that which is greater than us. Sometimes we are not! In the "hineni" of God speaking to Avraham and Avraham saying, "I am here. I'm ready to serve you, God. I'm ready to listen to the possibility." This is a posture of prayer. It's a time of connection and study of spiritual awareness. How often do we say "hineni" to God in that way? How often are we attentive to the possibility of connection to the divine, of the willingness to be interrupted?
Recently, we had our Minyannaires dinner. A few minutes before 6:30, I heard quite a number of alarms. I heard phones buzzing and beeping and dinging with a reminder that 6:30 was coming and it was time for our afternoon minyan. I think about that: so many of us have so much going on in our lives, but for quite a number of people, every afternoon there's a buzz, a beep, a ding that says, "Stop whatever you're doing and show up for our community and for our creator." In that moment, we are just like Avraham: we are showing we are willing to be interrupted, to be in relationship, and to connect to something greater than ourselves.
The second "hineni," is even more powerful. It is being present not only for our creator, not only pausing our lives for that which is greater than ourselves, but to see the holiness in one another, to be present for the ones that we love. Perhaps we're able to expand that circle to our neighbors, our strangers, our country, and beyond. One of the blessings of holiness is our connection to our Creator, but we know there are people that, in their desire to connect to their Creator, forget about humanity. They're only focused on their own spiritual journey, and our Torah is reminding us that we need both. We need to be the one who says "hineni" to God, and we need to say "hineni" to other human beings.
Finally, there is the third "hineni": Avraham is standing holding the knife. He's holding on to this command that he's heard from our Creator. The rabbis have a million commentaries. I've talked about dozens of them over the years. In all of your collective Rosh Hashanahs, you've heard so, so many of them! In this space, Abraham is so focused on where he is, so present in the moment, that it takes not one but two calls from the angel for him to say, "Hineni, I'm here," and to pay attention to that outside response. (We wonder why so many Jews are neurodivergent, it may not only be the Ashkenazi bottleneck during the Crusades, perhaps it comes from the very beginning of our people!)
Looking at the last "hineni", the one of deep focus on the task at hand, is also about our relationship with ourselves. We need to be aware of our Creator. We need to be aware of those around us, AND we also need to be aware of our own neshamahs, our own souls. We need a relationship with God AND others AND ourselves.
Our tradition has taught this through Jewish living and law, halakha. Halakha is called the way that we walk: the walking, the traveling, the going. It's not law in the sense that you're arrested if you don't follow it. It’s a law of identity, of relationship. It's law in that it is the proper way we do things. It helps us connect to all those different aspects of our identity, of ourselves, our community, our Creator. When we pray at the proper time, we are acknowledging the blessings of our lives and seeing that we are not the only reason for existence. If you remember last year's wooden coin that shows that the world was created for us and also that we are but dust and ashes. We have to remember how vital we are to this gift of the planet, AND where we are not the exclusive gift. There is so much more.
This year, with this Hineni pin, I wonder about our presence. How can we truly show up for ourselves, for those around us, and for God? When I look at our Kehilla Kedosha, when I look at our holy community, I see such opportunity, such possibility, and such blessing. We've seen amazing social possibilities from the fun of Doc Rock recently, to people wanting to play Mahjong and turning a couple of people hanging out together into a regular gathering and a regular opportunity to socialize and to enjoy and to work our minds. I think about the incredible work that Sisterhood has done, and I see how the men's club comes together to build and to grow. I see how we share our relationship with others through music and through action. You see the blessings of our prayer together: our prayer every day in Minyan, our prayer on Shabbat, our prayer on festivals and special days like today. I also see how we work to share with the next generation through bringing families together at PRTT, on holidays and festivals, and showing that Judaism has lived and not only spoken of. I'm so moved by the experience of being together. I'm moved by the possibility, by the gratitude, by every visit that I make to those who are sick, and by every call that I hear from our Chesed committee. I'm moved by those who wish to learn more about our faith, both those outside the community and those within. AND there is so much more we could be doing. I am working with some of our younger professionals to do deep study, to think deeply about the holiness of our lives and souls. What about those in other demographics--what about their souls?
As we look at the year to come, I really would like all of us to be able to say Hineni to more of our Jewish lives, to see our faith and our people as central to our identity and our existence. I would like us to say that we are here, that we say Hineni to God, and that we invest more time in our own prayer lives, in studying our faith and our traditions. I pray that we say Hineni to our community, to our shul, to our friends and our family, through listening to one another, acts of loving-kindness, and demonstrating compassion. This is a very challenging moment in the world, where it seems that dialogue has just been forgotten, that respect is thrown out the window, but in this space, we can model compassion and connection.
I want us to say Hineni to ourselves. Let us reflect on the choices that we make. Let us demonstrate self-awareness and humility. Let us remember that we must care for ourselves, too.
As we continue this day, my prayer for you is that you say "hineini" to yourself, giving yourself a little more forgiveness and love and acceptance. I pray that you say "hineini" to our CBI community, to your friends, your families, and your loved ones, to show up for one another: to go to the funeral or the hospital room or the wedding or bar mitzvah. I pray that you will truly say "hineini" to God, that you will acknowledge the blessings of this world, that there is something greater than us, that you will study our traditions and not write them off as some archaic past but as something that is vital to our lives, especially in this moment. We have been given an incredible gift through the mitzvot, through the commandments. We have been given a blessing of meaning, of purpose, of possibility. Hineni, I'm here.
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