A new rabbi comes to a well-established congregation. Every week on Shabbat, a fight erupts during the service!

When it comes time to recite the Shema, half of the congregation stands and the other half sits.

The people who are standing yell at the people who are sitting, "Stand up!" while the people who are sitting yell at the people who are standing, "Sit down!"

It’s destroying the whole decorum of the service, and driving the new rabbi crazy.

Finally, it’s brought to the rabbi’s attention to visit a 98-year-old man who was a founding member of the congregation.

The rabbi and the man converse for a while, and then the rabbi asks him "Was it the tradition in our synagogue to stand for the Shema?"

"No," the old man answers. "That wasn’t the tradition."

"Really? Well was it the tradition in our synagogue to sit for the Shema?"

"No," the old man says. "That wasn’t the tradition."

At this point, the rabbi is a bit confused and says "I don’t care what the tradition was!

Do you know what goes on in services every week — the people who are standing yell at the people who are sitting, the people who are sitting yell at the people who are standing—"

"Ah, now that was the tradition."

Let’s begin by spending a few minutes looking carefully at our most important prayer, the shema.

The words which make up the first paragraph of the Shema, implore us to constantly remember the oneness, the unity of God as we try to love God with all of our hearts, all of our souls, and all of our might.

And then the text continues “And these words which I command you this day shall be on your heart and you shall teach them to your children,

b’shivtecha b’vaytecha--when you sit in your house

uv’lechtecha Baderech - and when you go by the derech-by the way.

The shema tells us that when we sit at home, or when we leave home and those are the options – to stay at home, or to leave home, we should always try to remember God’s oneness and follow the commandments that God has given to us as the constants in our lives despite the different derech, the different journeys we may take.

Which derech – which way are you going?

What is your derech?

That is not specifically stated in the Shema because it is different for each and every one of us.

What we share in common is that we all travel on some derech, on some path, as we live our lives.

At the end of the book of Genesis we learn an important lesson about the need to accept the path on which we find ourselves travelling.

The biblical story centers on the reunification of Jacob and his sons with Joseph whose identity is hidden when they first reunite 20 years after he was nearly killed by the brothers.

When the brothers have to return home to their father Jacob, Joseph sends them off with gifts and provisions la-derech, for the journey.

And then chapter 45 verse 24 says, “As he (Joseph) sent his brothers off on their way, he told them “al tirgazu Badarech - do not be quarrelsome, baderach, on the way.”

A wonderful, insightful comment on this phrase “al tirgazu Badarech - do not be quarrelsome on the way” is interpreted to mean don’t be quarrelsome BaDerech - with the derech – with the journey.

Joseph is hinting to his brothers that the events which are unfolding are beyond the full understanding of any of them.

Don’t argue with each other and do what you did 20 years earlier – nearly kill one of your brothers!

And don’t argue with the path on which God is leading you.

This is intended to apply to all of us - we are all encouraged to make peace with the journeys we must take, and follow, in our lives.

Yes, we all have plans, and goals and achievements we expect to accomplish, but sometimes, it doesn’t quite work out that way, does it.

As you’ve heard me and others say before, “Menchen Tracht UnGot Lacht – people plan and God laughs.”

The end of the derech is known and it is the same for all of us – we die and God-willing, move on to another world, another form of existence.

That is an article of faith in the Jewish religion.

But how we get there and what we do along the way, that is very different for each and every one of us.

Judaism does have something to suggest, quite a bit to suggest, as to what we should do, not only when we are sit in our homes, but also when we walk on the way, and follow the path.

And it is wise not to argue, or quarrel, or reject the path – it makes more sense to accept it, welcome it, embrace it and let it lead us, as much as we want to lead it.

Think about our Torah reading today - it tells of Abraham’s journey which began with the words Lech Lecha – go forth, and ends with another commandment from God with the same phrase –

וְלֶךְ - לְךָ , אֶל - אֶרֶץ הַמֹּרִיָּה ; וְהַעֲלֵהוּ שָׁם , לְעֹלָה , עַל אַחַד הֶהָרִים , אֲשֶׁר אֹמַר אֵלֶיךָ

Go forth to the mount that I will show you and raise up your son as an offering.”

I have the sense that this was not exactly what Abraham expected when he began his journey with the first Lech Lecha, as it is described not in Chapter 22 of today’s Torah reading, but in Genesis Chapter 12, ten chapters earlier.

A lot happens in between, just as there are many things that happen to each and every one of us, in all the chapters of our lives.

Sooner or later we all realize this lesson - for some of us it is sooner and for others it is later.

The Torah teaches us – al Tirgazu BaDarech, don’t quarrel with the path – make the most of it, fill it with good deeds and ultimately it will lead you to the world to come.

And Judaism has a specific program, a formula, a prescription which is designed to get you into the world to come.

And now I am going to share it with you.

Do I have your attention? I thought so.

There is a text from the Talmud I have been pondering almost every day for many months now.

I can’t stop thinking about it.

It really is a list – a to-do list – for us Jews, as we are Baderech – as we travel the path of life.

It keeps us BaDerech HaShem, along God’s intended path no matter what else may happen to us.

If you listen carefully, you will discover this is really a list that promotes a derech for religious life.

Surprisingly, every item on this list could be promoted by any other religion.

The details would be different, the circumstances would be different, the ways in which the activities would be implemented would definitely be different, but the basic concepts can apply, I believe, to any religious path.

This path which, if followed, makes one worthy to enter the world to come, is attainable by Jew and non-Jew alike.

The Talmudic text begins with these words: These are the deeds which yield immediate (olam HaZeh) fruit, and continue to yield fruit in time to come (Olam HaBa):

What follows is a list of activities so holy, and mitzvot so special that their principal value will never decrease.

And their impact will continue to reverberate and accumulate interest even after they are performed in this world.

What we are saying here is that if we follow this path of our tradition we will fill this world and the world to come with reverberations from the impact of the ten special items that make up this list.

The passage from the Talmud reads:

These are the deeds which yield immediate fruit and continue to yield fruit in time to come:

honoring parents;

doing deeds of loving kindness;

attending the House of Study punctually, morning and evening;

providing hospitality;

visiting the sick;

helping the needy bride;

attending to the dead;

probing the meaning of prayer;

making peace between one person and another; and between husband and wife.

And the study of Torah is the most basic of them all.

Since we gathered here last Yom Kippur, there have been many stories, many events, many headlines worth mentioning today.

Here is a story about a man who has supremely fulfilled one of these mitzvot while learning to accept the path of life on which he finds himself. His name is Keith Fitzhugh, and honestly I would be surprised if anybody remembers who he is.

His story, or the part of it that I want to share with you today, goes back to last December. Let me share with you how CNN.com told his story back then –

Keith Fitzhugh could have spent a weekend last December at New Meadowlands Stadium being regaled by some 83,000 fans as a member of the New York Jets.

Instead, he chose to keep his day job, working on the railroad.

No spotlights, no television cameras, no adoring throngs.

The only waves that he could get – seconds of attention in between long stretches of quiet – would be from kids standing alongside the tracks asking the unnamed engineer to pull the horn.

And he is not complaining.

Keith Fitzhugh was a star safety for the football team of Mississippi State and he had 3 tryouts with the Baltimore Ravens, and twice with the New York Jets over the last couple of years.

But each time, Fitzhugh was released.

And while Keith Fitzhugh was not succeeding in the National Football League, he would not allow that to prevent him from following a successful path in life.

The possible glory of playing for a National Football League team was not bringing in any kind of regular income.

His father was disabled, and unable to work so his mother was the only family member with a regular paycheck.

His sister died after contracting West Nile Virus while he was in college.

And while he was always cheered and supported in his attempt to play for the NFL, after the loss of his sister he realized that while football was a game, family was everything.

So he was thrilled when he recently got a full-time job as a train engineer, a position that allowed him to run trains around the country and also bring home regular income and benefits to help support his family.

But then, last December, with the New York Jets holding a 9-3 record, Keith Fitzhugh was called again to try out for the team.

Fitzhugh responded he would have to check with his new employer.

Al Tirgazu Baderech – Don’t quarrel with the Path!

After thinking it over he realized, that professional football jobs were fleeting.

He knew his railroad job was not as glamorous, it might not pay as much, but it was stable and allow him to help his family long-term.

So, before he even found out from the train company if he could take a leave of absence (he later learned that he could have), Fitzhugh made up his mind.

"I just felt that the best decision at that time, for me, was to keep my job. My family was there for me, when I went through some of the lowest times of my life, and I needed to be there for them, also."

When you hear a story like that, about someone who honors and supports his mother and father, then it becomes clear why and how this leads the list of mitzvot which yield immediate fruit, and continues to yield fruit in time to come.

The derech we follow in this world, what we do in this world, and the ways in which we engage others in this world, are acts that reverberate beyond their immediate impact.

They are the points and counterpoints we present, to the path God has laid before us.

We cannot control everything that happens to us BaDerech, in our lives, but each of the ten items mentioned on this special list I have shared with you today is something that we can control and do Baderech, throughout our lives.

Our tradition is teaching that it makes a difference not only for those who receive the benefit of most of these acts, but for us as well.

Unlike our homes in Annapolis or Bowie or wherever, the value of the principle we place in these mitzvot never diminishes, and the interest continues to accrue in this world and beyond.

I’d like to speak about someone who died this past year – not someone from our community, but someone whose artistry has influenced our community and just about every non-orthodox Jewish community in North America.

I speak of Debbie Friedman, Chazan Debbie Friedman, who died this past winter.

She wrote the music for the special healing prayer we sing together after the names are recited in the traditional prayer.

Debbie Friedman had the unique gift of creating religious music that sounded authentically American and traditional at the same time.

She wrote several songs about the importance of journeys including “l’chee Lach,” her take on the journey modeled by Abraham and Sarah I referred to just a couple of minutes ago.

I especially love her setting of the Angels prayer, and I have shared that with the Congregation and many, many others over the last several years.

Her music helped set me BaDerech - on the path of studying and teaching about Jewish Healing texts and services.

Her music brought healing and comfort to me, and to many others, other the last twenty-five plus years.

It was with great wisdom that the Reform Movement, has renamed its cantorial school in memory of Chazan Debbie Friedman.

One of the prayers that Debbie Friedman reworked and transformed is the prayer known as Tefilat Ha-derech – commonly known as the Travelers Prayer.

Some people recite this prayer only when they embark upon a particularly long or far-away trip. Others recite it every single day as it is found at the end of the traditional daily morning service in the prayer book.

Today, with the holiday of Rosh Hashanah, each of us now begins another leg on our journey through life as we start a new year.

Who will live and who will die?

Who will be healthy and who will become ill?

Who will experience mostly happiness and who will experience sorrow and anguish?

Who will find their way-baderech, and who will lose their way?

In conclusion, I offer, for us today and in memory of Debbie Friedman, her version of “T’filat Haderach” –

May we be blessed as we go on our way

May we be guided in peace.

May we be blessed with health and joy.

May we be sheltered by the wings of peace.

May we be kept in safety and in love.

May grace and compassion find their way to every soul.

May this be our blessing.

And let us say, Amen.