I shared this reflection with my community a few years ago on a Yom Kippur evening. Each Shabbat morning in our synagogue, before we say the Kiddush, the prayer over wine, it is traditional for the leader to say ' savri meranan ,' or ' savri haverei, ’ which basically means, “Your attention please!”. This is traditionally followed by everyone saying, with great enthusiasm, “ L’chaim !" If you know Hebrew, or if you ever saw Fiddler on the Roof , you know that L’chaim! means "To Life!" Then we say the blessing over wine. You may have wondered where this peculiar Jewish toast comes from. In fact, it is almost a thousand years old. The Midrash Tanhuma , a collection of ancient midrashim, describes this practice , in a way that has a lot to teach us about wine, about community, and about each other. The Midrash says: When there's a death-penalty trial, and the verdict is about to be announced, one of the judges announces: savri ...
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