With this issue of The Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle, the Milwaukee Jewish Federation begins a series of personal portraits highlighting its agencies, programs and services. The portraits demonstrate the Federation’s impact on the Jewish community.
Each ad begins with the words, “I am here,” a reference to the Hebrew word hineni. Why hineni? Because it has powerful dual message. It is an affirmation of the individual’s importance: “I am here, and I matter.” And it is an acknowledgement of the individual’s responsibility to the community: “I am here to do what is needed of me.”
Commentaries on the meaning of hineni will be published periodically beginning with this interpretation by Rabbi Jacob Herber of Congregation Beth Israel Ner Tamid.
To submit a commentary, email chronicle@milwaukeejewish.org with the word “hineni” in the subject line. Commentaries will be published as space permits and at the discretion of the editor.
“Hineni” (“I am here”). This is Adam’s response to the question God poses to him in the Garden of Eden, “Ayekah?” (“Where are you?” Genesis 3:9)
Many make the mistake of thinking that God was trying to determine Adam’s physical location; which tree he was hiding behind. But this is a simplistic reading of the text.
God was posing the Torah’s first existential query. God wasn’t asking Adam for his GPS coordinates, but rather where was Adam vis-à-vis his relationship with God. It appears that the Torah articulated the I-Thou relationship well before philosopher-theologian Martin Buber.
In essence, God wants to know what kind of partner God has in the apex of God’s creation: humanity. Adam’s “I am here” is as much about where he is in life as where is relation to God.
God’s “Ayekah” and Adam’s “Hineni,” are a clarion call for relationship. Neither wants to live in isolation from each other; they both seek the other realizing that they share a mutual desire for a world that is filled with the presence, care and concern for one another.
When God asks Adam “Where are you?” God is really saying, “Adam, I need you.” And when Adam says in response, “I am here,” he’s really saying, “God, I want and need you.”
The very best of community can be found in the “Ayekah-Hineni” paradigm. A dynamic, strong and vibrant Jewish community is one in which its stake holders share a partnership, a commitment to one another; one that reflects the same care, concern for and mutual dependence toward the other that existed between God and Adam.
When I say “Hineni,” “Here I am,” I am saying “I need you, as you need me. I will be there for you, as I know you are willing to be there for me. And I will never let my self-interest come between us.”
The very best Jewish community is predicated on the notion that the partners within the community consider each other “Thous” rather than “Its.” Torah and Buber were both right!
Rabbi Jacob Herber is spiritual leader of Congregation Beth Israel Ner Tamid.
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