We gather on this night to celebrate many things.

According to the Torah, Shavout is designated as a time to bring our Bikurim to the Temple.  To acknowledge the blessing of the land and fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham and Sarah.  Later  tradition also associated with the giving of the Torah:  Zaman matan torateynu.  It is thus a holiday which commerantes the giving of the Torah itself.

Without a Temple to bring out first fruits to; our focus is on the study of Torah and its dissemination.  Later this evening there will be a community wide Tikkun where a number of people will study until dawn. 

On such a night, it is appropriate to celebrate the work of Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove.  I have had the distinct privilege of working with Elliot and watching his development as a Rabbi and a scholar.  All of us have been witness to the rather meteoric growth of the Cosgrove family.  So on such a night I thought it would be appropriate to look to the Torah reading for this coming Shabbat and see what its wisdom might offer us in regards to Rabbi Cosgrove.

B’halotcha is a portion that begins with instruction to Aaron as to how to kindle the Menorah in the Temple.  Towards to the middle of the portion there is an anomaly in the text that I wish to draw your attention to.  The letter nun is enlarged and inverted, like a large parenthesis, setting apart a few verses.  The text that the nun’s surround are familiar to you; “Veyhi b’nsoah aharaon, vayomer Moshe- When the ark moved forward this is what Moshe said.”  You know these words from the opening of our Torah service.

There are any number of explanations as to why this section is set apart.  The one that speaks to me this evening, is a bold thought.   One Rabbi believes that this small section is an entire book of the Torah.  So in fact we would have seven (7) books altogether.  Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, part of Numbers, this section, the end of Numbers and then Deuteronomy.   Seven books.
If this is so, then why would we need a whole book devoted to the process of moving the ark?  If this was the case, then in the same way the book of Vayikra is devoted to the Kohanim, this book of Vay’hi B’nsoa, would be directed to teachers of Torah, most especially Rabbis.  In other words, the lesson here is that the role of the Rabbi is to ensure that the Torah moves forward with the people, not just in the realm of space, but the realm of time as well.  The Rabbi must use all of his or her skills to engage the Jewish community in this sacred cause by not only having the ability to plumb its depths for wisdom and direction, but to also have the ability to impart that the Torah in contemporary ways that speak to the Jewish community as relevant.

This Rabbi Cosgrove has done exceedingly well.  All of us have been moved by his blend of honest and thoughtful questions and ability as a teacher and a preacher to put the Torah in a contemporary setting.

Over the years Rabbi Cosgrove has balanced his work at Anshe Emet and his family life with his prodigious scholarship.  Next week, Rabbi Cosgrove will receive his Ph.D.  His work on Louis Jacob will have significant impact on the Jewish world as he helps illuminate the Torah of this great Rabbi.  But we at Anshe Emet have already been the recipient of Rabbi Cosgrove’s hard work.  His sermons and his teachings have been reflections of his own scholarly journey.  So whether you have studied with him in a classroom setting or in services you have been introduced to Rabbi Cosgrove’s work.

The bracketed section continues Kuma Adonai, rise up God.  This strikes me as also being a significant part of the Rabbinate.  That is to challenge people as to how they understand God.  Here again, Rabbi Cosgrove has had the courage to ask hard questions and allow people to engage in honest discourse and in that way been part of people’s spiritual journeys as well.
For all of these things, we are exceedingly grateful, Elliot.  For me, looking over the past decade together and reflecting on your growth, I am very proud indeed of all of your accomplishments.
Now we can talk of Rabbi Cosgrove’s other rabbinic prodigious abilities as a pastor, as an educator, as a person who has touched every aspect of this community, but you have experienced all of them.

So permit me to close with the beginning of this week’s Torah reading.  As I noted earlier, the Torah reading speaks of the kindling of the Menorah and uses the word B’ahlotcha that is to make the flame go up.  While the Torah could have used a more common term for lighting the Menorah, it uses a more evocative one to teach us a lesson.  The lesson that our Rabbis derived from this applies to you, Elliot.  The role of a Rabbi is not to simply follow the ritual, physically to light the lamp.  The role of the rabbi is to take of the fire inside and to bring it to the light of the Menorah.  This Rabbi Cosgrove you have done, and done well.

You have brought your own passion, your own good humor, your own vision, your own questions and your own thirst for knowledge and left a legacy of Torah here at Anshe Emet.   On this night when the Jewish people celebrates the giving of the Torah, we thank you for the Torah that you have shared with us and wish you well as you move your own Ark of Torah eastward. 
As Moses said to Aaron, “Hazak v’Amatz – Be strong and of the good courage”.