[Barmitzvah of Brian Zahn]
I the Lord do not change; and you the children of Jacob are not destroyed. Malachi, 3.6
These words that I have just uttered are a quotation from the haftara [prophetic reading] that you read us today. The whole haftara is one that will amply repay study and re-study, but today I am going to content myself with speaking of this simple verse.
At this, your barmitzvah, it is of importance that you should understand what we mean by God, and what we mean by Israel, for on this day you become responsible to God for your actions; and as a result of that re-enter the community of Israel, not as you did thirteen years ago as an infant, but as a young man, able to learn and understand.
This verse in nine simple Hebrew words teaches some of the most vital facts about God and Israel with whom you renew and strengthen your communion on this day.
First, it teaches that God does not change. This fact will, I think, be a great help and comfort to you throughout your life. Life, on the threshhold of which you now stand, is one of the most changeable of all things. You may find yourself rich one day, and poor the next, happy one day, and sad the next. That which you thought would last for ever may vanish before your eyes. But of one thing you may be sure: that God does not change. He is the first and the last, the Rock to which you may turn in time of trouble. The Lord is near to all those who call upon him in truth, and he does not reject the prayer of the afflicted. I do not have to give you advice for the happy times in your future, and we pray that they may be many. But there must be difficulties too in the life of all of us, and when that happens, I want you to recall the words of your haftara: "I the Lord do not change."
What of the second part of the verse: "And you the children of Israel are not destroyed"? Here the prophet is speaking right to you, for you are one of the children of Jacob, who have continued to cling to their faith and mission, in spite of all the difficulties which life has raised against them. From the time of Pharoah, right up to his latest successor, our people have been subject to cruel treatment in many different lands. But they have not been utterly destroyed, because God does not change, and in his mercy, he still remembers his people Israel, through whom so many religious insights have been imparted to the world far beyond Israel itself. In the survival of the people of Israel, which like weeds in a garden are uprooted in one place only to flourish in another, we see a result of the statement: "I the Lord do not change."
I have spoken to you of God and of Israel, and now I want to speak of yourself. You have been blessed with various talents which it is your duty to put to the best use. Remember that the talents and skills which you have or may yet acquire are lent to you by God, and since they reflect his glory rather than your own, they should be used so as to honor him rather than yourself. Share your gifts generously with your fellow men, and put them to good and holy purposes.
It is my hope that you will continue your Hebrew studies which can teach you so much that cannot be learned in any other way. In this you will be aided by your parents and grandparents who have showered much love upon you, and are, I know, very anxious to see you prosper spiritually as well as in material things. Set the Lord before you always, and then surely he will grant you the blessing promised through Aaron the priest.