לשנה טובה תבתבו

L’shanah tovah tikateivu…

May You and Yours Be Inscribed

“Newness” is an opportunity for beginnings and blessings. The New Year on the Jewish calendar begins with Rosh Hashanah in the early fall. This year has been confusing for me. As I began to “visit” Temple Israel in June, it felt new. When I began to "work" at Temple Israel in July, it felt a bit newer. As we moved into our apartment in mid-August, it felt newer again. And on Rosh Hashanah, I know it will feel the newest. While I have been busy with all this “newness,” I hope that you found time in the beauty and warmth of the summer to reflect and even regenerate. Now as the months turn to seasons, we are beckoned to celebrate our Yamim Noraim, our Days of Awe, and to be reflective of the past year as we set sights for the New Year.

Rosh Hashanah, the 1st of Tishri, marks the Jewish New Year which hopefully may make us wiser. While the secular world measures time and often kills it, Judaism cherishes time and has the power to sanctify it. Ultimately we Jews count our days to signal our encounter with the Divine as we share our life's journey with family and friends. And after all what is a congregation like Temple Israel, but a "family of families" marking sacred time . . .

On holidays we run away from duties. On holy days we face up to them.

On holidays we seek to let ourselves go. On holy days we try to bring ourselves into focus.

On holidays we try to empty our minds. On holy days we try to attempt to replenish our spirits.

On holidays we reach out for things we thing we want. On holy days we reach for the things we really need.

Holidays bring a change of scene. Holy Days bring a change of heart.

Any of us can change at any moment, for better or for worse. The opportunity to examine our lives exists every day. Yet, somehow we manage to go through the entire year without careful examination of the patterns we've formed and the habits we've internalized. Somehow the minutes become days and the days become weeks and the weeks become months. Somehow promises we've made to ourselves, to our families and friends, and even to God, become distant, if not shrouded in the busyness of everyday life.

Rav Soloveichik, z"l, wrote that the traditional reading of the akeydah, the binding of Isaac, ends with seemingly irrelevant verses. After Isaac was freed and a ram was sacrificed in his stead, there are four verses that tell us about the birth of children of Abraham's brother, Nahor. The Rav points that these additional verses teach that only Abraham and Isaac realized the significance of what took place on Mt. Moriah. Everyone else was blasé, unmoved. Life went on for most as usual.

Rosh Hashanah is not simply observing the moment year after year and then going on living as usual. Each of us has the possibility to be moved, to be inspired, to be reformatted, if you will, during our sacred days.

Rosh Hashanah requires a response! It is up to each one of us. Thank God we are alive to have that opportunity once again. To just go through the motions at Temple Israel in the majesty of our Holy Days, or wherever you will be, is an incredible opportunity. Let us not leave change to chance. In the spirit of teshuvah, thoughtfully turning ourselves, let us turn and do better in 5767. God knows, our world, our people, our nation and our own loved ones, needs this of each one of us.

Let these sacred days touch us to the very core of our beings. Let the fibers of our lives be nourished so that each of us may emerge more passionate about life and more dedicated to our values, our ideals and our commitments.

The High Holy Days, and then Sukkot and Simchat Torah, over three weeks of meaningful Jewish moments can be replete with wonder and purpose. They can give us the opportunity to look, to see, to readjust our sights and to refocus. Let us resolve to try a little harder, do a little better, care a little more ... and to bring our best into this New Year.

May you find celebration and renewal. May there be brightness and blessings from New York to Jerusalem and from Darfur to Baghdad. Let us share our hopes and our dreams for 5767 for our families and for ourselves, for Temple Israel and for our people everywhere and even for those whom we do not know.

From our home to yours, I pray that you and your loved ones will be inscribed in the Book of Life. I truly look forward to greeting you personally in the New Year with all of its newness and possibilities. May we find ways to share our blessings for the sake of others and for the sake of heaven.

May you have a year of renewal, filled with health and happiness, sharing and love, an awesome year of beginnings and blessings.

לשנה טובה תבתבו

Rabbi David J. Gelfand