September 2010
The High Holy Days are upon us and just as school is getting rolling as well! There is a lot going on all at once, and sometimes it is hard to do everything (believe me, I know how hard it is to be everywhere at once!), but it is the way it goes.
I told someone recently that I’m already angry about his year’s Rosh Hashanah schedule. Erev Rosh Hashanah on Wednesday, Thursday for the first day, Friday for the second day, then Erev Shabbat services, then Saturday morning services, and then we start Sunday school and have memorial services at the cemetery. And then it’s Yom Kippur just a few short days later! I’m exhausted just thinking about the schedule, let alone preparing for it. The person I was speaking to said, “who are you angry at. . . God?” “Yes!” I answered. It might not be the best mindset to enter the Holy Days with, but I’ll try to get my frustrations out before the Days of Awe truly begin.
I wish we could complain to someone about this busy time of year. I wish it could be spread out so we could take each moment when we are prepared for it. But there is something about being forced into each moment as it comes whether or not we are ready. There is something about the mad rush to prepare for something we always know will be coming. We know school will start, we know the High Holy Days will come, and yet it never feels as though there is enough time to prepare. Perhaps these days come one after another in quick succession for exactly that reason. The preparation for them must take place all year long. Then we can arrive at those important times ready, whenever they come. Perhaps if we just allow ourselves to be there for those moments regardless of what else is happening, we will emerge better for it. That is my prayer anyway.
I do hope many of you will join us at the Learning Center for our Slichot program Saturday Sept 4th. Slichot always falls the Saturday night before Rosh Hashanah and it is the official opening to the Holy Day season. It is an evening of thought and preparation. This year we will be watching the Academy Award nominated Israeli film “Beaufort” about the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon from a soldier’s perspective. It is a film full of deep soul searching about the role of the army, how Israel conducts herself, and what it means to defend something. This is a deep and difficult film, which is not suitable for young children, it is unrated, so parents must make your own determinations as to the suitability for high school students. We will spend time discussing the film and then conclude with a short Slichot service and hear the shofar blast for the first time this year. It should be a very powerful evening.
This year we are beginning a new practice for our congregation, but an old one for the Jewish people. It is traditional to visit the graves of loved ones between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. For many of us our loved ones may be buried in many different places, but as a community we will gather on Sunday Sept 12th at 12:30 at our congregation’s cemetery, Kehilat Olam in Ridgefield for a memorial service to remember all of our loved ones regardless of where they are buried. This will be an opportunity for all of us to say Kaddish during this holiest time of year.
I do look forward to seeing you all many times over the next few weeks. Following Yom Kippur of course we jump right into Sukkot and Simchat Torah, this year with live Klezmer music! L’shanah Tovah, may we all be written for a sweet and joyous year.
