 | It's true every year: The holy month of Elul is our portal into the Season of Meaning. These High Holy Days approach at a pivotal time in collective and global life. This moment asks both all our love and all our strength – including the strength to be vulnerable, deeply truthful, shimmeringly real, courageous and intrepid. We are #StrongerTogether – our theme for 5786. |
By Rabbi David
Happy September, Shir Ami, and welcome back! I hope these beautiful summer days are sweet.
Change is coming. We notice that sunsets are earlier. Summer's peak heat has waned. Hints of seasonal shift are subtly making their way. Rosh Hashanah 5786 is approaching.
As a community, we're already on the High Holy Day runway. This column mentions pre-holiday runway items, then delves into our upcoming journey – our theme, what will be the same and what will shift, and how to make the most of this poignant season at a most poignant moment. This column attempts to be comprehensive, so thank you in advance for taking the time to read it.
From my heart to yours, I send blessings for a שנה טובה ומתוקה / shanah tovah um'tukah – a good and sweet new year filled with love, strength and joy amidst all.
Our Runway: September 1-16
September 5 deadline for Yizkor tributes. Board leadership set this deadline so that our hardworking volunteers can both fully honor everyone's loved ones and also attend to their own High Holy Day preparations. Thank you for honoring this holy gavul (boundary). Click here to complete your Yizkor materials.
Back to Shul Shabbat is September 5, with an hors d'oeuvres social hour at 6:00pm followed by a 7:00pm musical Shabbat service with Torah. Click here to register.
High Holy Day runway series, "Seven Habits for Highly Evolved People" – co-led by the wonderful R. Rachel Barenblat of Congregation Beth Israel of the Berkshires – continues Tuesdays 7:00pm on September 2, 9 and 16. Session link and past recordings are available on our course page. No experience necessary; free for members. Click here to register.
Havdalah and Selihot are 7:00pm Saturday, September 13). With song and rousing poetry, we'll join Jews worldwide in moving though the final gate before Rosh Hashanah. Together we'll lovingly dress our Torah in holiday whites, and collectively write our community's Al Het liturgy for Yom Kippur. Click here to register.
Happy September, Shir Ami, and welcome back! I hope these beautiful summer days are sweet.
Change is coming. We notice that sunsets are earlier. Summer's peak heat has waned. Hints of seasonal shift are subtly making their way. Rosh Hashanah 5786 is approaching.
As a community, we're already on the High Holy Day runway. This column mentions pre-holiday runway items, then delves into our upcoming journey – our theme, what will be the same and what will shift, and how to make the most of this poignant season at a most poignant moment. This column attempts to be comprehensive, so thank you in advance for taking the time to read it.
From my heart to yours, I send blessings for a שנה טובה ומתוקה / shanah tovah um'tukah – a good and sweet new year filled with love, strength and joy amidst all.
Our Runway: September 1-16
September 5 deadline for Yizkor tributes. Board leadership set this deadline so that our hardworking volunteers can both fully honor everyone's loved ones and also attend to their own High Holy Day preparations. Thank you for honoring this holy gavul (boundary). Click here to complete your Yizkor materials.
Back to Shul Shabbat is September 5, with an hors d'oeuvres social hour at 6:00pm followed by a 7:00pm musical Shabbat service with Torah. Click here to register.
High Holy Day runway series, "Seven Habits for Highly Evolved People" – co-led by the wonderful R. Rachel Barenblat of Congregation Beth Israel of the Berkshires – continues Tuesdays 7:00pm on September 2, 9 and 16. Session link and past recordings are available on our course page. No experience necessary; free for members. Click here to register.
Havdalah and Selihot are 7:00pm Saturday, September 13). With song and rousing poetry, we'll join Jews worldwide in moving though the final gate before Rosh Hashanah. Together we'll lovingly dress our Torah in holiday whites, and collectively write our community's Al Het liturgy for Yom Kippur. Click here to register.
#StrongerTogether: Theme for the High Holy Days 5786
It takes only a bit of imagination to arouse ancestral sounds, tastes and feelings – standing together at Avinu Malkeinu, apples and honey, Kol Nidre, the call of conscience, rehearsing very mortality so that we can live our best lives.
And a good thing, too: this complex moment for community, country, peoplehood and planet asks much of us. The everything of it all can feel daunting – and sometimes it is. The stakes are high.
We'll need all we've got – more than any of us alone can have. We'll need all our strength. We'll need to be clear what kinds of strength we'll need. And we'll need each other.
That's why our 5786 theme is #StrongerTogether.
Easier said than done! This moment urgently needs folks to come together even as powerful forces drive people apart. Communities, including our own, need hands-on love and care even as folks find themselves distracted and burdened. The social fabric and social compact fray even as we need them whole and hearty – perhaps now more than ever.
Like any attribute, strength can evoke many associations and feelings. Do we mean military power? Do we mean outward toughness or the inner kind? Is hardness or softness the best way to find and nourish the strength this moment needs? Is strength about confidence or questioning? stoicism or activity? impermeability or vulnerability? What does it mean – what must it mean – to be truly strong in an era of strongmen, vitriol, grievance and caricatures of virtue? What kind of strength can balm a Mideast on fire? wildfires of hate spreading here and around the world?
From macro to micro – from climate change to the Mideast to the U.S. to our own Shir Ami community – we need answers to these strength questions that we can actually live – practically, sustainably, authentically and proudly. Our world depends on it, as does world Jewry, as do each of us.
No one person will have every answer; I don't imagine myself as a "sage on the stage." Rather, I believe, I know in my bones, that we truly are #StrongerTogether – that it takes a village to raise a village, that there's tremendous strength in our togetherness, in our diversity, exactly in our diversity. There's great strength in going inward, in responsibly calling things what they are, and in taking collective action.
Yes, we need love – the kind of fierce, brave and contagious love that confronts head-on the existential challenges of our times. And we need the kinds of strength that can power and channel love, withstand onslaught, tap reserves and inspire together what none can do alone.
#StrongerTogether will be our focus over the High Holy Days of 5786. #StrongerTogether will wend through our High Holy Day liturgy, sermons and services, and our programming for the year ahead. Let's go!
What to Expect for the High Holy Days 5786
Unchanging are Shir Ami's physical prayerbook, transliterated slides keyed to the physical prayerbook, musical director (Andrew Yeargin), vocal ensemble, Kol Nidre cellist (Kate Dillingham), congregational Torah readers and other participation, and full Yizkor experience. Traditional liturgies like Avinu Malkeinu will appear in their usual places (no need for Shabbat adjustments this year). We also will reprise last year's tunes from nationally acclaimed Jewish artists including Return Again, Ahavat Olam, Nishmat Kol Hai (liturgy) and Yah Ribon.
The World Situation, the Mideast Situation. As you know, I abide strict ethical limitations on addressing overtly political matters from the pulpit. Despite a recent IRS determination that pulpit leaders can speak directly about partisan politics and even endorse candidates, I will never do so – for many reasons. That said, some aspects of the Mideast Situation compel me to speak. Even as I fully honor my commitments of ethics, inclusivity and welcome, expect me to address – especially on Rosh Hashanah Day 1 – what #StrongerTogether truly asks of us amidst such tumult, hate and suffering.
Rosh Hashanah Day 1 and Tashlikh. Rosh Hashanah Day 1 liturgy will be a bit shorter to make more time for a community Tashlikh at Binney Park. In past years, our volunteers were so hands-on that they couldn't participate. Especially given our #StrongerTogether theme, it feels important that all community members have this opportunity together. Please bring untreated wood chips (ideal) or bread for Tashlikh. For inclement weather, Tashlikh will be rescheduled to Rosh Hashanah Day 2 in the afternoon (time TBD).
Rosh Hashanah Day 2. Thanks to the generosity of anonymous donors, we will continue our Rosh Hashanah Day 2 offering, which will have a "lighter," innovative and participatory feel (e.g. discussion instead of sermon). Like last year, Day 2 also will have added solemnity with Akeidah (Binding of Isaac) reading of Torah.
Kol Nidre service will start promptly at 6:15pm Wednesday, October 1. Doors will open at 5:45pm; music will begin at 6:10pm. Like last year, the musical repetitions of Kol Nidre itself will be by me, the vocalists and the cellist.
Yom Kippur will offer a full day of heart-centered experience. Like last year, mid-afternoon readings will be shortened. Unlike last year, the midday program will not be a "class" but rather an open discussion of our own teshuvah journeys of mind, heart and spirit. The later afternoon program will feature Jonah, Yizkor, Neilah and Havdalah in tradition's sacred sequence.
Suggestions and Requests
I'll mention these during the holidays themselves, but please note these suggestions and requests to make the most of everyone's time and the magic of this season:
It takes only a bit of imagination to arouse ancestral sounds, tastes and feelings – standing together at Avinu Malkeinu, apples and honey, Kol Nidre, the call of conscience, rehearsing very mortality so that we can live our best lives.
And a good thing, too: this complex moment for community, country, peoplehood and planet asks much of us. The everything of it all can feel daunting – and sometimes it is. The stakes are high.
We'll need all we've got – more than any of us alone can have. We'll need all our strength. We'll need to be clear what kinds of strength we'll need. And we'll need each other.
That's why our 5786 theme is #StrongerTogether.
Easier said than done! This moment urgently needs folks to come together even as powerful forces drive people apart. Communities, including our own, need hands-on love and care even as folks find themselves distracted and burdened. The social fabric and social compact fray even as we need them whole and hearty – perhaps now more than ever.
Like any attribute, strength can evoke many associations and feelings. Do we mean military power? Do we mean outward toughness or the inner kind? Is hardness or softness the best way to find and nourish the strength this moment needs? Is strength about confidence or questioning? stoicism or activity? impermeability or vulnerability? What does it mean – what must it mean – to be truly strong in an era of strongmen, vitriol, grievance and caricatures of virtue? What kind of strength can balm a Mideast on fire? wildfires of hate spreading here and around the world?
From macro to micro – from climate change to the Mideast to the U.S. to our own Shir Ami community – we need answers to these strength questions that we can actually live – practically, sustainably, authentically and proudly. Our world depends on it, as does world Jewry, as do each of us.
No one person will have every answer; I don't imagine myself as a "sage on the stage." Rather, I believe, I know in my bones, that we truly are #StrongerTogether – that it takes a village to raise a village, that there's tremendous strength in our togetherness, in our diversity, exactly in our diversity. There's great strength in going inward, in responsibly calling things what they are, and in taking collective action.
Yes, we need love – the kind of fierce, brave and contagious love that confronts head-on the existential challenges of our times. And we need the kinds of strength that can power and channel love, withstand onslaught, tap reserves and inspire together what none can do alone.
#StrongerTogether will be our focus over the High Holy Days of 5786. #StrongerTogether will wend through our High Holy Day liturgy, sermons and services, and our programming for the year ahead. Let's go!
What to Expect for the High Holy Days 5786
Unchanging are Shir Ami's physical prayerbook, transliterated slides keyed to the physical prayerbook, musical director (Andrew Yeargin), vocal ensemble, Kol Nidre cellist (Kate Dillingham), congregational Torah readers and other participation, and full Yizkor experience. Traditional liturgies like Avinu Malkeinu will appear in their usual places (no need for Shabbat adjustments this year). We also will reprise last year's tunes from nationally acclaimed Jewish artists including Return Again, Ahavat Olam, Nishmat Kol Hai (liturgy) and Yah Ribon.
The World Situation, the Mideast Situation. As you know, I abide strict ethical limitations on addressing overtly political matters from the pulpit. Despite a recent IRS determination that pulpit leaders can speak directly about partisan politics and even endorse candidates, I will never do so – for many reasons. That said, some aspects of the Mideast Situation compel me to speak. Even as I fully honor my commitments of ethics, inclusivity and welcome, expect me to address – especially on Rosh Hashanah Day 1 – what #StrongerTogether truly asks of us amidst such tumult, hate and suffering.
Rosh Hashanah Day 1 and Tashlikh. Rosh Hashanah Day 1 liturgy will be a bit shorter to make more time for a community Tashlikh at Binney Park. In past years, our volunteers were so hands-on that they couldn't participate. Especially given our #StrongerTogether theme, it feels important that all community members have this opportunity together. Please bring untreated wood chips (ideal) or bread for Tashlikh. For inclement weather, Tashlikh will be rescheduled to Rosh Hashanah Day 2 in the afternoon (time TBD).
Rosh Hashanah Day 2. Thanks to the generosity of anonymous donors, we will continue our Rosh Hashanah Day 2 offering, which will have a "lighter," innovative and participatory feel (e.g. discussion instead of sermon). Like last year, Day 2 also will have added solemnity with Akeidah (Binding of Isaac) reading of Torah.
Kol Nidre service will start promptly at 6:15pm Wednesday, October 1. Doors will open at 5:45pm; music will begin at 6:10pm. Like last year, the musical repetitions of Kol Nidre itself will be by me, the vocalists and the cellist.
Yom Kippur will offer a full day of heart-centered experience. Like last year, mid-afternoon readings will be shortened. Unlike last year, the midday program will not be a "class" but rather an open discussion of our own teshuvah journeys of mind, heart and spirit. The later afternoon program will feature Jonah, Yizkor, Neilah and Havdalah in tradition's sacred sequence.
Suggestions and Requests
I'll mention these during the holidays themselves, but please note these suggestions and requests to make the most of everyone's time and the magic of this season:
- Deep Time. The High Holy Days are about many things. For many, the services and the community are the point, for which the rabbi, volunteers, music team and liturgy do the work. And, please let these days be Deep Time for you. Enter these days, and our prayer spaces, with an attitude of open-hearted care and contemplation. Gift your hearts and minds with this season's spaciousness by shutting off all electronic devices during services (except first responders, family caregivers and hearing assistance). Otherwise, leave your Apple watch at home. Emails can wait, and the World Series will be weeks away. If a stroll around the beautiful RHCC campus would deepen your experience, please take one. Stretch. Take your precious heart and soul in hand and make the most of this sacred time.
- On time. Services will start as scheduled. Thank you for planning ahead and helping us keep moving forward together.
- Wearing white. I will wear white for all of the holidays. I invite everyone to join me, particularly on Kol Nidre evening and Yom Kippur. This custom has deep meaning in Jewish life – to remind us of our essential core that includes every color, symbolize ascent above routine time, map to the angelic sphere and, soberingly, remind us of our mortality. (Jews traditionally are buried in simple white shrouds.) Imagine a whole congregation wearing white together! In the spirit of unadorned simplicity, I also will not wear jewelry or leather on Yom Kippur (my shoes will be canvas): please consider trying that practice as well.
- No perfumes or cologne. This request to honor all the vocalists (myself included) and others with allergy or breathing sensitivities. Thank you for helping make our space as inviting and welcoming to all as possible.
- Tallitot. If you have or wish to obtain a tallit (prayer shawl), you may wish to have it for Rosh Hashanah mornings, Kol Nidre evening and Yom Kippur morning. Tallitot are not required for anyone at Shir Ami.
- "When is Yizkor"? As always, the short answer is, "Well, it depends." The goal is for Yizkor to begin around 4:30pm on Yom Kippur afternoon, so that Neilah can begin at 5:00pm and end "on time." Yizkor might start slightly earlier or later, however, based on the flow of the Afternoon Service, which will begin at 3:00pm. Folks choosing to leave and return for Yizkor are encouraged to arrive early to avoid missing any part of Yizkor, and to enter as quietly as possible because the Afternoon Service will be in progress.
- Self Care on Yom Kippur. Fasting on Yom Kippur is a key custom for some, and self care comes first. Anyone needing to drink or eat on Yom Kippur is welcome – indeed, required! – to do so. If so, please have any food and beverages outside the Sanctuary. Folks with questions, or who wish to add meaning to their Yom Kippur food/drink practice, are invited to please contact me.
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