A Note From Rabbi Raina Siroty
I love this time of year; Harvest and autumn on the way, the ending of one year and the beginning of another. It never hurts to reflect on the past year and resolve to be the best person you can be moving forward.
In order to spiritually prepare for the Days of Awe, which will be upon us in 7 short weeks, I invite us to make the invisible in our lives, visible. We can face the sufferings and the uncertainty in our lives and turn towards them, embrace them, and allow them to move through us.
I want to share with you a famous Hassidic story.
Rav Zusha was lying on his deathbed surrounded by his disciples. He was crying and no one could comfort him. One student asked his Rav, "Why do you cry? You were almost as wise as Moses and as kind as Abraham." Rav Zusha answered, "When I pass from this world and appear before the Gates of Heaven, “I am not afraid of being asked, 'Zusha, why weren't you as wise as Moses or as kind as Abraham,' rather, After all, God already has a Moses. I am afraid, however, of being asked, ‘Zusha, why weren’t you Zusha?’ Why didn't I fulfill my potential, why didn't I follow the path that could have been mine."
We grow into the best version of ourselves during this season, and to help your growth, I will be sending out a spiritual prompt in the weekly bulletin, every week from now until Rosh Hashanah. We have a sacred marathon ahead of us, so let's prepare spiritually together, since at this time, we are physically apart.
- Week 1: Create a physical list of actions or practices that you would like to incorporate into your daily routine. Put this list up somewhere you will see it everyday. Perhaps your refrigerator or bathroom mirror. Choose at least one of these each day to engage in. Make sure they are things that will nourish your soul. If you miss a day, try to engage in the practice the next day. Let us learn to create new habits that will strengthen us now and throughout the rest of this season and beyond.
Goals of this project:
- To create structure in a time of relative chaos as we prepare to enter the New Year. These prompts are meant to build onto each other each week, though even attempting one is a great way to engage in reflection during this time.
- An important element of these prompts is the physicality. You will be asked to write. Make sure to print, date, and sign each one.
- At the end of the next 7 weeks we will be combining all of the prompts into a physical container, a physical vessel away from our screens that is ours as we begin our journey into Rosh Hashanah.
May God bless you and keep you safe. Please, wear your masks and social distance and encourage others to do as well. I look forward to seeing you at Shabbat on Friday night at 6pm tomorrow.
I am here for you by phone 310 800-4243, text and email. Feel free to call me.
L’Shalom,
Rabbi Raina
