“May you have a sweet year, and may you be inscribed in the Book of Life” is a traditional greeting among Jews during the High Holy Days, between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. It is both a blessing and a reminder of responsibility. Between the beginning of the year 5780 (September 30) and the Day of Atonement (October 8-9), what might this wish mean for us and our intentions? Congregant Jay Berkenbilt will blow the Shofar, the instrument (traditionally a ram’s horn) whose sound is meant to humble us and awaken us.

Gail Crawford is our Worship Associate.

Music on Sunday: Sanctuary Singers will sing a beautiful rendition of the prayer of St. Francis. Composer Vijay Singh (B. 1966) is an active performer, composer, teacher, conductor, and clinician residing in Ellensburg, Washington where he is Professor of Music at Central Washington University. He has been rapidly gaining international attention for his eclectic musical compositions, performances, workshops, and conducting appearances. The work is sung a cappella.

Other special music includes a guest cellist who will play the traditional Kol Nidrei with Sophia on piano. Kol Nidrei , Op. 47 (also known as All Vows, the meaning of the phrase in Aramaic), is a composition for cello and orchestra written by Max Bruch. In Bruch's setting of the melody, the cello imitates the rhapsodic voice of the cantor who chants the liturgy in the synagogue.

Our guest soloist, Canadian cellist Rosanna Butterfield , is a versatile performer and teaching artist. After earning her Bachelor of Music degree from Rice University in 2012, Rosanna became a fellow at the New World Symphony in Miami Beach, Fla., where she honed her skills as an orchestral musician. For the past several years, Rosanna has enjoyed a multifaceted career playing all over North America, from Portland, Ore., to Sarasota, Fla. She is now an active performer and teacher in the Washington, D.C. area, where she lives with her husband, violinist Foster Wang. Rosanna and Sophia will also play Lied ohne Worte , Op. 109 by Felix Mendelssohn for the postlude.