Shanah Tovah Shaarei Kodesh!
What an incredible and ‘exciting’ new year it has already been! As we planned our High Holy Day services, and made the decision to return to our High Holy Day prayer space at Spanish River, I wondered to myself: would people return in person? I had my doubts at 10 am, but then, within just a couple of minutes, the sanctuary was as full as I remembered from past years. In addition to those who came in person, we had around sixty households log in to our service through Zoom. Whether we were in our temporary sanctuary, or on Zoom, we were together as a community again.
The days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are called the 10 Days of Teshuvah. Teshuvah is usually translated as repentance. It is during these days when we return to ourselves, when we engage in self-reflection on how we could be better in the coming year, before we come together again as a holy community for Yom Kippur.
On Rosh Hashanah, I gave two sermons.
On the first day, I focused on an issue that we as Americans struggled with for years before the pandemic: the epidemic of loneliness. Over these last two and half years, one of the sources of pride I felt about our congregation was our focus on reaching out to those who felt alone. In a sense, we all had moments of loneliness during these difficult years, and we helped each other. During my sermon, I spoke about ways that we can address the ‘epidemic of loneliness’ together as a congregation through a new initiative called Shabbat BaBayit, and a follow-up initiative to create new ‘pods’ to build community in a different way. You can read the sermon here: The Epidemic of Loneliness and the Cure: Making People Feel At Home In the World.
On the second day of Rosh Hashanah, I leaned into particularism, speaking about why I became a Conservative/Masorti Rabbi, and spoke about one of the unique aspects of Conservative Judaism: a commitment to Jewish pluralism and Klal Yisrael. I spoke about the importance of Jewish unity without uniformity, and how we can learn to appreciate the beauty of other movements in Judaism while also holding the beauty of what we share together as a Conservative movement congregation. It is fitting that the day after Rosh Hashanah is a minor fast day called Tzom Gedaliah. Gedaliah ben Aḥikam was a Jewish governor appointed by the Babylonians in the days following the destruction of Jerusalem in the sixth century B.C.E. He was subsequently assassinated by his own people and his death held dramatic implications for the Jews living under Babylonian rule. It is a reminder that we must work to resolve conflict between each other in peaceful ways.
You can read the sermon here: Why I Chose To Be A Conservative Rabbi - Jewish Unity - Not Uniformity.
Just yesterday, Hurricane Ian created a massive amount of damage on the West Coast of Florida, and the full scope of destruction and loss of life is still unknown. I have reached out to my rabbinic colleagues and one of our households that live on the West Coast, and thankfully, they are all safe and weathered the storm. However, there are hundreds of thousands of our fellow Floridians who need our help. Over these ten days of Teshuvah, we can help them ‘return’ to a semblance of their lives before the storm with our Tzedakah. As we chanted during the Musaf service on Rosh Hashanah:
וּתְשׁוּבָה וּתְפִלָּה וּצְדָקָה מַעֲבִירִין אֶת רעַ הַגְּזֵרָה
"But Tesuvah, Tefillah and Tzedakah avert the severity of the Decree!"
As I spoke about during one of my kavanot, hurricanes will come, there is nothing we can do to prevent them, but we can avert the severity of their destruction with our repentance, our prayers, and our Tzedakah, our monetary donations. If you feel moved, you can give tzedakah to help those who were most affected by Hurricane Ian through the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County (please see the link in the box below).
I hope you can join us this Shabbat for a special Shabbat Shuvah service. Shabbat Shuvah is a special Shabbat held between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The name, Shuvah, is taken from the special haftarah from the Book of Hosea that begins “Return (shuvah), O Israel, to God” (Hosea 14:2), which focuses wholly on the intertwined holiday themes of regret, repentance, and return. On Shabbat Shuvah, I will lead our congregation in an interactive text teaching titled: Does Alex Jones Need to Atone? I was struck by the internet personality’s statement during his trial concerning his misleading his viewers about the massacre at Sandy Hook, leading to the harassment of the grieving families by his followers. His words were, “I’m done saying I’m sorry.” Together, we will look at the root of his ‘sin’ and how we struggle with the same sin. You can read more about this issue in the following article: ‘I’m Done Saying I’m Sorry,’ Alex Jones Tells Sandy Hook Families in Court.
I wish you all a Shanah Tovah, a Shabbat Shalom, and may God bring healing to those affected by Hurricane Ian. May we all be inscribed and sealed in The Book of Life.
Rabbi David Baum
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