High Holidays

For the past two weeks, as we navigated the peaks and valleys of the High Holidays, the cherished and time-sanctified liturgy of our tradition has relentlessly assaulted our senses with a consistent message. Our behaviors have consequences. Our lives are terribly flawed, often because of our own failures and shortcomings. The only hope that we have of achieving redemption is to return to the tried and true path of God, Torah, and fidelity to the ancient covenant that Abraham was willing to sacrifice his beloved child in order to protect.

Awe – a concept that is so hard to grasp. There are not many things that produce in us a pure sense of awe. If you are like me, you may use the word “Awesome” in your daily speech, but rarely with a true feeling of something being full of awe. Awe seems to contain within it something….majestic….holy….and even fearsome. I think the key to this season, and the place it holds in so many of our lives, lies in this word: Awe.

Elicia Brown, in her column in the Jewish Week (“Free Range Jew,” Sept. 14), recounts her adventures as she takes her family from synagogue to synagogue during the High Holy Days rather than commit to attending one synagogue and missing out on an adventure.

I was walking my dog late one night this week when I encountered a neighbor from down the block, past whose house my dog and I invariably pass on this evening ritual. As most people will say to me in one form or another at this time of year, my neighbor offered the following greeting: “So, you’re entering into your busy season, yes?  Must be a lot of pressure.”

For members of a synagogue, the preparation for the High Holy Days season starts weeks, if not months before Rosh HaShanah.

In some congregations, there are the daily selichot prayers that are recited during the month of Elul that precedes Tishrei, and additions to the daily worship services. There is increased giving of tzedakah and the performance of good deeds. For some, a new machzor; for others, a new outfit.

For rabbis, sermons to write.

For cantors and choirs, melodies to rehearse. For the synagogue itself, there’s also a period of preparation.

Candlelighting, Readings:
Shabbat candles: 6:48 p.m.
Torah: Deut. 29:9-30:20
Haftarah: Isaiah 61:10-63:9
Havdalah: 7:45 p.m.

Preparing for the new Jewish year, in part by reviewing some of the big news stories of the past year, I was reminded that most major issues don’t get resolved in dramatic fashion.