In our welcome of Shabbat, we share Ana BeKoach, a prayer asking we be released from the spiritual, emotional, and physical things that bind us. It invokes the power of God’s name through Jewish mysticism. In this troubling time, may we be freed.
Shir Appeal shares its acapella rendition with us here.
Shabbat Shalom
The situation is fluid, and things are different from what we thought. We have come to an inflection point, and what happens next depends entirely on how boldly we are willing to consider acting.
It is relatively easy to kill people but almost impossible to kill an idea. Hamas has shown it knows no limit to the extent it will go to achieve the dual goals of killing Jews and eliminating Israel.
Israel thought it could manage the situation, lulling Hamas through what are essentially bribes and occasionally “mowing the lawn,” that obscene notion that periodically Israel engages in a military action to repress the militants. This is similar to blowing on the boiling pot of pasta to keep it from boiling over.
The pot boiled over, and the ensuing pogrom was devastating.
Furthermore, Hamas retains substantial control. The delay in releasing hostages on Day 2 of the truce showed their continued capacity to manage the situation psychologically. Equally distressing was the celebration in the West Bank because the jubilant welcome home to the released prisoners was met with Hamas flags instead of only Palestinian flags. A weak Palestinian Authority is losing control, and Hamas is ascendant.
And an uncontrolled group of Jewish right-wing extremists is engaging in violence against Palestinians that could only be understood as ethnic cleansing of the territory.
The situation is dire and requires bold action.
Strangely, a scene from The Godfather movie keeps running in my mind. As Don Corleone grieves his murdered son, he looks up and, from the depth of his pain, declares the killing has to stop. Peace is required even though vengeance courses through the blood. For us, this is that moment.
The killing must stop. Recognition by each side is required, and we must forge a way forward. Is Israel able to do this, and if so, who is courageous enough to make that declaration and commitment?
We’ve learned that ignoring the other side and building walls is not a solution. Walls cannot be high enough or thick enough to provide security. We also cannot do it alone.
Many are vested in maintaining the status quo of hostility, hatred, and turmoil. But others have a clear interest in seeing peace in the region. These nations need to join in the effort to work with Palestinians and Israelis to build trust and an infrastructure of hope. Together, we can realize a vision of dignity and security for both people who claim a right to the region. And those who envision a future for their children to live in a world without violence must be convinced we are all committed to their future. Building trust out of the rubble of destruction and pain that now exists will take time. But now is the time to start.
The killing must end, and now is the time to start on a path forward.
Welcome to the Third ActTurning 64, I embraced the idea that I have begun the third act of the play that is my life. At 32 years per act, that gets me to 96 years old before the final curtain. Allowing for an epilogue and perhaps an encore, I get a bit more, but likely I will take my final bow sometime before that mystical 120 years that we wish for one another.
So, Rosh Hashanah is an even more “ crucial new beginning”, as I ponder the question, “If granted the gift of life, what will I do with it to make it count?” For third acts are about resolution and bringing things together.
The High Holidays are a time for reflection. In my work, a reimagination of the Ethical Will, I share that reflection is an important tool. Reflection is about checking in to see if we are on the right path, and making the necessary adjustments.
These adjustments can be one of two types: Adjustments can be made to get back on the path from which we have strayed, or adjustments can be more radical, a realization that we need to walk a new path on the way to something different than we originally intended.
This introspection is a core message of the High Holidays.
When I look back in about 32 years from now, I hope to see a life well lived- not
in its glory or material accomplishments, but in its meaning and human connection. It is in the choices I make today and the things I do now, that will determine whether I reach the goal of a life well-lived.
I hope that each of us uses this time of the High Holidays to find our path for the coming year, and then walking it. Wishing everyone G’mar Chatima Tova, to be sealed in the Book of Life for a happy healthy New Year.
As the High Holidays approach, this lovely prayer sung by the incomparable Cantor Azi Schwartz of Park Avenue Synagogue fills our hearts.
The line comes from Psalm 27, shared throughout the month of Elul in preparation for the Holidays.
Wishing everyone Shabbat Shalom and a Happy Healthy New Year.
During Elul and into the High Holidays we share Psalm 27. The most well-known phrase of the psalm, Achat Sha’alti, is sung here as a meditation by Rabbi Andrew Hahn, the Kirtan Rabbi.
One thing I ask of the Eternal One
Is to dwell in God’s house all the days of my life
To be in God’s presence and behold the Divine’s Holy Temple
Shabbat Shalom
In the Torah, Moses sets out a choice for us this past week. Blessings and curses. It is a deceptively easy binary choice. Given good stuff or bad stuff as alternatives, it seems like a no-brainer. I opt for the good stuff!
But it’s really not so simple. For what does that mean for us to choose the Blessings, especially to us in the modern world? That is the fundamental question to consider in the month of Elul, leading up to the Yamim Noraim, these special High Holidays. Perhaps we, like our ancestors, are metaphorically also on the verge of entering into our own Promised Land. It is more complicated than: Choose Blessings and you go in; Choose Curses and you stay out. Because it is about more than entering The Land; it is about living fully while there, possessing it and becoming one with it.
During Elul, as we prepare for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, we ponder the choices we make in our lives. As we reflect on the year past, we see successes and failures. And as we look ahead, we use this understanding to chart our course. Are we on the path we want to be on, the one we should be on, the one we need to be on? And presuming we have been blown off course by the winds and currents of life, how do we right our ship and get back on our path?
Elul is our time to consider these questions. Before we can ask for forgiveness we need to know where we went astray and maybe understand why. Before we can ask to be written in the book of life, we need to know what it means to choose a life of blessings so that this coming year brings us meaning and connection. Then we are able to approach the Divine to make things right and set a course forward for a year where we deliberately choose blessings, knowing what they are and how we might pursue them.
L’Shanah Tova!
As we progress through the month of Elul towards the High Holidays, take a moment to listen to this wonderful duet. Naftali Kalfa and Gad Elbaz sing of return to the Almighty in Teshuva. A beautiful song to start Shabbat.
Shabbat Shalom!
