Friends,
It felt so good to be together to welcome in the new year last weekend. Each year, the High Holy Days are an enormous undertaking, which requires long hours from both our dedicated staff and an army of volunteers. I’ll save my long list of thank-yous until next week, but in the meantime, please know that if you were part of the magic of last weekend, I am so very grateful.
If you weren’t able to join us for Rosh Hashanah, you can click below to view my sermon and Cantor Moses and Student Cantor Weiner’s anthem that followed, a joyful rendition of “Crowded Table” by The Highwomen. I have been so thrilled to hear from many of you about the connections you made that morning, through stories shared and unexpected commonalities. One member found me at Tashlich to share that she and her conversation partner made plans to get coffee in the coming weeks—let’s have much more of that, please!
In the service of showing up more fully to build our community, I hope you saw the note in last night’s email inviting anyone with a shofar to bring it to Yom Kippur afternoon/neilah services to participate in one giant, final tekiah gedolah at the conclusion of our day of fasting and reflection. You don’t need to be a master shofar blower—if you’ve got one, bring it, and help our community enter the new year with joyful cacophony.
Join us this evening as we mark Shabbat Shuva—the “shabbat of return” that falls between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur each year. We’ll reflect and sing together, as we continue our individual and collective work of cheshbon hanefesh (accounting of the soul) in preparation for Kol Nidre on Sunday night at 7:30 p.m.
Shanah tovah u’metukah, and g’mar chatimah tovah: may the new year be filled with sweetness, and may we each be sealed for blessing in the Book of Life.
With wishes for a peaceful Shabbat –
With love from my family to yours –
Rabbi Klein