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Rabbi's Message
REFLECTIONS FROM RABBI SEVERINEThe Hebrew word Teshuvah, repentance in English, means to return to the right path. This is not easy. We hear the call to worship, but we are conflicted. We want to return to God, but we often struggle in confusion, leading us to approach these High Holy Days disoriented. We search for and need transparency within our tradition, on our yearly journey to judgment. Rabbi Reuven Hammer, an excellent scholar who has served as head of the Rabbinical Court of the Masorti Movement and the Rabbinical Assembly of Israel, points out that “one of the peculiarities of Rosh Hashanah is that it cannot seem to make up its mind as to whether it is a joyous festival or a day of fear and trembling. Most holy days are one or the other. On the one hand it is a time when we eat apples and honey and other dishes that symbolize the joy and expectation of happiness for the new year. We wish each other a good and sweet year. On the other hand, we constantly refer to it as Yom Hadin – the Day of Judgment – and in many prayers and poems we describe the terror of facing that judgment.” We arrive at the Day of Judgment with great momentum. Over the past year we have undergone major changes, made many gains, and we have reason to celebrate such advances, but we also carry much freight for which we are accountable to God. Perhaps we find ourselves in an unexpected place during these Days of Awe, unable to find our way to others or to God. We can change this situation. The Israeli Nobel laureate S.Y. Agnon recounts the tale of a man “wandering about in a forest for several days, not knowing which was the right way out. Suddenly he saw a man approaching him. His heart was filled with joy. ‘Now I shall certainly find out which is the right way,’ he thought to himself. When they neared one another, he asked the man, ‘Brother, tell me which is the right way. I have been wandering in the forest for several days.’ Said the other man to him, ‘Brother, I do not know the way out either. For I, too, have been wandering about here for many, many days. But this I can tell you. Do not take the way I have been taking, for that will lead you astray. And now let us look for a new way out together.’” Our master added: "So it is with us. One thing I can tell you. The way we have been following this far we ought to follow no further, for that way leads one another astray. But now let us look for a new way." Unfortunately, there is no way around the fact that we sometimes overlook the “right way.” If we keep our distance, we turn away from building bridges to atonement. God leaves the future open to us. We have the strength to influence our own destiny and be a blessing in this world, making peace within ourselves, with others, and with God. L’Shanah Tovah Tikateivu – May you be inscribed in the Book of Life for a good year,
B’Shalom, Rabbi Séverine Haziza-Sokol
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