October 7, 2008
IN HIS BOOK The Days of Awe, S.Y. Agnon related this parable:
A man had been wandering about in a forest for several days, not knowing the right way out. Suddenly he saw a man approaching him in the distance. His heart was filled with joy. “Now I shall certainly find out which is the right way,” he thought to himself. When they neared each other, he asked the man, “Brother, I have been wandering about in this forest for days. Can you tell me which is the right way out?”
Said the other to him, “Brother, I do not know the way out either. For I, too, have been wandering about in here for many days. But this I can tell you: Do not go the way that I went, for that will surely lead you astray. And now, come let us look for the way out together.”
Our master added: “And so it is with us. One thing we can each tell the other: The way that we have been following until now is not the way. Come, let us join hands and look for the way together.”
Are you looking for the way? Come to Temple Beth Ahm of Aberdeen, a dynamic congregation! Join us for the holidays and come back throughout the year. Our preschool and religious school are thriving, and we offer exciting programs and classes for all ages. We also welcome interfaith families. Temple Beth Ahm offers a unique opportunity to learn, worship, and celebrate life in a comfortable, nonjudgmental setting. We pride ourselves on being “A Family Place, A Spiritual Home.” Visit our website, www.templebethahm.org for more information.
Rabbi Michael Pont
Temple Beth Ahm, Aberdeen
“BLESSINGS UPON the whole of the House of Israel.” This is an English translation of the usual greeting on Rosh Hashana cards in Israel. Israel is much on my mind this High Holy Day season because of my much anticipated travel there in summer 2009 with members of the congregation and others. This will be a pilgrimage to experience Israel on many levels. Part of my message these Yamim Nora’im is the life-affecting potential of pilgrimage. After all, much of the theology of these awe-filled and solemn days is the power of the journey.
Since last Yom Kippur, we have all experienced a year of movement. We are neither in the same place, nor are we the same person we were a year ago. We are changed due to the passage of time.
This is the journey of life that everyone must travel. The challenge is how we do so. Are we passive or do we take control and steer our own destiny through conscious action and intended decisions? Do we react to what befalls us or do we pursue a set of goals, periodically adjusted and updated? That is one of our most important tasks during Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. We must evaluate where we have come from and decide where we want to go. Our tradition teaches that each and every year, from the beginning of Elul until Hoshana Rabba that the Book of Life is open before God. God waits to see what we will do, what changes we will make before making a final determination.
In Musaf, we sound the shofar three more times, each time we proclaim, Hayom harat olam — Today was the world created! Today is the perfect time to readjust our path or reconfigure our goals. May we all be blessed with a year of health and well-being.
Rabbi Michael Goldstein
Temple Beth Torah, Ocean
ROSH HASHANA IS a celebration of the creation of the world. However, the biblical passages selected for this holiday are not the stories of creation, but the childhood stories of Abraham’s two sons, Ishmael and Isaac.
Reluctantly, at the request of his wife Sarah and with encouragement from God, Abraham sends his son Ishmael and Hagar, Ishmael’s mother, into the wilderness.
The water Abraham sends with them runs out and Hagar places her son in the bushes and says: “Let me not see the death of the child.” The text continues: “And she lifted up her voice, and wept. God heard the voice of the lad, and the angel of God said to Hagar, What’s with you, Hagar? Fear not; for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is.”
From this passage I learn: 1) Sometimes we have to do something for our children that we may not fully understand and are reluctant to do, but in reality is the right thing to do. 2) Because Hagar is self-absorbed and unable to tend to the needs of her child, God does not hear her, but God does hear the plight of Ishmael. God will hear our cries only when we maintain proper priorities. 3) The New Year begins with lessons learned from both the failures and the successes of past generations.
May God hear our prayers and may each of us be blessed with good health and fulfillment.
Rabbi Gordon Yaffe
Temple Beth El, Oakhurst
AT THE HIGH Holy Days season, my thoughts are drawn to the larger questions we face as a Jewish community. How do we foster a connection to something greater than our own individual agendas? How do we deepen our spiritual lives? Are we able to find a sense of holiness that can help us transcend the absurdities and chaos of daily life? Can we make a synagogue life meaningful enough so that membership will not be just about a bar mitzva? Peruse this paper and you may find ads offering you a bar mitzvah on the cheap that ask of you no membership or connection to anything or anyone else. The answer to the questions I have raised requires more connections, not fewer.
Temple Beth Shalom is a Conservative synagogue. For us that means we “conserve” the timeless and unchanging messages of Judaism while we creatively change the way we teach and present those messages. In that explanation of our identity as a synagogue can be found the answer to the larger questions that befuddle our community. If we are creative enough, passionate enough, and energetic enough, we will strengthen our Jewish community by creating that deeper sense of connection.
If you are interested in taking such a journey, I welcome you to be a part of Temple Beth Shalom. Shana tova! Best wishes for a happy and sweet New Year.
Rabbi Ira Rothstein
Temple Beth Shalom, Manalapan
I AM SURE that as a child you “counted down” until the date of a birthday or some other special event. As an adult, you may count the days until vacation, or the birth of a grandchild. And, at a certain point in many people’s careers, they begin counting until retirement. Whatever stage of life we may be in, we recognize that time is an important commodity, what we do with it even more so.
We talk about “spending” time, as if it were money, and we are consistently worried about not “killing” time, as if it had a life of its own. Indeed, time as a commodity carries great worth, whether it applies to employment or recreation. In fact, one of the greatest “gifts” we can give a spouse, and particularly our children or grandchildren, is making time for them.
As Jews, we also consider time not only a commodity of value — but sacred. We declare on Friday night that the Sabbath is an “island in time,” as theologian Abraham Joshua Heschel phrased it. And we talk about the holidays as “appointed seasons.” or time periods. Even Mahzor really means “cycle” — acknowledging the yearly cycle of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, or the cycle of the year from one beginning to the next.
Known in Hebrew as Yamim Nora’im — the Days of Awe — the entire High Holt Day season reminds us that in our efforts at counting the days, weeks, months, or years, once a year we must give an “accounting” not only of our relationship with family, coworkers, and friends, but particularly with God. May it be a time when we can count on others, and they can count on us, for the time needed to make ourselves and those with whom we come into contact more meaningful, while at the same time increasing the sacred aspect of time in relationship to God.
Rabbi Kenneth Greene
Freehold Jewish Center
THROUGHOUT OUR LIVES, we experience disappointments big and small. Rain has spoiled outdoor weddings. Vacations are cancelled due to illness? Relationships are severed. In a challenging economy, many have been squeezed out of once-promising careers.
Our High Holy Day liturgy reminds us that our lives are not in our control. We read: God decides “who shall live and who shall die.” We do not. God decrees “who shall be rich and who, poor.” We do not. God ordains “who shall be exalted and who, humbled.” We do not.
In our modern age, we increasingly believe we can command our own fate. In the quest for longevity, we have quit smoking, taken up exercise, and become obsessive about our diets. We work harder, confident we shall get ahead. We plan for the future, attempting to assure comfort and security in old age.
These efforts are commendable, even necessary. What would be the point of free will, if we were utterly powerless? What would be the purpose of these High Holy Days, if we could not improve?
If we overestimate our power, however, we are bound to meet with frustration. Even as these High Holy Days urge us to do better and be better, they fill us with a deep sense of humility. God ultimately decrees our fate.
Our doctors are right: We should get into shape; we will have a better chance of living longer. Our parents are correct: We should persevere at our studies; we will be more likely to succeed. Our financial advisers have a point: We should save for the future; we will improve our odds for a secure retirement. But the prayer book is also on target: We should develop our faith, for life will inevitably present us with unplanned difficulties. We will be disappointed. Only faith can turn our disappointment into hope.
Rabbi Laurence P. Malinger
Temple Shalom of Aberdeen
DURING THE HIGH Holy Days season, it is a positive virtue to reflect upon one’s past. Reflecting upon mistakes should not be done for the purpose of feeling guilt. Rather, it should be done for the purpose of correcting them to become a better individual.
My prayer, as a spiritual leader, is that our fellow Jews strive toward the words of the prophet Isaiah, “Here I (God) am if you remove from your midst perversion, finger pointing, and evil speech (58:9)…then God will guide you always, sate your soul in times of drought (58:11).”
The Radak (verse 11) explains that God’s guidance is the fact that God will be intimately involved in all of an individual’s endeavors. This in turn will satiate a soul in times when the world is void of all spirituality.
Our materialistic world is filled with the pursuits of self-gratification, leaving some feeling empty and void. True fulfillment comes with the understanding that God could be, and is, intimately involved in our lives. We can all look back at our past and realize that God was truly part of our lives. This realization allows our reflections to be positive, knowing that our efforts and hard work are for a higher purpose.
The understanding that one is only truly satiated when knowing that God is intimately involved in our life allows one to strive to be a better person. Only then do our goals and aspirations take meaning that bring us fulfillment.
May we all merit a ketiva v’hatima tova — Shana tova.
Rabbi Chaim Z. Lobel
Young Israel of Aberdeen
--TOP--
Comment: comments@njjewishnews.com
