“Walking the Path Togtether”

I've always enjoyed the music and liturgy of the High Holy Days. I find the depth and breadth of the prayers, the opportunity for long periods of intense contemplation, the power of the music, the personal challenges that arise from the texts, and the euphoric conclusion at once demanding and awe-inspiring. Yet there are times when I think about the many themes of the Days of Awe and wonder whether it is more a jumble of multiple-personality prayers, rather than a clear-themed, single holiday - a sort of surreal sacred parallel of the movie "Sybil."

We rejoice in the new year; we solemnly say prayers for repentance. We praise God; we fear God. We celebrate with friends and family; we ask for forgiveness from friends and family. We eat…we don't eat…we eat again.

Is the blowing of the shofar a joyous sound? Or is it a wake-up call to honest examination of our lives? Do the gates of repentance close at the end of Yom Kippur? Or do they always remain open? Are we looking forward in our lives? Or are we looking backward?

The answer to all of this is, of course, yes. The High Holy Days are at once each of these things individually and all of them collectively. They represent the many aspects of our lives: the joys and setbacks, the successes and struggles. Although many of us express the desire to simplify our lives, life is, in reality, a complex, multifaceted enterprise. The Days of Awe are a template against which we can measure where we are in our lives today, and adjust our course toward a goal of health and vitality.

Healthy and vital living grows out of our relationships: our relationships with ourselves, with those around us, and with God. None of these relationships is fixed, but quite fluid as part of a never-ending journey. The High Holy days are a snapshot of where we are today on this journey. These holidays represent our annual spiritual checkup.

Many of us are familiar with the frustration of suffering with a mysterious illness - suffering until a proper diagnosis starts us on the road to a cure. So it is with the High Holy Days. They provide us with a set of diagnostic tools so that we may come to a conscious understanding of our spiritual condition. While enfolded in the safe embrace of our religious community, we can bravely come face to face with the state of our soul.

Most importantly, the liturgy of the Days of Awe provides the path and tools for healing and growth. And this year, we have created a special service for the conclusion of Yom Kippur that will lead us from repentance to forgiveness, from self-examination to action, and from understanding to healing.  The service is called Hashiveinu: A Service of Return. The word "hashiveinu" begins the prayer that serves as a refrain for this entire season. It's plea, "Help us to return to You, O Lord; then truly shall we return. Renew our days as in the past." concludes the Book of Lamentations. It acknowledges that in the course of trying to live our lives the best we can, we sometimes veer off of the path that is healthiest for us - the path that God has set for us.

Our service begins by recognizing and accepting this challenge, and acknowledging our need for - and our reliance on - God's help. We will address the pain of the loss of loved ones and begin our own healing process by committing ourselves to keeping their memories alive through our own actions. We will wrestle with the spiritual and physical dilemmas we each face, and pray for strength and comfort from the Healer of us all, and from those who surround us daily with their love. We will study together our sacred texts - not as we often do by taking a "break in the action" from praying and letting others read for us, but as a congregation seeking to understand our responsibility to the world around us - as we struggle as a community with these important words from our sacred tradition. And we will experience together that euphoric transformation at the end of Yom Kippur Day that gives us new perspective, understanding, strength and courage for entering a new year that we will fill with holiness and blessing.

I hope you will join us on the afternoon of Yom Kippur as we join together in prayer and in song, and leave together with a new sense of shalom - of health, wholeness and purpose for the new year.

L'shanah tovah tikateivu,

Andrew Bernard
Cantor