By Rabbis David and Joshua Grossman

Shanah Tovah oo’mitukah!

We at Temple Beth Sholom wish everyone a happy and sweet New Year. We are counting the days during this final month leading to the holiday season. This important month of Elul that dovetails into the holidays is said to be a Hebrew acronym for the words Ani L’Dodi V’Dodi Li - I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine. We can certainly agree it’s a beautiful concept. We relate this idea, not only to our loved ones, but to our personal and communal relationships with God. It’s during this season and the weeks that lead up to it that we are meant to pursue a closeness to holiness and divinity. Yes, easier said than done.

So how do we go about most effectively pursuing this elusive holiness? During the month of Elul, we find ourselves taking a detailed inventory of what we did and did not do during the preceding year, our deeds of loving kindness, as well as the areas where we have fallen short. 

Our method of returning to the correct path is called Teshuvah, directly translated as “return,” but informally understood to mean repentance. Of course, making right what was wrong is a worthy practice that can be done anytime, but it is truly emphasized during the days of the holidays. This is the principal idea of the High Holiday season and can be summed up in the closing prayer of Yom Kippur. God tells us, “I do not desire the death of the wicked, rather the wicked’s return from the way that they live.”

We engage in deep preparation for this powerful and meaningful time. Many of our buildings will be prepared beautifully with our special holiday curtains and Torah covers. Many of our sanctuaries use white Torah and table coverings in place of our standard colorful ones to signify purity and a fresh start, or “clean slate,” which is gifted to everyone this time of year.

We look forward to the Holy Days when we hear the sound of the shofar, a ram’s horn whose piercing sound reverberates in synagogues across the globe, ushering in a New Year. The shofar is sounded in three distinct blast styles. The Tekiah blast is a single sound calling attention to the community and reminding us that there is something far more important than the daily routines of our lives; the Shevarim, three broken, swooping blows meant to imitate sobbing, in relation to true repentance; and finally, the Truah, the nine rapid blasts in quick succession meant to be a full “wake up” call with its unique pattern and rhythm. These sounds join together to bring us a connection to God, and steal away our Yetzer Harah, our evil inclinations.

There is an outdoor, natural element to the first day of Rosh Hashanah as well. Our community here in Hull will gather as we hold our Tashlich service on the sand of the beach. There, we will ceremonially cast away past misdeeds into the ocean, represented by bits of bread. In doing so, we remember that sins are not character flaws, rather they are mistakes that we regret and resolve to not repeat. While many congregations find lakes or streams for this purpose, we are blessed to be in close proximity to the great sea to observe this tradition. We marvel at the power and majesty of the landscape that we are so lucky to enjoy.

We also look ahead to Yom Kippur, our Day of Atonement, slightly more than a week after Rosh Hashanah. We will fast from sunset to the next sunset, taking in neither food nor water. Our fast is meant to remove the possibility of eating and drinking from our minds, clearing them for more meaningful thought. It is a profoundly moving day of deep self-reflection, when we attempt one final time to recognize our shortcomings, our failures, to correct our wrongs from the past year, and return our faith to God as the true judge for forgiveness.

In no recent year have these upcoming days of awe been more critical. This time of year we will petition for God’s care and protection for our families and loved ones. Our thoughts and prayers also extend beyond our own borders, to our sisters and brothers worldwide in our hopes for safety and peace.

Shanah tovah!

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