I wish you all a Shanah Tovah! It was so renewing to feel a special sense of community again.

 

I wish you all a Shanah Tovah! It was so renewing to feel a special sense of community again. On the 1st day of Rosh Hashanah about 200 attendees representing Kehila, Am Kolel and friends and relatives gathered at Walter Johnson High School. An equal number of windows were open on Zoom. On the 2nd day of Yontif some 70 participants gathered outdoors at Sanctuary! While there are still concerns about Covid there was a sense of return to “our days of old.” It was wonderful for people to connect personally again. 

All of us carry within us this ancient tradition of a shared history and shared values. We have been threatened with this loss of connection because of the pandemic. The pandemic, indeed, has challenged us to find new ways to stay connected and, also, to reflect and remember who we are and where we come from.

These are also the primary concerns and themes of the Parshiot these last two weeks. When Moses was speaking to the Israelites before they went into the Land of Promise, the Torah says clearly that he was speaking to the future generations as well. In this week’s Parsha the last Mitzvah that God directs Moses to do is write a Song for himself and the people. It sounds though, that each person is directed to compose this Song. “Now write for yourselves this song and teach it to the Israelites.” Our sages teach that this Song is the Song of Torah. A few verses later we read that Moses concludes the writing of a Torah scroll. There is a tradition that calls upon each of us to write our own Torah. When new Scroll is dedicated today, members of the community complete the writing of the scroll by completing at least one letter themselves.

The deeper meaning is that each of us partakes in the fulfillment of the Teachings.

And how interesting it is that the sages compare Torah to a Song. It appears that the Song written by Moses is in next week’s Parsha, Haazinu. In this Song, Moses, knows that one remembers the words and melody of a Song better than the non musical prose of a scroll. In the Song, we hear a summary of our early history and warnings about the dangers of "straying off the path.” Sounds like a mix of Dylan, Phil Ochs, Leonard Cohen, Simon and Garfunkel….

May the Days ahead bring us more together and more resolved to work toward a world that is safe, compassionate and just.

If you are fasting next week, may your fast be easy. Remember, of course, your health comes first.

It is customary to light Yahrtzeit candles for deceased family members before Kol Nidre, and the Yontif candles are lit.

May you be inscribed and sealed in the Book of Life,

G’mar Chayima Tovah,

Reb David