 Dear Chevre,
We
are in an intense period of holy days that started with the tumbling of
the Temple walls on Tisha B'Av and will continue all the way through
the harvest of Sukkot. I hope you'll be joining us for the peak days in
the middle, the big days for showing up in Jewish community: Rosh
HaShana and Yom Kippur. Thank you to all the people already hard at work
to prepare for these convocations.
When
we internalize the message of the journey through this sacred passage
of holy days, we note that every life has times of hardship, loss,
mourning and grief. It's impossible to be human without experiencing
hard stuff. That's why we can't step through the gateway of the New Year
without acknowledging that sadness and challenge is a part of life. So
we start the journey on the day that commemorates destruction, Tisha
B'Av, a serious day of mourning in Jewish tradition.
From
there we enter the runway into the New Year that includes Selichot and
all the High Holy Days. With prayer and Torah and song and connection we
step with joy into a year that we hope will grow all of us into more
awareness, kindness and justice.
Finally,
our harvest festival allows us to reap the learning and the treasures
of abundance that we've encountered on the journey. I am so glad to be
on this journey with you.
Shana Tova U'Metukah/A Sweet New Year,
Rabbi Julie
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