As you might imagine, I'm pretty busy these days. I tell
people that the High Holiday period is for rabbis what tax season is for
accountants. Mayhem. So I hope
you don't mind that instead of writing a new blog post this
week, I've given you my (modified) thoughts from the first night of Rosh
Hashanah, delivered during services. In addition, I've included a link to two videos
of Rosh Hashanah sermons, both centered on my theme for this year's holidays:
Sustainability. Please let me know what you think, and I wish you all a Shanah
Tovah Um'tukah - A Happy, Healthy, and Sweet New Year!
On Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, we switch out our regular,
everyday prayer book, the Siddur, for a fancy new High Holiday book, called the
Machzor. And considering that we try to get through
the whole book in just a few services, it can seem pretty
daunting to imagine ready EVERY page in just ten days! So how do we navigate
through this Machzor, and more importantly, how do we navigate through these
holidays? I don't mean only, how do we find the right page number; I'm talking
about kavanah, intention. With so much going on during these services, where do
we put our focus? How do we create personal connections and meaning with such
an emphasis on the communal prayers, the speeches, the shofar, the fasting, the
Torah reading, Yizkor, children's services, tashlich, what clothes we're wearing,
talking about who's here, talking about who ISN'T here, kibbitzing, and so much
else?
I want to share a thought with you for these High Holidays.
This Machzor is kind of like a GPS. That's right, just like the one you have in
your car. The prayer book and the GPS both give you directions. Just as a GPS
tells you when to turn where, how long to stay on this road or that highway,
how much traffic is ahead, how fast you should be going; so too, the Machzor
instructs you when to sit, stand, beat your chest, listen for the shofar, turn
to page such-and-such, etc.
But like a GPS, this book doesn't know all. Most of us have
love/hate relationships with our GPS, because it gets things wrong sometimes.
The GPS proudly announces that you've arrived at your supposed destination,
your vacation hotel, yet your car is sitting outside an
abandoned gas station with
nothing else around for miles. It's not all-knowing, and it's not all-powerful... and
neither is your Machzor. It's a guide, a navigation tool when you're lost or
looking for directions. But if you know the route, if you have a sense of where
you'd like to go, or when you'd like to stop, enjoy the view, or take a break
along your travels, by all means put it aside and follow your own path. The GPS
Machzor will help get you started. Don't worry about knowing exactly where you
should go, where you'll end up, or what you'll experience throughout services.
Let it begin. Let the trip start, and then just allow yourself to see how you
feel and what you may discover along your journey.
One final thought. While we're on the subject, Rosh Hashanah
itself can ALSO be a GPS. Our entire lives are odysseys, excursions along
various highways and local roads, some familiar, some entirely foreign. Some
are scary, and some are exhilarating. And sometimes
we get along just fine on our own... or at
least we THINK we're fine until we're suddenly and inexplicably utterly lost.
THAT is when the GPS really comes in handy. And that is also when the High
Holidays can come in handy. They give us an opportunity for 'Recalculating,' in
each of our lives. The holidays can be a tool for helping our lives get back on
track. So, in a sense, we strive neither to live entirely reliant on our
tracking systems, nor devoid of their assistance. Somewhere in the middle, we
must live our lives with independence, self-reliance, and without fear of
getting lost... yet also willing to stop along the way, ask for help, and
follow directions.
Take advantage of this opportunity for recalculation, and
you may yet find yourself eventually arriving safely at your destination.
Shanah Tovah!
Photos in this blog post:
1. A very shofar-focused Rabbi Gerber, from a photo shoot with Pat Crowe.
2. Mahzor Lev Shalem, posing dutifully in the Ohev Shalom sanctuary.
4. Just a blank page that's trying to refocus...
No comments:
Post a Comment