the mitzvah? As my colleague Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky reminds us, any sound you get out of the shofar counts. Thick or thin. Elegant or rough. They all count. And, the mitzvah is lishmoa kol shofar/to hear the voice of the shofar. So, while practice is important, the day off invites us to hear the ram's horn with new ears and a heightened sense of urgency for the work in the year ahead.
I hope you are taking today to charge your computer so you can recharge yourself, to test out new recipes and return to the ones from years past, to stretch your body so you may expand the space for your soul. The High Holy Days ask us to imagine what can be, to aspire to something deeper and more expansive than where we have been. They invite us to welcome the resonant melodies we've come to love and enjoy and risk opening up to new settings and presentations.
Aleinu, possibly written solely for Rosh Hashanah calls us to bow down to the mighty in surrender. Perhaps one of the most humbling moments in our prayer service, we bend our knees and stretch ourselves out on the ground. For me, those moments lying face down in front of the congregation are time out of time. Moments to feel the awesomeness of the Holy One and the weight(lessness) of my vulnerability. If you have never done this before, this might be your year to try in the safety of your own home. Attached you'll find a DIY demonstration of the Aleinu by beloved community member Kori Rehfield. This embodied practice reminds us that like the shofar, any movement counts.
In past years, Habonim practice was to invite our children to the ark for Hayom, the popular acrostic we sing near the close of the Musaf Service. This year, I encourage everyone to prepare a sign for your zoom window with a one word blessing (decorated if you'd like).
During the Congregation Habonim service, you'll see a button at the bottom of your screen that says Closed Caption. Click on the carrot next to the button that says CC and then press show subtitle and page numbers for the Mahzor (we hope!) will show up on your screen. Don't worry, we'll be announcing page numbers as well for those who want to stay aligned with the prayer leader. You should also take agency over your prayer. If a word or melody calls to you, stick with it, explore and reflect.
Following in the footsteps of my childhood rabbi, each year I derive meaning from the Hebrew acronym for the New Year. 5781 is תש"פא -
תתחדש שנת פרקי אהבה - may this be a year of loving chapters. Tonight we welcome our first chapter of the new year. The others will unfold as we move through the weeks and months ahead, step by step, moment by moment, interaction by interaction. Let us welcome this new year with generosity and kindness, commitment and compassion. Just as Gd loves us deeply (Ahavah Rabbah, 2nd blessing before the Sh'ma), so too may we love one another and the world we are blessed to inhabit. May the new year be one of dreams fulfilled and hope - always hope and the action it inspires for a better tomorrow.
Shabbat Shalom and L'Shana Tovah!
rg
