Like many of you, I was successfully procrastinating the other day in my study when the earthquake arrived. Yes, there was the High Holy Day letter to write, sermons to plan, phone calls to make, emails to return, cats to feed. And then the walls began to rattle. Squirrels in the attic, I thought. But then the furniture began to quake and I noticed the ordination diploma hanging over my desk begin to sway.
(A message?)
It was an earthquake. I instinctively grabbed my son, my laptop and phone (in that order) and ran out of the house. As we all know, thank God, aside from a chimney in Brooklyn, we all escaped unscathed.
But it was a gotcha moment. It was a moment some of us know and all of us dread-- when we are face to face with potentially devastating news. A moment when we have to acknowledge that all the time and chances we had have slipped through our fingers; that time is up and we think “if only.”
This is the invitation of the Yamim Nora’im, the High Holy Days.
We know so much of our world is out of our control. Certainly natural disasters and the anniversary
of September 11th, just to name a few, remind us of that. The upcoming Holy Days awaken us to the fleeting nature of time. They invite us to stop our procrastinating. They invite us to actually initiate those important conversations that feel difficult… give ourselves reasons why we can and should start that new initiative. These days hold a magnifying mirror to how we spend our lives busying ourselves with things that take less effort or confrontation, though we know our lives and our relationships are poorer for it. We put them off until they almost fade from view.
These days invite us to remember that there may be no time like the present—
and that’s all we have: time.
Because Rosh Hashannah begins on the evening of Wednesday, September 28, we are able to prepare for the holiday as a community in a number of new and exciting ways.
Please join us on Friday, September 9th at 7:30 pm as we welcome Shabbat outside on the Meditation Steps. We will sing and pray in the same location we will “cast our sins” into the sea on Rosh Hashannah.
I’m also very excited to invite you to a special Slichot event on Saturday, September 24 at 7pm.
After a brief havdalah, we will watch and discuss Woody Allen’s provocative film, “Crimes and Misdemeanors”. After the film, refreshments will be served over a community discussion of the themes of the film and how they are relevant to the holidays.
These and other new opportunities for learning and community are on the calendar this year at the RIJC. Along with a group of wonderful and engaged Roosevelt Island parents, we have planned many new holiday learning activities, Shabbat dinners, fun activities and services especially for Roosevelt Island kids. Want to know what a Pajama Havdalah is? Mark your calendar for January 14 and watch for news.
These are just some of the ways that our RIJC community is here to create meaningful, authentic and joyous Jewish life on Roosevelt Island. Come out and support it along with me.
With blessings for peace, good health and prosperity for the new year from Harris, Sam, Nathan and me.
B’shalom,
Rabbi Leana Moritt