“The willingness to be different is integral to Judaism,” reflects Rabbi Ammi Hirsch on Yom Kippur. “Our different historical experiences led to our unique sensitivity to injustice and cruelty and gave us our deep appreciation of social repair and freedom.”
“What can one person do to impact on the many challenges facing our world?” asks Rabbi Ammi Hirsch on Erev Yom Kippur, reflecting on the war in Ukraine and our synagogue’s humanitarian mission. “We overcome despair by countering despair — one day at a time, one place at a time, one person at a time… We defeat helplessness by helping.”
“Asking for forgiveness is hard because it means admitting we were wrong,” says Rabbi Rena Rifkin on Erev Yom Kippur. “And yet, Yom Kippur commands us to do just that. Once we truly admit our fault, then we can start to find forgiveness…”
“God created the world out of pure chaos,” says Rabbi Samantha Natov on Rosh Hashanah. “God said let there be light, and there was light. But a Midrash teaches that there was an even earlier primordial light…”
On Rosh Hashanah, Rabbi Ammi Hirsch addresses the proliferation of antisemitism on college campuses across America: “Antisemitism — even when it calls itself anti-Zionism — is a stain on the academies of higher learning and a stain on the Western liberal tradition.”
“We need to know our days to accept that we will only have so many of them,” ponders Rabbi Samantha Natov on Erev Rosh Hashanah. “Yet if we think that our one life is the whole enterprise, we’re missing the point. Our choices determine not just the shapes of our futures, but also what we leave behind…”
