The ancient Israelites wandered the wilderness for 40 years, carrying the Holy Ark from place to place. “But it was not a burden,” says Rabbi Samantha Natov, “for the Ark carries those who carry it.” On this weekend of service, “may we, too, feel elevated and carried by the energy embodied in that moment of chesed.”
“Trying to figure out what the world will look like tomorrow — let alone three months from now — is a monumental and deeply frustrating and draining task,” says Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch. “We are creatures who yearn for control over an uncontrollable world. But the most certain thing in the world is uncertainty — and, therefore, the Sages say, “teach your tongue to say ‘I don’t know.’”
“As we begin the secular new year, we find ourselves asking: Who should I be?” says Rabbi Samantha Natov. “Instead of asking who should I be in the coming year, we could ask: How can I better be with myself?” she continues, “The self I am now. Not the one I want to be. But who I am in each moment.”
“We all have struggles, large and small, public or hidden, that we go through throughout our lifetimes. No one gets through life without tremendous loss,” says Rabbi Sam Natov as the COVID-19 cases have increased. “Yet we have the capacity for reaching inward for strength – even when it feels like we won’t have anything left.”
“Rabbi Ammi Hirsch’s special holiday homily.”
“We take for granted so much about life. Most of us do not give a passing thought to deprivation. Practically none of us thinks about whether we can put food on the table today,” says Rabbi Ammi Hirsch. Instead, with the looming cream cheese shortage in New York City, he advises, “If you go to the deli next week and there is no cream cheese – try butter on your bagel.”
