The Torah reading for this Shabbat, Nitzavim-Vayelech, begins with reminding us that we are standing at the brink. For the Israelite nation, that threshold was something unique and quite different for them. From the distance they could see the Promised Land, just over the Jordan River; something that they had been waiting for since the day they were born. Having been born in the desert, then wandering in the desert for forty years, this group was finally able to see for themselves what they had been waiting for. Now that wait was over, and it was important for them to not only recognize the moment, but prepare for it. While they had heard the stories from their parents of a promise, now that promise was about to be realized.
Each year, at this moment, we find ourselves just like the Israelite nation. We have that anticipation of what a new year in the Jewish Calendar will bring. Tradition teaches us that we must prepare for that moment when we usher in a New Year.
It begins on Saturday evening, when we join together for Selichot, the first prayers and expressions of teshuvah, reflection and change seeking forgiveness from God, ourselves and friends, family and acquaintances. They say that the early bird catches the worm, so the rabbis created a service just after Shabbat to allow us to begin the necessary preparation. We hear the beautiful melodies of the High Holidays. We chant the words of the Ashamnu, for the first time. We begin to contemplate how we can make our own individual worlds better. We also visualize how we can improve on our relationships and connections with others. How can they be more meaningful? How can I be the catalyst to achieve that result? What am I hoping for in the year to come? Will it be fulfilled?
I hope that you will join us this Saturday evening as Shabbat comes, to reflect, to once again hear the spiritual and soulful melodies of the Yamim Hanoraim, these holy days, and to be a part of community as we begin to usher in a New Jewish Year. This year, we will be joining together at Temple Israel, the Park Street shul, at 7:15 p.m. We will begin with Havdalah and then move into our Selichot program.
Shabbat shalom.
Am Yisrael Chai.
Rabbi K
