We are family; this Shabbat let’s join together to mark a time of renewal and to unify our hearts to find comfort and to gain strength.
The news from Israel was devastating this past week. As the families of the murdered hostages get up from shiva we pray that they are comforted among all those who mourn in Zion and Jerusalem.
The new month of Elul has begun. We sound the shofar at the daily morning minyan, and we are awakened to new possibilities in our lives and for our world. It is time to start getting set for Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur by laying a foundation through participating in community services and programs at Or Zarua.
In this week’s Torah portion, Shoftim, Moses knows that we need judges and public officers to help guide the Jewish People in the application of just justice. On a personal, religious level the Sefer HaHinukh explains that the officers Moses appoints are also tasked to be the guides who teach Torah and help us navigate relationships. They taught significant questions we must grapple with: Are we creating the conflicts and friction that sometimes define our lives? Are we finding constructive ways to approach our disappointments, work through disagreements and rebuild important relationships?
In an inspiring email I received from Rabbi Moshe Hauer, he wrote, “A respected Rav (Rabbi) once took an accounting of the time he spent counseling and supporting the members of his community and discovered that most of the issues he was helping them with were not heaven-sent occurrences of illness and death but man-made conflicts between spouses, relatives, neighbors, and colleagues.
“Moshe Rabbeinu (Moses, our Teacher) bemoaned the fact that the interminable quarreling that the Jewish People engaged in necessitated the appointment of a judge for every ten people (see Sforno on Devarim 1:12).”
One of the fixes – the tikkun – to that problem Moses pointed out is to prove with ten Jews (or more) that we can come together to harmonize and create prayerful space for and with each other at daily and Shabbat services!
This Shabbat we will find joy and delight together. Bir’nana, our a cappella group, will sing a spirited song before HaTikvah at the end of services. Join us Friday night for the sacred hour of communal prayer and singing followed by a lite nosh at the Oneg, and come when you can to make the minyan on Shabbat morning. Join us for Kiddush-in-the-Round, our monthly Kiddush luncheon.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Bolton