DAY 1110: Writing Our Script for the High Holidays

July 15, 2015
By bethmordecai
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DAY 1110: Writing Our Script for the High Holidays

(7/15/15),

62 days. That’s how long it is until we gather together in our beautiful sanctuary to ring in another Jewish New Year (!). I don’t know about you, but 62 days feels far off and just around the corner at the same time. Yesterday, I spent some quality time in the library at the Jewish Theological Seminary to prepare material for the holidays and to turn my mind towards the themes of repentance, forgiveness, and self-renewal. Perhaps its because it felt so blistering hot outside, but it was hard to imagine that I was preparing for an event at the end of the summer. Could the words I was reading about a holiday still over two months away resonate with my experience of this particular day in July?

As I reviewed my notes from yesterday, I encountered a quote from legendary psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl that for me bridges the gap between today and tomorrow: “Man’s freedom is not freedom from conditions, but rather freedom to take a stand on whatever conditions might confront us.” I want the High Holidays to be special, to be meaningful, for myself and for everyone who walks through the doors of our beautiful sanctuary. And I want it to feel natural, spontaneous, in-the-moment, and unscripted, experiencing all the wonder and majesty that the High Holidays have to offer. Yet, like any big job we undertake there is a lot to get done for the holidays, both behind the bimah and on top of the bimah. Those are the “conditions” that we face and it takes time to get everything ready. We need a script to welcome people warmly, to sing together beautifully, to learn together joyfully. Now is the time to write that script, so that in the moment it will feel like there was no script to begin with.

Will you help write our script for the high holidays? We are looking for help in the following areas:

  • Honors
  • Ushers
  • Outreach and Marketing
  • Kiddush organization
  • Follow up with potential members
  • Service planning and content
  • Yizkor pledges
  • Yizkor book administration
If you are interested in helping out in any of these areas, please contact me at ari.saks@gmail.com.

Kol Tuv,

Rabbi Ari Saks

 

P.S. Due to a conflict, today’s Ask the Rabbi (still ON) will NOT include Ask the Pastor. We will be rescheduling Ask the Pastor for another upcoming session. Stay tuned for details.

Category : Holidays Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Rosh Hashanah Yom Kippur
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