On Rosh Hashanah, we stand before the Divine with a profound and deeply human hope: to be truly seen. This sermon explores the quiet, sinking feeling of being overlooked that we have all experienced and connects it to the central prayers of the High Holy Days. It asks: What is the greatest blessing we can receive in this new year?
The proposed answer is not a magical solution to our problems, but something far more powerful: a change in our own perspective. The sermon develops, based on the biblical story of Hagar, a beautiful metaphor for this blessing, asking God to open our eyes so we can see the “wells” of strength, love, and potential that already exist within and around us, often hidden by our own despair or weariness.
This is a message about empowerment and agency. It is a call to action for the new year: to find the strength to repair relationships, to be kinder, and to see the divine spark in others. Ultimately, it is a prayer that we might become a community where no one feels invisible, and that this be a year where we not only feel seen, but learn to truly see.
Let this season be a time to step out of the darkness and behold the light of renewal and awe.
