Chaverim—Friends,No doubt about it—Noah was a good person. In fact, the Torah tells us that he was the most righteous person in his generation. But, perhaps that’s like praising someone for being the best player on a losing team! Let’s look more closely at Noah.Noah saved his family and the animals. This is all good. But something is missing. Nowhere do we read that Noah tried to persuade his friends, neighbors, and anyone who would listen to repent and change their ways. He didn’t utter a word of concern for all the people who were about to drown in the waters of the Flood. While it’s true that God commanded Noah to bring just his family and the animals aboard, you would think he would have argued with God about the death sentence for humanity.The Hasidic master, Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Kotzk, once referred to a certain rabbi as a tzadik in peltz—“a righteous person in a fur coat.” Here is what he meant: “When it is freezing cold outside, you can build a fire, or you can wrap yourself in a fur coat. If you wear a fur coat, you’re the only one who gets warm. But, if you build a fire, everyone else can get warm, as well.” While Noah didn’t wear a fur coat during the Flood, he certainly remained content with saving just his family. When the decree of the Flood came, Noah did as he was told, but didn’t intercede on behalf of all those who would die.Unlike Noah, Abraham, ten generations later, stands up to God. In a huge debate, Abraham asks God how many innocent people it would take to spare the city. For many sages, God chooses to make Abraham the first Jew precisely because of his concern for others. Righteous people cannot merely care about themselves and their families; they have to care about others as well. This is why, for example, we honor the righteous gentiles who saved Jewish lives during the Holocaust, often at the risk of their own lives. The greatest heroes in history have been those who have gone beyond their own needs and their own safety to save others.Shabbat Shalom—Rabbi Adrian M Schell (Source: Rabbi Salkin; Torah Commentary)
Author: Rabbi Schell
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Parashat Noach: Be a hero
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Bereshit: Are we really done, back to “normal”?
Chaverim—Friends,
Done! The High Holy Day season is over. The past weeks were exciting and exhausting, we were taken to spiritual highs and grounded again, we shared joy and we gave comfort to another when sadness overcame us. We (I) were nervous about new things, such as the new prayer books, and we felt safe in the tradition that gave us a strong framework for the new.And now, what comes now? Are we really done, back to “normal”? I am not so sure about that. Now we are given the time to act upon those things we reflected on during the High Holy Days, now we walk the different paths we promised to follow during the Vidui (confessional prayer), and now is the time to find out where we can help others or where we need help from others to achieve all those goals we have set for ourselves.Perhaps the start of the new Torah cycle, beginning once again with Parashat Bereshit this Shabbat, will give us some support and hope in this endeavour. It seems to me that the Torah stretches out her hand to walk with us on our journeys, telling us of our ancestors and their lives, encouraging us to never give up when we are challenged.The first words of our Torah come with their never-ending message that we are all equal in front of the Eternal, reassuring us that all steps count, no matter who takes themFor me, the weeks and months after the High Holy Days are a wonderful time, full of opportunities and new chances to grow, as individuals, and as a community.May you all go from strength to strength in this new year.Shabbat Shalom —Rabbi Adrian M Schell -
Yom Kippur isn’t an easy day
Chaverim—Friends,
Yom Kippur isn’t an easy day. Not because of the fasting. What isn’t easy is the affliction of the soul, the practice of going deeply into ourselves and revealing our innermost fears, doubts and insecurities in front of the Eternal. There is no more bargaining time left. No more time to negotiate with God, to present good deeds in mitigation of our sins in the hope that we will be dealt with compassionately to receive a ‘lighter’ sentence. This should have been done in the previous 10 days in particular, and in the weeks that preceded Rosh Hashanah. Everything we havedone, or not done, is already recorded and known in the heavenly court. On Yom Kippur, we are awaiting the final verdict, and we must stop playing games. We know we could have done better: we have sinned; we have transgressed.There is no way out. The die has been cast, and the verdict is almost in. On Yom Kippur our fate will be decided. On Yom Kippur! On Yom Kippur we need to be honest with ourselves, and with God – and this is the painful exercise. The affliction of the soul hurts. There is no ‘waiver’ we can apply for to get away from this duty. Without exception, every one of us is standing before the Eternal, waiting for our fate to be decided upon.But as a little piece from our liturgy indicates, Yom Kippur isn’t a sad day at all. It is a day full of hope and joy. God is a merciful God, full of loving kindness and grace. God grants forgiveness to all who honestly ask for it. “Va-Yomer Adonai: Salachti Ki’devareicha – And Adonai said: I have pardoned in response to your plea.”This hope, or maybe certainty, does not come out of the blue. It is something that is deeply embedded in our relationship with the Eternal, in our unique covenant with God, throughout the history of our people. The hope of gaining God’s forgiveness from transgression and sin goes way back to the story of the Golden Calf.Pardoning its people is God’s response to Moshe‘s plea for forgiveness, and thus it is the basis we use to ask for atonement on Yom Kippur. The affliction of our souls might be painful, but the knowledge that God is with us and is granting forgiveness is what turns Yom Kippur into a day of hope, and not a day of pain; in a day of partnership, a day where we renew our covenant with God.May you all be sealed in the book of life, rewarded for your honesty towards yourself and towards God. May you gain strength from Yom Kippur to master the tasks that await you in the coming year. May you feel God’s Presence within you always, and never lose faith and trust in God and his people. Gmar chatima tova!—Rabbi Adrian M Schell -
Awesome moments between past, present and future – Greetings for the New Year 5779
Dear congregants, members, supporters, friends—chaverim,This will be my 5th High Holy Days with you, or to be more precise, my 6th, as Chayim and I joined the congregation exactly 10 years ago for my rabbinic internship at Bet David. Much has changed in the past years, but also many things have remained untouched and sacred, as they have been for so many generations before us.The High Holy Days are for me this special time of the year, where we live in these “awe“some moments between past, present and future, where we look out for the right balance of ideals and capability, of achievements and failures. For me Rosh Hashanah represents the renewal of our covenant with the Eternal and every human being, and our wishes to become our better selves.
I look forward to celebrating some very meaningful festival days with you, the beginning of the New Year, and manymore years in your midst.
יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְּפָנֶיךָיְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ וֵאלֹהֵיאֲבוֹתֵינוּ וְאִמּוֹתֵינוּשֶׁתְּחַדֵּשׁ עָלֵינוּשָׁנָה טוֹבָה וְּמתוּקָה
Y’hi ratzon mil’fanecha, Adonai Eloheinu v’Elohei avoteinu v’imoteinu,shet’chadeish aleinu shanah tovah umtukah.
Our God and God of our ancestors,Eternal God of all generations:May Your Presence in our livesthis New Year renew our spiritsand renew our strength.
May it be a good year.
May it be a sweet year.
Shabbat Shalom and Shanah Tovah—Rabbi Adrian M Schell Mishkan HaNefesh: Rosh HaShanah: Machzor for the Days of Awe (Page 300).
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Why is it time for a new Machzor?
– by Rabbi Greg AlexanderWe are very blessed to begin 5779 with a brand new machzor, Mishkan HaNefesh, the Sanctuary of the Soul, a partner to our already beloved new siddur Mishkan T’filah. But why change? After all, our previous machzor, the Gates of Repentance, has served us well. When it was edited in 1978, it represented exciting and progressive liturgical innovation. The world was a different place then, and it was replacing the old Union Prayer Book that some of us grew up with, reclaiming much of the Hebrew liturgy that had been taken out before. I remember my bar mitzvah was one of the first with the (then new) Gates of Prayer siddur in my childhood congregation and for a barmy boy the news that there was “more Hebrew” was not something that 13-yr old Greg appreciated at all. But comparing the outlook, layout and ideology of Gates of Repentance with the Union Prayer Book (even without opening the book – just in size) shows just how radical that change was then.But in recent years, Gates of Repentance has increasingly felt dated and even obstructive to some of our prayer experience. The language reflects its time and the readings reflect the thinking of Jews in the mid- to late 20th Century. Once we introduced Mishkan T’filah for Shabbat and Festivals the difference became glaring.The fact that Gates of Repentance contains male-gendered language and did not insert the names of the Imahot – the foremothers – alongside the Avot – forefathers – does not seem consistent with contemporary sensibilities.Mishkan T’filah introduced a fully transliterated service where every page invited those who know Hebrew and those who don’t to join in Hebrew prayer. The absence of this in Gates was a barrier to entry to many in shul and left them as passive observers rather than inviting them to join the davening. Gates of Repentance presented one, linear service that was followed page by page and designed to be lead by the service leader and choir with the davener a participant/ follower. Mishkan T’filah radically altered that dynamic with each page presenting options on the right and left pages for the davener to choose. Even if the congregation is reading one, the davener can read another, and still “keep up” with the service.Like Mishkan T’filah, Mishkan HaNefesh makes strides towards a multi-vocality that creates a space for all to inhabit, offering a multiplicity of different approaches. Through updated translations, elucidating essays, rich commentary, and a beautiful selection of poetry, Mishkan HaNefesh provides an environment for those of all backgrounds to find meaning in the High Holy Days.Most importantly, the Mishkan series does not assume one understanding of G*d, prayer or the meaning of our lives and allows the davener to find their own inspiration and comfort within its pages. May it serve us just as well as Gates of Repentance has done.We will use our new High Holy Day Machzor this year for the first time. You will not be able to follow the services with the old Gates of Repentance. You can purchase your set for R 700 per set either during the week from Glynnis, or at the sales point in the gallery before the service.Please consider donating one or two sets of our new Machzor to Bet David to be loaned to guests on the day. We will acknowledge your donation with a book-plate. -
Yizkor: Let my cry come before You.
As a deer yearns for streams of water,
so I yearn for You, O God.
My whole being thirsts for God,
for the living God. Psalm 42:2
Hear my prayer.
Let my cry come before You.
Do not hide from me in my time of sorrow. Turn Your ear to me.
When I cry, answer me soon. Psalm 102:2–3
My God,
my soul is downcast.
Therefore I think of You. Psalm 42:7
Dear friends, The above beautiful prayer is taken from the Yizkor service section in our new High Holy Day Machzor for Yom Kippur (page 549).Celebrating a new year includes also remembering those who walked this path before us. Those who came together in joy and in sadness, who were in awe, fear, and in tears, and in love, happiness and full of hope.When we bow down our heads in remembrance this year on Yom Kippur, we will know that they are with us, and that as long we remember them, they will be part of us and our lives.May the coming Shabbat and High Holy Days comfort those who have lost a loved one only recently or at this season in years past.Shabbat Shalom—Rabbi Adrian M SchellThe Yizkor service will take place on Yom Kippur (19.9.) at 17:00. The dedication of new leaves for the tree will take place at 16:45.
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Beloved Friend
BELOVED FRIEND who calls us to conscience,reminds us of our own strength,invites us to grow,empowers us to act.Cosmic mysteries are Yours,but the earth is oursto tend and heal as best we can.Beloved Partner in creation,we join our strength with Yoursto make You real and true.Chaverim,To find a friend in God seems sometimes to be difficult or evenawkward, especially in times when our tradition calls us to see God as our king and judge of the world. But, perhaps here we can find one of the wonderful bridges our liturgy has built for us: While we call God *Malkeinu*, our King, we call God also *Avinu*, our Parent. While we address God with *Eloheinu*, we also use the very personal *ata*, you. With our words we open the door to come closer to God, to feel God‘s presence in our lives.May you always find the right words to address God, when you need God to be close to you—as a king, as a judge, as a friend.Shabbat Shalom—Rabbi Adrian M SchellQuote: Mishkan HaNefesh: Rosh HaShanah:Machzor for the Days of Awe (Page 139). -
Take us back
Chaverim,Repentance is acceptable, the Rabbis teach, at any time, but the special time for repentance is the season from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur, the Ten Days of Penitence, our High Holy Days. In all the rabbinic sources, repentance involves two things: remorse at having sinned and confession of the sin. The numerous rabbinic statements regarding sin and repentance are scattered through the rabbinic literature and are not presented in any systematic form, nor linked to only specific rituals, giving us an idea of the openness and fluidity on how we can find our own personal path and approach to find back to the Eternal.Shabbat Shalom—Rabbi Adrian M Schell
Take Us Back A precious teaching I have given you: My Torah. Do not forsake it. A Tree of Life to those who hold it fast: all who embrace it know happiness. Its ways are ways of pleasantness, and all its paths are peace. Take us back, Adonai — let us come back to You. Renew in our time the days of old.
Quote: Mishkan HaNefesh: Yom Kippur:Machzor for the Days of Awe (Page 353).
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Elul—a Month of spiritual preparation
by Rabbi Robert A. Jacobs
The sixth Hebrew month, Elul, begins this coming Shabbat as the last month of 5778, a little anomaly resulting from the setting of the first day of the seventh month, Tishrei, as Rosh Hashanah. If we follow the Midrashic calendar, then the designation of Rosh Chodesh Elul as initiating a good time for Judaism has this reason: During the wandering in the wilderness, Av was marred by the disaster of the Golden Calf. The later weeks of Av were a time of penitence and imploring God not to destroy the faithless Israelites. Midrash says that Moses finally carried the argument with God, and on Rosh Chodesh Elul ascended Mount Sinai again. There he was to carve two new tablets and inscribe the Law on them.
Through the generations, Elul has become a time of preparation. On weekdays one might hear the sound of the Shofar, as the difficult blowing is rehearsed in advance of Rosh Hashanah. For the greater Jewish community, however, the practice is the request to all whom we meet: “If I have offended you in any way through the past year, whether intentionally or inadvertently, I ask your forgiveness.” That request is required to be replied to with: “I forgive you and ask the same for myself.”
At the end of Moses’ second sojourn on Mount Sinai, the second tablets were brought to the people. That fortieth day—the 10th of Tishrei—bears the name Yom ha-Kippurim, the Day of Atonement. However, that atonement is for sins against God alone. The 40 days that precede Yom
Kippur, beginning with Rosh Chodesh Elul, are the time for us to seek forgiveness from other people.Judaism’s practices are often humanistic. The concern with relations with others, with shalom bayit—peace in the house—remains central to our annual quest for forgiveness from God.
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The vulnerability of our own existence
Chaverim,
At no other time of the year are we more exposed to the vulnerability of our own existence in this world as we are during in this season of the High Holy Days. It seems that our holy texts paint an image where we are unimportant figures in a game far bigger than us. But, looking closer, we see messages of hope and encouragement, love and an outstretched hand, inviting us to become active partners in God’s plan to heal the world, and to leave our footprint in a world redeemed.
Shabbat Shalom—Rabbi Adrian M Schell
Our days —
Like the grass of the field,
like flowers in the meadow
vanish in a momentary gust of wind,
gone, never to be seen again.
But God’s love is infinite
and with us forever.
God’s goodness reaches far
into the future —
This is the gift of the covenant.
Psalm 103:15–18
Quote: Mishkan HaNefesh: Yom Kippur:
Machzor for the Days of Awe (Page 546).
