Chaverim,

In our journey of the High Holy Days, our tradition invites us not only to find our inner selves, but also to deepen our conection with those who lived before us and prepared this path for us. Our forebears are many, and their contributions are uncountable. May we find meaning in their acts and the inspiration to follow them:

These I remember —

The ones whose lives were shaped by a mitzvah:

“You must not remain indifferent.”

The ones who lost their lives through devotion to a mitzvah:

“Justice, justice you shall pursue.”

The ones who embodied, through deed and dedication,

a mitzvah: “Choose life.”

And these I remember…

The ones who mended the broken, brought healing

to the wounded, fought back despair with the solace of faith.

The ones who breathed life into a prayer:

L’takein olam b’malchut Shaddai: to establish in the world

the sovereignty of High and Noble Purpose.

I remember these…

Artists of the soul, architects of redemption —

the activists and advocates of justice and beauty,

exemplars of tikkun olam: repairing the world.

On this holy day, we remember…

Rabbi Adrian M Schell

Quote: Mishkan HaNefesh: Yom Kippur: Machzor for the Days of Awe (Page 518).