I hope that you had a wonderful, uplifting and inspiring Rosh HaShanah celebration with loved ones. If you joined us for one or more of our services last weekend, we thank you for your support and encouragement.
There were some truly unforgettable moments to our New Year’s celebration:
Some members of our volunteer choir joined with our four professional choristers for Erev Rosh HaShanah which is, always, a stirring musical pageant!
Last Shabbes morning, we were treated to an outstanding Torah service thanks to Sara Bloom, Sandi Cohen and Rhoda Ryba who were surrounded by a large contingent of “active” Sisterhood and Brotherhood members and we express our gratitude to our three exceptional Ba’alei Tekiah, Sara Bloom, Art Davis and Dave Simon. In addition, close to 20 Sisterhood members ascended the bimah bedecked in their new, colorful silk tallitot with halachically-prescribed tzitziyyot! Our thanks to Debbie Neibauer for facilitating that sacred project!
We introduced for the very first time on Shabbes afternoon, a brand new “Contemporary” Service with the T’filah Band on the bimah. It was, from all counts, a rousing success engaging the hearts, minds and artistic talents of all those aged 8 to 80! Special appreciation to Sherrie Turetsky, Executive Director and Steven Goldstein, our new Director of Education, for their leadership and support as well as to Stacey Mardt for expertly collating all the material and printing a unique (color-in!) prayer booklet and to Jennifer Klein for the fabulous artwork! Shaina and Mikey Berkowitz chanted beautifully from Torah! Thanks to Sara Bloom for blowing shofar and for successfully encouraging Seth Kaufmann to “mirror” her! (They did so, again, on Sunday, when Seth used his late father Andy’s shofar – publicly – for the very first time during the nature hike facilitated by Steven)
Our Yom Tov Sheni, 2nd day Rosh HaShanah morning service included Evelyn Fair’s superb chanting from Torah, Art Davis and Dave Simon blowing shofar and concluded with the annual blessing of babies born the previous year and the distribution of special gifts. It was wonderful to see a relatively large gathering of babes, older siblings, parents and grandparents!
Our service was followed by a delicious reception thanks to Wendy Stahler’s 150 (!) individually wrapped challah rolls and Ellen Levin’s apple cakes!
Wendy’s rolls were a reminder that round challot are unique to the High Holyday season. Some would say that they represent a keter, a “crown” reflecting our coronating God as Sovereign of the world. Others suggest that the circular shape points to the cyclical nature of the year. But, in truth, traditional Rosh HaShanah challot are actually meant to be spiral in shape!
The Hebrew word for “year” is “shanah,” which comes from the Hebrew word to repeat. It also means “change.” As the year goes round and round, repeating the same seasons and holidays as the year before, we are presented with a choice: do we want this “shanah,” this year to be a repetition of the last or do we consciously want to make a change, a “shinui?” Hopefully, each year we make choices for change that are positive and each year we attempt to climb higher and higher, creating a spiritual spiral of life!
The very shape, then, of the Rosh HaShanah challot reminds us that this is the time of the year to make significant, life-altering decisions. This is precisely the time to engage in a creative spiritual process that lifts us out of a repetitive cycle and directs our energies, spiraling, toward a higher end.
May this holy period between Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur grant us the ability to harness our spiritual energies and channel them in a positive and wholesome direction!
On behalf of Randy and our daughters, Hayley, Ilana and Aviva I wish you and those you love a very good and sweet New Year!
Robert
Old York Road Temple-Beth Am 971 Old York Road Abington, PA 19001
