It’s such a precious time these ten days - we have opened the door, our hearts perhaps are sharpened and doubtless we are thinking of ways to commit to the year ahead with some changes, new habits, forgiving and letting go of old ones. The twenty five hours of Yom Kippur are a gift of reflection. The metaphor of the Book of Life quickening pulse and perspective.
I love these lines from Lucille Clifton (1936-2010)
i am running into the new year and
i beg what I love and I leave to forgive me
See this opportunity for (anonymously) adding your thoughts to our collective al chet - confession …
We are better generally at forgiving others than ourselves. There is something familiar about chastising ourselves for not being good enough, kind enough, effective enough. I want that very much as I am sure you do. But there is also acceptance in the process of Teshuvah. I so look forward to seeing you then with our green machzorim in hand.
This coming Shabbat Shuvah I’ll be preaching at the LJS in my role as Rabbinic conference Co-Chair. Rabbi Igor Zinkov will be preaching at FPS. I know he’ll be warmly welcomed.
Shabbat Shalom