SUCCOT 5784 Transforming the Relationship Rabbi Andrew Shaw Chief Executive, Mizrachi UK
It was unexpected. My uncle, the last of my immediate family in Dublin, passed away just before Shabbat Shuva. He would have been 91 next February. He had been recovering in hospital and seemed ok. We had spoken two days previously; friends had been with him the night before, he was seemingly fine – it was sudden. And so just like that, over 100 years of my direct family in Ireland had ended. My Grandfather arrived in Dublin in the 1920’s raised his two children, and we spent several summers there in the 70’s and 80’s, with our uncle and aunt. Now that connection was over. Or was it.. The levayah was on erev Yom Kippur. We flew as a family to be there and we decided to spend Yom Kippur in Dublin, firstly as we were worried about getting back to London in good time for Yom Kippur and second as we felt it was the right thing to do. To be with the community of my father, my grandfather, grandmother, uncle and aunt. It was a memorable Yom Kippur, there was beautiful davening andruach, helped by the recent influx of young Israelis, about 200 families now live in Dublin, working for Google! Several of them are Dati and having them and their families in shul was wonderful. There is another Dvar Torah I need to write about that! People were very kind about my uncle and shared wonderful memories of him, my father and my grandfather with me- I was very moved. However, there was a very powerful moment during thetefillah which made me realise a central idea in Judaism expressed by the tefillot of this time of year. Let me explain. We know that the tefillot of Elul onwards, build up to the climax of Yom Kippur. First, we have L David Hashem, then the shofar, then a week before Rosh Hashanah selichot begin, then from Rosh Hashanah onwards we add the insertions in the Amidah, Zachreinu L Chaim, Ha Melech Ha Kadosh etc added words in Kaddish and Avinu Malcenu.