TEMPLE ETZ CHAIM ETZETERA
August 2017 September/October 2017
Av/Elul 5777 Elul/Tishri/Heshvan 5777
Rabbi’s Message
Rabbi Richard Spiegel rabbi@templeetzchaim.org
As I sit to write this message before our upcoming High Holy Days, I feel a great sense of nostalgia. This will be the 18th High Holiday Services which I will be leading as the Rabbi of Temple Etz Chaim. It will also be the last one. Next summer will be a time of transition in our Temple and a new Rabbi will officiate at the services. So as we move close to the New Year 5778, I want to first thank all of the members of our Temple and guests who have helped make my welcoming the New Year so meaningful, so uplifting, and so glorious for these past 18 years. When I look out and see our large Sanctuary so full - with old friends and new members, I feel such a sense of excitement and anticipation. Just by our being together, it is easy to recognize the importance and significance of our Days of Awe – our most sacred days. Yet as wonderful as it is to usher in the New Year as part of a large and prominent congregation, the truth is that at this time of year what is even more significant is that we stand alone – each of us – before our G-d. These are holy days because of the precious work each of us must do. This is a time for looking inward – for repenting, for seeking forgiveness, for atoning for our sins. This is the season for truly examining our lives – for considering how we can live better – and for dedicating ourselves to doing just that. This is our most serious time of the year. In one of the old Machzorim (High Holiday Prayer Books) of the Conservative movement it is written: “Remember us for life, O King, who delights in life.” “We repeat this prayer throughout the High Holy Days. In the year gone by did we fill our days with the kind of life that delights the King? Did we waste our days in the year gone by? Did we value the treasure of life? Did we appreciate our family and friends? Did we flee from others, from ourselves, from G-d? And what will we do with a New Year?” So we have two different aspects to our observance of our Days of Awe. One part is to be together with a large congregation at our Temple and to feel connected to an ancient and modern people. The second part is to look inward, and, by ourselves, to ponder the highest ideas and ideals in life. I hope that each of us will be successful in both of these realms and that our High Holiday observance will lead to a good and successful year. The year 5778 is almost upon us. Linda joins me in wishing each of you and your families a Shanah Tovah – a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year. May 5778 truly be the best year yet in each of our lives. Rabbi Richard Spiegel
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