Before You Light Your Candles

Dear Congregants,

The year 5783 is coming to conclusion. It has been a year of restoration and complexity, of joy and sorrow, of courage and renewed commitments. I am very proud of how our congregation has grown stronger and has found its rhythm again. I can’t wait for us to gather and greet one another in songful prayer as we greet the new year.

The candles we light tonight stand for so much. With light, we welcome in Shabbat and usher in 5784. I urge you to pause before you strike the match at your table. That moment before lighting should not be rushed. That last moment of the year now ending begs for acknowledgement and gratitude and goodbye. It begs to be named and known as the transition from what was to what will be. It is the inflection point, the launching pad to all that is possible. So notice it and give that moment its due. Offer a private prayer. Cover your eyes or clasp hands with the dear ones at your table or hum a melody of deepest desire. Linger for one more moment, watch it slip into history. And then begin again… with light and blessing. Amen.

Before lighting your candles, you may wish to share your own words of reflection or you may wish to read this poem by the great American Zionist, Jessie E. Sampter (1883-1938).

“The Jewish Year”

Our year begins with burnished leaves,
That flame in frost and rime,
With purple grapes and golden sheaves
In harvest time.
…When others say the year has died,
We say the year is new,
And we arise with power and pride
To prove it true.
For we begin where others end,
And fight where others yield;
And all the year we work and tend
Our harvest field.
And after days of stormy rain
And days of drought and heat,
When those that toiled have reaped their grain,
And all’s complete.
Oh then, when God has kept His word,
In peace we end our year.
Our fruit is certain from the Lord.
We shall not fear.

Shabbat Shalom and L’Shanah Tovah.
May you be blessed with all that is good.
May your name be written and sealed into the Book of Life.
Amen.

Dear Holy Blossom Families,

 

We can’t wait to welcome your children back to Holy Blossom Temple.  We have a wonderful year of growth and discovery ahead of us.

As you prepare to return to school, we want you to know we are thinking of you and wishing you well.  We share this prayer with you to mark the milestone in the life of your family.

 

A Back-to-School Prayer

Our God and God of our Ancestors:

Protect, guide, and uplift our children as they return to their schools.
May they know good health and the joy of discovery.
May they know the warmth of good friends, the laughter of unstructured play,
the strength of teammates, and the comfort of community.
May they witness the inspiration of dedicated teachers,
the influence of thoughtful role models,
and the vision of how to create a better world for their generation
and the generations to come.
May they know that they are loved and supported.
May they know the blessings of their people, the safety of their land,
and the strength of their faith.
May they know peace and also resilience, hope and also hard work,
dreams and also practical skills.
May they grow in mind, body, and spirit.
May they know kindness and compassion — receiving it and offering it –
each and every day.

 

And let us say, Amen!

 

We wish you and those you love a L’Shanah Tovah!

 

Rabbi Yael Splansky	Cantor David Rosen
Rabbi Samuel Kaye	Cantorial Soloist Lindi Rivers
Rabbi Eliza McCarroll

How to Elevate your High Holy Day Experience  

The current month of Ellul is a gift to help us prepare more deeply, so we can greet the New Year with curiosity, courage, and compassion.

 

• Join our Rabbis, Cantors, and Educators for mid-day “Jewels of Ellul” for 20-30 minutes of study and reflection.
• Join in the weekday morning minyan – in-person or online — and stand to hear the blast of the shofar.
• Enjoy next week’s Nashuva Retreat on Lake Rosseau, co-sponsored by Holy Blossom Temple.
• Attend Selichot-in-the-Round and be uplifted by the music of longing and change.
• Choose from among the questions below.  Reflect on them.  If you are a writer, make some notes or write a letter to yourself and open it next Ellul.  These questions are not a test, only prompts.

 

Asking the BIG Questions

1. What are my three most significant achievements of the past year?
2. What are my biggest regrets of the year past?
3. What are the important decisions I need to make for this coming year?
4. What important decision did I avoid making last year?
5. If I knew I couldn’t fail, what project or goal would I undertake?  Is there some element of it I can pursue anyway? What’s my best first step?  Who can help me with this project?  What resources can I tap?
6. Over the last year, did my most important relationships become closer and deeper, or was there a sense of stagnation and drifting? What can I do to nurture those relationships this year?
7. What worthy causes do I want to support this year with my time, talent, and treasure?
8. When do I feel my life is most meaningful?  How can I further devote myself to increase those moments of meaning, purpose, and fulfillment?
9. What do I want written on my headstone? And how do I begin living that way now?

 

This is the time to hold up the mirror and see our life, our character, our dreams more clearly.  The pandemic has forced us to ask small questions.  It’s time to turn to the bigger questions once again.  Let’s find the confidence to do so by turning towards God, who is the Source of All Life.

 

Shabbat Shalom and L’Shanah Tovah!

Shalom, Holy Blossom!  Greetings from the Holy City of Jerusalem!

I am so fortunate to be able to continue my studies with the Shalom Hartman Institute.  From early morning to late at night, I am on-campus learning with dear friends and colleagues from leading teachers and thinkers from Israel and North America.

 

 

 

 

 

We can all be proud of Karen Kollins, our congregant, longtime Holy Blossom teacher, and former Camp George Associate Director.  Karen has completed one year in a new position, Director of Canada for the Shalom Hartman Institute.  She has already elevated the profile of Hartman in Canada.  Ten Canadian Rabbis from across the country and across the denominational streams are studying together this week in Jerusalem.  Rabbi Kaye, Rabbi McCarroll, and I look forward to sharing some “Hartman Torah” with you throughout the year ahead as we draw from the faculty’s excellent curriculum,  “Foundations for a Thoughtful Judaism.”

 

 

Two extraordinary Holy Blossom-ites left for Israel this week – Racquel Mansoor and Hayden Taylor.  They will be representing Canada in the Maccabia Games, the “Jewish Olympics.”  Israel is hosting ten thousand athletes from more than thirty countries to compete in more than one hundred events.  Racquel will be competing in figure skating and Hayden in baseball.  I believe there are as many skating rinks in Israel as there are baseball diamonds – two of each.  I will be cheering for Racquel and Hayden at the opening ceremonies of The Maccabia Games.  We are already proud of them, of their commitment to their sport, of their commitment to Israel and to the spirit of global Jewry meeting in Jerusalem as one.  Go Team Canada!

 

 

I visited with Rabbi Dow and Fredzia Marmur my second night here.  For many weeks you have heard Fredzia’s name included in our prayers for healing.  I am pleased to say that she is recovering well from her stroke.  However, I am heavy-hearted to share with you that since my visit with them just days ago, Rabbi Marmur had a fall that required brain surgery.  He is now receiving the finest care in Shaare Zedek Hospital’s ICU.  Please keep Rabbi Marmur in your prayers.  When we were together, he delighted in hearing about you and how the Holy Blossom Temple community rose to meet the many challenges of the pandemic.  Despite the years since his retirement and the geographical distance, he is our rabbi and we are his congregation.  To send a message to the Marmur Family in Jerusalem and England, please write in the Comments Section below.

 

The broad theme of this week’s study is: “Why Israel?”  The question is being addressed through the many lenses of history and politics, sociology and psychology, theology and human rights, sacred and contemporary texts.  Stepping back from the details and debates, I believe the question we are really pursuing, is not “Why Israel?” but “How Israel?”  Part of the answer is found in young people like Hayden and Racquel, who feel a magnetic pull to this land they are just now beginning to discover.  Part of the answer is found in Rabbi and Fredzia Marmur, who have lived in many countries over the remarkable course of their lives and found a true home here in Jerusalem, in the Land of the Living.  Part of the answer is found in the prayers offered up from Holy Blossom this and every Shabbat:  “Avinu Shebashamayim, God in heaven, Rock and Redeemer of Israel, bless the State of Israel, the first flowering of our redemption.”  It is that striving, that hope, that potential for fulfillment, that makes this place like no other.

From the eternal city, I wish you a Shabbat Shalom.