8/30/23
L’Shanah Tovah u’Metuka! To a good and sweet year!
Yes, a new year is just a couple of weeks away. The moon is approaching its fullness and then will wane into the new month of Tishrei, (Rosh Hashanah is the first day of that new month). We prepare ourselves on many levels as the new year 5784 quickly approaches. We are familiar, of course, with the theme of teshuvah, translated as repentance and return. We talk a lot about the serious, introspective work that teshuvah invites us into, and requires of us, during this time of year. We look over the past year and sincerely work to make amends in all the areas of our lives that need it.
And . . .
I also want to highlight the sweeter, lighter part of preparing for Rosh Hashanah–embracing the exciting, anticipatory energy that newness brings to us! I say this from a place of having been excited and anticipating our first day of Shul School at CBI. Yesterday was that day and we welcomed 15 students into our sweet Shul School community! Some of those students are “returning” to Shul School, they’ve been here before and “know” the ropes, the teachers, the space. Yet as the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus reminds us, “No one ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and they are not the same person.”
We also welcomed brand new students who have moved up from our Menchkins program into Shul School. This is an exciting time for them as they are growing and changing and maturing into five year old kindergarteners. We are thrilled to accompany and guide our youngest members through their Jewish education and community building. What a blessing!
Of course with all this newness, and with several more students in our Shul School, our Jewish community changes. We welcome this burst of new growth and freshness! This really is so much of what Rosh Hashanah and the new year is about. Welcoming the new US, with the changes we have made as individuals, and as a larger community.
While we are still riding the excited wave of this new Shul School year, remembering all those “shayna punims” (beautiful, shining faces), along with the laughter and fun of the first day, I bless us all with a Shanah Tovah U’metaka. May this indeed be a good year full of sweetness and joy!
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