As we stand poised at the beginning of a new Jewish year, a year filled with new possibilities and opportunities, we once again look forward to observing the High Holidays.  We anticipate the soul stirring sounds of the shofar, and we make plans to gather with friends and family for services (and meals).  We personally take stock of our lives during the past year, and we think about how we might make the coming new year better than the last.

My favorite phrase associated with the High Holidays comes from, of all places, the very end of the Book of Eicha (Lamentations).  “Chadeysh yameinu kekedem.”  This is usually translated as “renew our days as of old.”  But a wonderful teacher some years ago reinterpreted this phrase by saying that this is not some wistful remembering of “the good old days.”  Rather, this is a mandate for us to make these days so good that we won’t have any need to wallow in cheap nostalgia!  Or, in the words of a late twentieth century poet, “These are the days you'll remember.” 

I would like to express my thanks to the members of Sinai Temple for your warmth and friendship during the Levsons’ first few months in Longmeadow.  Sheri, Jodie, Liz, Candy, and I all wish you a “Shana tovah u’mitukah,” a good and a sweet New Year!

Ivdu et Hashem B’simcha!
Serve the Holy One with Joy! (Psalm 100:2)

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