Excerpted from Our Rosh Hashana Remarks

Gut Yontiv!

Hiney ma tov umah na’im shevat achim gam yachad!

How wonderful it is to be together!

Welcome to you all on this first day of Rosh Hashana! We would like to share with you an excerpt from a poem written by Kenneth L. Patton titled New Year’s Day that can be found in the Shabbat Kol Haneshama. It is intended for the secular New Year but speaks to today so well.

New Year’s Day
Each year should be the best year we have yet lived.
Each year we are more learned in the ways of life.
Each year we are wiser than the year before.
Each year our eyes know better the sights to seek.
Each year our ears listen with a finer tuning.
Every happening is a jewel, wrought about the fancy of time,
All that we understand of the universe is the setting for each sight and sound of day.

What can each of us do in the coming year to make it the best year ever lived? Stop taking our time on this earth for granted! Spend time reflecting on our lives and our relationships. Make a commitment to lifelong learning. Live in the moment but look to the future and remember where you came from. You may not feel wiser than last year but you probably are. We learn through our life experiences, but if you really want to be sure you are learning and growing you need to challenge yourself from time to time. We can help!

At Bnai Keshet we offer many opportunities for lifelong learning. There are opportunities to study prior to the Shabbat service on Saturday mornings, adult Hebrew classes, Intro to Judaism and more. Study, not your thing? We have other opportunities to help you grow. Sing with the choir, join a committee or help build the sukkah. The Yamim Noraim, the Days of Awe, are a time of personal and group reflection. Although our actions are individual, our prayers are communal.

Community is central to Judaism. Being a Reconstructionist congregation means that we take community to heart. We foster attachments to each other, to the Jewish people and to the world at large. It means that we are committed to defining shared values and ideals; we are dedicated to study, to prayer and to tikkun olam, repairing the world. At this troubled time of economic uncertainty and turbulence, our community has the potential to take on added meaning and be a source of security. Bnai Keshet throughout our stages of growth has maintained a high level of member participation including leading services, reading Torah, and presenting dvars. Likewise members have been prominent as teachers of torah trope, Shakespeare, Jewish history, the weekly parsha, Reconstructionism, genealogy and much more. We are blessed with musicians, composers, singers and choral leaders. And creativity that makes for raucous Purim shpiels.

And we have many members who work very hard to uphold and sustain the life of Bnai Keshet on a daily basis. Starting with our VPs of Education, Religious Life, Development, Membership, our Secretary and our Treasurer; and with our many committees and activities. But despite our start as a “do it yourself ” institution and our culture of lay involvement, the truth is that we can use a lot more help to keep the synagogue running and vibrant. Ideally, every member would be involved. If you are a new or even a not-so-new member, you might ask: What is the secret of getting involved in Bnai Keshet? A small or finite task is best for starting to take part in synagogue life. Grate potatoes for the Latkapoloozah at Hanukah or run a family softball game at the synagogue retreat to Camp JRF. Say yes when you are asked to help. Say yes when you are asked to sponsor a kiddush. But I warn you that there is a risk in doing these activities. You are likely to meet people you like, find causes that you agree with, enjoy customs that are meaningful to you. You are likely to become involved in your synagogue, perhaps hooked on your Jewish identity.

We welcome everyone who has joined us at services this morning, members and visitors alike. Get to know us better and support the Bnai Keshet community— financially and through participating in our activities. Please introduce yourselves to us. Meet our Board and our committee chairs. Know that we want to get to know you and to find out what interests you. May we find peace and sustenance from observing Rosh Hashana together on this first day of the year 5769.

Jill and Lauren