More than any other time of year, the fall is the fullest on the Jewish calendar. This is our time for a new beginning, a chance for each of us to become our best selves, to repair relationships and to mend the world by mending ourselves first and working out from there. 

We begin the year with the end in mind: what is most important to you, and what do you need to do to become the person you were born to become?

Beginning with the end in mind means starting off with clarity about why you’re building the life you’re living, including doing this Judaism thing. In a year which has seen much tsurres (Yiddish for trouble) for the Jewish people, let’s begin by remembering: we do this to make meaning and bring Jewish joy into our lives.

To that end, I begin with this: 

If you are going to come for one hour this fall… come for the end. Come for the Jewish joy of dancing and singing on Simchat Torah.

Let that be the hour your kids remember and your experience of your time here at Oheb Shalom. Begin with the end in mind: plan to be together on Thursday night, October 24, at 6 pm.

If you are going to come for another hour this fall, come for the last half hour of Yom Kippur. That’s right, the end of the Ne’ilah (Closing) service. Everything else is building up to that moment. Doing the rest is like going to Mount Everest and climbing just the foothills. If you could monorail to the top, you’d do it, right? So, do it. Come for the very end. Parents, bring your children for the light parade (see below); drop them off and then join us in the sanctuary or join them backstage and for the parade moment. We don’t care if you’ve already ended your fast. In fact, go ahead, end your fast (if you were going to end it before dark anyway), and then come join us. We won’t ask either way. We just want to be together, to seal Yom Kippur and all of our aspirations for shining light into the world. Neilah begins on Saturday night, October 12, at 5:30 pm, and ends with the final shofar blast of the year at 7:03 pm.  

If you’re going to come for more than that… well, we’ve got you covered. More than covered. If we do this right, we can be together for 15 out of 31 days this October. What a way to build community. What a way to connect to our souls. What a way to begin a new year.

May we all be inscribed and sealed in the Book of Life for a year of goodness, peace, prosperity, health, joy and beautiful beginnings, endings and moments in between.