Erev Rosh Hashanah Traditional Service

hello [Music] [Music] um [Music] wonderful [Music] um [Music] um like that [Music] [Music] but yeah [Music] uh [Music] [Music] is [Music] did someone need one of these [Music] um [Music] um [Music] oh [Music] so it's really amazing to see all of you here um well i'm going to right off the bat invite cole erhad our congregational choir to come and join us up here so we'll have some lovely noodling music by michael barnes as they traverse their way up to the artbeam and we're going to welcome in this sacred moment unlike any other we are definitely living in these incredible times where we get so creative and flexible and we thank you for walking that walk with us and praying these prayers with us and singing these songs with us that's that's the connection to what's deep and holy so we're going to begin with page six oh [Music] is [Music] ah [Music] oh how good it is [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] oh is [Music] foreign [Music] is [Music] he's [Music] how good and how beautiful it is that we are together remarkable seeing you being in your presence being all together as community i think i've totally forgotten 5781 [Music] it was a strange year wasn't it but we are coming in we are starting this year still a little bit strange we are outside we are masked we are taking care of each other looking out for each other's safety but also rejoicing it is a good year it is going to be a sweet year all positives all possibilities lie in front of us as we enter into this beautiful time we thank god for the ability to be together to have this unique experience i think in the more than 164 years of this congregation we've never had rosh hashanah services on the plaza and certainly with all these masks um it is unique it is beautiful we thank god for keeping us alive for sustaining us for enabling us to reach this time [Music] oh we're going to hold on one second we're going to welcome each other yes we are let's take a moment to welcome each other we're so thrilled as rabbi said to be together and those that are joining us online we wish you should not have those who are here if you want to turn around to say a good new year to someone around you if you're home send us a text reach out to somebody let them know that you're thinking of them and you're sending them new year blessings the first of many we pray [Music] so jewish tradition is rich as rabbi was just saying with prayers that essentially mean we made it when we come back to synagogue after surviving an illness an accident or a dangerous journey we say amir khatta gomel giving thanks for god's goodness anytime we gather for a special occasion we write we recite the shahatianu giving thanks to god for sustaining us for giving us life for enabling us to reach this moment all three of these statements still ring true and all three of these statements have an asterisk because we aren't quite through it and we haven't quite made it we're together again joyously welcoming the new year and also we still must stay distant we still must keep our masks on we still must be a bit anxious about our health and safety and this made me think of a song by candy standing which might capture our mixed feelings as we celebrate this new year praise god to your blessings come down praise god till your situation turns around you gotta lift up your voice and say hallelujah anyway so we aren't quite ready to say we made it and we aren't quite ready for the beer kata gomel but in a moment we are going to recite that blessing the shahafianu because in spite of all that we hope for and that hasn't quite arrived we're so grateful for all that we still have for how far we've come and for the opportunity to greet each other and to greet another year together so we're going to lift our voice and we're going to say the shahianu anyway we are on page [Music] oh [Music] hello [Music] [Music] thank you [Music] oh [Music] source of blessing eternal our god you fill the universe with majestic might giving us life upholding the life within us and bringing us to this time and now we are going in just a moment to hear the sound of the shofar the sound of the shofar which parallels our experience what was once whole to kia became broken shivarim and sometimes shatters true ah but ultimately it returns to wholeness to kia we're about to hear that sound we're about to hear to kia in wholeness for the new year hear the call of the holy one sending you strength and hope and resilience please rise and return to page 15. at the new moon at the full moon for our feast day sound the shofar for that is the law of israel the way of the god of jacob [Music] is [Music] blessed are you in our lives although now you hear with love the shofar true voice of your people israel takiyah [Applause] [Music] [Music] hard with them it's very hard it's true even the shofar is acknowledging the states of our fruit right now with the mask remain standing as we open the ark as we welcome our new year and we say eloheinu about zone chinese [Music] our god and god of our ancestors may we know your blessing in the year 5782 eternal one bless us and the whole house of israel with renewed life happiness and peace comfort and courage resilience and strength may the words of our heart be acceptable to you in the new year that stretches before us we are forever grateful for the gift of life [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] please be seated may renew our words of prayer tonight restore their luster bring them to life let song and silence and shofar sounds awaken our soul blessed are you adonai creator of twilight and dusk amen turn to page 24 let's read together in the english in the middle of the page love beyond all space and time your love unfolds your people israel we receive it in your teaching your gift of torah sacred obligations discipline and love so let us speak these teachings when we lie down and rise up and find joy forever in your torah and meets vote they are the very essence of our life ours to ponder and study all our days may we never lose or be unworthy of your love for you are blessed the one who loves your people israel we're gonna rise again for shema on page 26. [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] please be seated and join us in chanting via on page [Music] [Music] [Music] i [Music] [Music] [Music] i [Music] we turn to page 33 to join me responsibly to break the bonds of anger to be generous of heart to break the bonds of shame to live with self-respect to break the bonds of envy to serve one another [Music] to all enjoy gifts to break the bonds of fear to live with courage and strength to untie the knots of betrayal to love with fullness to break the bond of loneliness to receive a hand of hope to break the bonds of self-centeredness to stand up and help release from the darkness our people found their freedom at the sea and we pray for liberation at the dawn of this year on page 34 [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] i [Music] [Music] [Music] we praise you eternal power the one who redeems israel page 37 darkness settles slowly across the horizon the new year rises before us its fragile moon awaiting our embrace heaven and earth entwine in their annual dance of recreation the fissure appears in the firmament tonight and entrance way into new beginnings out beyond the swales the sea expands and contracts keeping time to the thrumming of the universe under this rosh hashanah sky the path before us is uncertain all we can do is hold each other tight as we make our way home on page 36. [Music] hey [Music] oh [Applause] [Music] this one [Music] oh [Music] me oh [Music] this [Music] blessed one you spread us a canopy of peace a shelter of shalom over all israel your people over jerusalem and we say amen we rise for tefila beginning on page 42. my lips that my mouth may declare your praise 44. here oh [Music] [Music] [Music] remember us for life sovereign god who treasures life and describe us in the book of life for your sake god of life [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] blessed are you in our lives on an eye shield of abraham sustainer of sarah return to page 46 for the give the rose [Music] if you're free [Music] foreign [Music] me [Music] merciful god who compares with you with tender compassion you remember all creatures for life [Music] foreign [Music] you are holy your name is holy seekers of holiness praise you day by day salah please be seated return to page 54. our blessing for this year in your love eternal our god you have given us this day of remembrance a day for the shofar's joyful sound a day of sacred assembly a day to be mindful of our peoples going out from egypt [Music] [Music] eternal our god remember us be mindful of us and redeem us for a life of goodness and blessing and we say we take a moment now to find some peacefulness in being together i'm going to invite the members of kolokad to join us again for the next few prayers so please come up and as they do we'll just maybe take a moment to take one of those very deep breaths that we have had too little of these days i feel like all of us are breathing in a very shallow way and what we want to do is really take that deep deep breath that will instill in us more of a sense of calm of peace [Music] is [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] is [Music] yes [Music] me [Music] yes [Music] oh [Music] [Laughter] [Music] as cantor was reminding us to get in touch with our breath again our tradition every morning we thank god for that breath we've become so much more aware of our breath our nishimam and khalid take another nice deep breath through our noses really feeling our bodies working in this moment that we have as we take another moment of quiet this first moment on era rosh hashanah on this eve of the new year first moment to just sit with our own thoughts with our own prayers with our own meditations and hopes for this year [Music] there age 68. [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] me [Music] foreign [Music] hello [Music] me [Music] [Applause] [Music] there's so much um that we are praying for right now in terms of healing that we felt like we couldn't just go back to the same healing songs that we've been singing all along because this is a very different time so we are going to introduce you to a new and beautiful healing prayer the words are actually here in your moxor on page 73. it's the top one heal us now well actually it's the whole page page 73 so please um follow along hold the names of those that you are praying for in your heart if you'd like to say them aloud actually there's power in that so you can take a moment to do that those of you at home i invite you to do the same and then we'll lead you in this healing song [Music] [Laughter] [Music] i ain't new [Music] is [Music] we prayed [Laughter] [Music] we pray to once again [Music] is [Music] of our evils [Music] every child every person [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] uh [Music] so [Music] there's something quite incredible about being out here those of us who are outside of our sanctuary though even those who are watching from home as i've been sitting and watching the light change seeing the light against our beautiful sanctuary being out in nature and feeling god's presence having that sense not of being enclosed but being wide open we speak during these these days of awe we speak of aveenum arcane and we speak of our father our king we speak of the grandeur of god's presence that we can really feel in this incredible moment there are so many ways of thinking about god some very ancient ways that we use our father a king some other more modern ways might be more connected to nature more connected to as we've been talking about our very breath of life however we envision god however we open ourselves up to the divine presence allow holiness to be present in our lives we invite that moment as we come to avinu malcano we begin on page 75 oh god a hundred generations have stood before the ark and they lifted up their voices like flame on the altar they put their trust in kindness and justice they gave their strength to make the promise real a venu we haven't forgotten avinu volcano bring us back to you page 77 we rise almighty and merciful hear our voice [Music] [Music] [Music] gold [Music] [Music] a year of goodness [Music] almighty and merciful answer us with grace our deeds are wanting save us through acts of justice [Music] foreign [Applause] oh [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] this is [Music] oh [Music] me [Music] oh [Music] [Music] so pictures [Music] some may have noticed a uh what might seem like an incongruous fact about me i'm a tall guy but i drive a small sports car it's a little hard to miss seeing me fold compactly into my tiny blue mazda miata convertible seems to amuse people for some reason reminds me of my even smaller red triumph spitfire that i had when i was in college now it's true some people tend to make assumptions about middle-aged men driving around in a two-person convertible i don't actually know what those assumptions are but i can imagine why in fact i recall many years ago i was dreaming out loud about one day buying such a vehicle a friend of mine wisely informing me that it would be absolutely inappropriate for a rabbi to own one can you imagine what people would say well the truth is i stopped trying to imagine i've noticed though one thing people tend to act as if i'm speeding in that car no matter how slowly i drive i've had pedestrians admonish me police officers give me the stink eye despite my actual speed we all make assumptions about others don't we the other day i had a interesting experience in my little car as i was driving well below the speed limit through some rather winding roads i noticed a large black suv riding my tail you really pay attention to the difference in size and weight when you're in a small car with the top down on a warm summer evening and i felt fairly messed even polite portland has been known to have road rage then i started feeling defiant clearly the driver behind me wanted me to speed up and was annoyed that my little sports car which after all should be racing alone was blocking their progress so as is my nature i decided to show my independence and my defiance by slowing down even more that'll show them but it turned out i couldn't shake my pursuer no matter how many turns that big suv was right behind me headlights glaring at me to speed up i started getting a little nervous what kind of danger was i putting myself into you know the kinds of people who drive those things who knows what lengths they would go to if they found me really annoying my opponent followed me every step of the way even to my final destination my heart was pumping when i arrived and pulled over the truck had parked right behind me the door was opening a final confrontation was looming outstepped a dear friend who was going to the same party i was [Music] she laughed when she saw me she said rabbi here's a sermon for you i was so angry about how slow you were going until i saw that it was you then my anger dissipated see she said love conquers all now i'm grateful that it was my friend who jumped out of the car instead of some violence-prone rowdy dude with attitude and a baseball bat but i actually took away a different lesson from that encounter than she did why i wondered did we both make assumptions about the other based on little more than the cars we were driving why was our instinct to be so ungenerous why didn't we start by being kind much has been made about the anxiety sadness indeed the desperation which has infected all of our souls over the course of this pandemic extremes of emotion engulf us as we vacillate through isolation and integration it was not long ago that many of us were experiencing elation at the prospect of returning to normal only to feel a renewed despondency as the delta variant has brought us back to some of the worst numbers of this entire pandemic and return to un to familiar and unmissed restrictions our mood has darkened as we hear daily reports of overwhelmed hospital emergency rooms icus our sense of being in control has been shattered by reports of breakthrough infections even in our own temple community [Music] and what i hear the most from congregants when reflecting on their emotional state is surprise at their own anger some of the most compassionate people i know advocates for social justice the needs of others very much unlike themselves go out of their way to report to me a sense of shame and how angry they are at the unvaccinated they tell me their secret satisfaction at learning that some well-known vaccination denier has come down with covenant i hear expressions of shame and surprise but what i don't hear is remorse justification in their righteous anger overwhelms their more generous nature i understand we're all living with road rage these days but what if what if we could step out of our cars for a moment what if we tried to see each other as real and complex and vulnerable what if we could get back to kindness the biblical word for kindness is khasit the rabbis use the term to denote acts of loving-kindness the talmud notes that the torah begins and ends with kimilutra with acts of kindness from god to human beings rabbi simlai points out that in genesis god's first action after the creation of human beings is to dress them to clothe the naked rabbi goes on to point out that god's last action in the torah is to bury moses to honor the dead birth to death these actions provide a range the torah exists in this reading to remind us to act with kindness with compassion with generosity towards the needs of others whether we think they deserve it or not human beings often make choices which disappoint god and yet god responds with kindness how hard it can be to remember this in our age of polarization political commentators sociologists point out that in our tribalism the failure of the other is actually more important than our own success we care more than an enemy loses than that we win but this is the very opposite of crescent kindness compassion generosity holds us to help one another to care about one another no matter how different no matter how much we disagree with their choices is god's response to the needs of human being it is god's light even in troubled times it is within our power to choose to act to choose to respond with that same kindness that god shows to us rabbi abraham joshua heschel writes we live by the conviction that acts of goodness reflect the hidden light of god's holiness god's light is above our minds but it is not above our will it is within our power to mirror god's and unending love in deeds of kindness like brooks that hold the sky i love heschel's image there like brooks that hold the sky our acts of loving kindness are tiny streams rippling through the forest individually seemingly meaningless but they reflect the skies worth of god's loving kindness truly we hold the sky we tend to think that when our anger is justified we have no need to be kind no need to be generous we know with surprise our own response but we never think to change it and yet our anger our quiet rage of the responsible as paul krugman put it does not make things better in the end it doesn't even make us feel better we're not wrong but we're also not kind we find ourselves seething in our own anger seeking out others who agree with our indignation and who reinforce our rage but we cannot find our way out of our own pit and not insignificantly our anger and our righteousness does not motivate others to change just as it did when i saw what i perceived to be an angry driver behind me i just slowed down i doubled down on the obnoxious behavior that caused the conflict in the first place and i just felt like i was right but we can choose to be different we can choose to act differently we can choose to reflect god's like brooks that hold the sky on yom kippur we read in the torah these well-known words from the book of deuteronomy this day i call heaven and earth to witness regarding you life and death i have set before you blessings and curse choose life so that you and your children may live it's fair to ask when we hear those words the same question that's been asked through the generations will of course choose life who would choose death but the point is not the choice the point is the choosing the ability to choose remains in our hands it is not predetermined how we decide to live determines the kind of life that we will live do we live in anger do we live in selfishness do we live in righteous indignation or do we choose to live with kindness with generosity with compassion we can choose not just to believe that we are kind we can actually be kind even when we think we're right even when we think we're justified can we have the courage not to be surprised at our responses but to choose to change our responses to be more aligned with our vision of ourselves can we be more kind we begin this new year 5782 engulfed in the unpredictable pandemic and the predictable crisis of our own emotional response we've been dragged down by our justifiable anger but rosh hashanah offers us the opportunity to lift ourselves up to act as god does beginning and ending with kindness torah is filled with acts of betrayal and the disappointing behavior of human beings towards god and yet the torah ends as it begins with god's acts of kim loving kindness towards even the undeserving this is our choice we can choose life we can choose to act as god does we can choose to step out of our cars and reflect god's kindness as the brook reflects the sky may our hearts be open and our actions compassionate may we move towards generosity may we in this new year of 57 82 choose kindness amen we turn back in our prayer books to page 83. our calling is to praise the living source our duties to make known the greatness of the one creator who trusts us to be guardians of the earth and messengers of torah who gives us a destiny shared with all human beings and who binds our lives to theirs and so we bend bow and give thanks before the blessed one whose realm is unfathomable whose sovereignty over all makes life holy and precious please rise [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] please be seated [Music] page 89. our thoughts turn to loved ones whom death has recently taken from us and weeks and days and those who died this season and years past our hearts open as well to the wider circles of loss in our community and wherever grief touches the human family we say may their memories be for a blessing in this new year and always you're thinking of someone especially at these moments of joy even of holidays those that we wish were still sitting next to us those who still live in our hearts every day if you want to share their name out loud please do so now you want to hold them in our in your hearts you're always welcome we honor their memories we rise for khadija tom page 90. is [Music] is may all of their memories be for a blessing and we say amen please be seated it's an honor to invite to the bema tony erdes live and in person the president of our synagogue to share some words with us [Music] so wonderful to see all of you i probably recognize more of you than you think um my name is tony erdes and i have the honor to be your president of the board of trustees congregation by israel i'm also famous in my own way i'm the only president in the history of this great synagogue that was never allowed to speak to you to the congregants from inside fema from this side so if you end up like jeopardy now you know it this is the second rush we are celebrating on the cloud that's of cold challenges while entering the high holidays fatigue and uncertain again however on the bright side we are thankful to our temple leadership working diversely for us our relentless and inspirational clergy led by rabbi michael tahana our hard-working staff led by our second to non-executive director josh kasinsky our dedicated and collaborative board of trustees of which i have the honor to be the president thank you kobet government covet we all been affected in our own way last year when we met for rosh hashanah and zoom it seemed natural to say that much of what we experienced together and learned together had actually strengthened our jewish future and our community the adversity challenged us we raised the location and accelerated the innovation however we recognized at the time diversity will pass at some point hopefully soon how can we still stay motivated to continue to grow together to innovate together to become better together today the same question seems to be the same questions are as significant as the word last year we have an opportunity our high holidays offer this ideal opportunity for introspection and reflection so i ask these questions and more and i'm sure you each have your own answers how can we go beyond being our life's administrators and how do we become our life's leaders for something more meaningful and long-lasting do we eventually go beyond the master beyond the vaccine how do we go beyond the social distances how do we get more inspired kinder and perhaps perhaps more understandable you have your own answers i struggled to come up with my own in the interest of time um i would say that my answer to these questions and my complete remarks will be emailed to you after the service but uh please um look for the email you know i think you like um also a link to a ted talk that is pertinent to to to the topic uh a letter of somebody that i admire in israel that you met or you visited israel and just be on the look just take a look and try to answer the questions for yourself those are my whole answer meanwhile back to the administrative part please check our cbi website for all the high holidays information and scheduled events please donate to the robert health memorial high holiday farm food fund by calling our office or using the link on the website as we enter a new and more hopeful year i would like to wish you and your entire family happiness prosperity and good health less hardship and more um [Music] which will lead many of us i know uh probably including you to go to dinner after services so um we are on page 11. those of you at home pull out your candles [Music] source of blessing eternal our god you fill the universe with majestic mind teaching us holiness through sacred obligations giving us the mitzvah the bringing light on this [Music] oh [Music] thank you tony we're going to conclude our service as we turn to page 94 and we will invite you to sing with us let's all stand please [Music] me [Music] hey [Music] oh [Music] me [Music] isn't it wonderful to see our professional choir you guys look fabulous and michael bard's not hiding away in the organ but right here in front of us thank you so much thank you [Music] volunteer choir so beautiful as you bring your music to both of our counters and to uh to each of you um tomorrow morning services will be again out here at ten o'clock those of you who are at home you're welcome to join us as well but the service will also be streamed our family service at one o'clock also here maybe a little bit warmer so we'll have more temps really good but we we will have uh wonderful times to be able to be together throughout this rosh hashanah uh tashlich those of you who've signed up to join us for tosh look around uh town um we'll look forward to seeing you at those locations as well page 99 our god and god of our ancestors eternal god of all generations may your presence in our lives this new year renew our spirits and renew our strength may it be a good year may it be a sweet year oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music]

Channel: Congregation Beth Israel, Portland OR

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Length: 89min 1sec (5341 seconds)

Published: Tue Sep 07 2021