Great Park Online Pre Yom Kippur Service 5782 / 2021

hey [Music] i wish you all the gemara hatimatova may we be sealed for a year that is filled with health with life with joy and with happiness may we have opportunities to gather together in celebratory events may we be joined together in happiness yom kippur is both a very solemn time serious time and also a day that is associated with great joy it is the anniversary of an event when mashirabenu came down the mountain it was after we had received the first tablets when we were dancing around the golden cuff and they were shattered on the side of the mountain mushroom pleads with god who gives the opportunity of tischuva of rewriting history of going over the events of the past and making a decision about the future the second tablets that we received on yom kippur day then in the desert gave us the message of hope that there is always an opportunity to renew to revisit to fix to repent to come home to hashem so the day is filled with fasting and seriousness and somber mood of yom kippur but at the same time it affords us the opportunity to resolve resolve issues between ourselves and hashem make resolutions about the future that are meaningful resolve issues between one another to let go of the baggage that holds us back that does not allow minds and hearts to meet let this yom kippur be a yom kippur of healing in our relationship with hashem in our relationships with one another may the seriousness of yom kippur usher in true seasons of joy that lie beyond we begin with the beautiful prayer of connidre [Music] you [Music] [Applause] yes [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] i [Music] [Music] [Music] time [Applause] [Music] [Applause] is [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] over time [Music] [Music] [Music] there's foreign [Music] oh [Music] the usual prayer is a time in which we are so filled with memories we think back to the loved ones whom we shared so much precious time with in their life on this earth and it is the jewish way to connect with souls with neshamas and to do something in this world that can benefit the soul so it is the custom at the time of yusuke to pledge to charity in memory of the deceased so that their souls continue to soar above through the actions of descendants of relatives of those who love them and continue the mission of life in this world it is in the time of yisco that one is able to transcend space the physical proximity of a physical world is transcended as we connect one soul to another it is the words of kaddish that are recited when someone passes on from this world they don't actually mention death itself they are a pledge they are a commitment i pledge to magnify the name of god to make this world a more godly more gentle a kinder place i pledge to do things in this world that will be a continuity of the life that is no longer here in this physical world but that is still so ever-present and so ever connected to me in my life i journey through so many memories in the moments of yiskar and it is at the great park synagogue that we begin the risk yiskar service with the reading of this yiskar tofila merciful father in whose hand are the souls of the living and the dead we consecrate this moment to the memory of our dearly beloved ones who have been summoned to their eternal rest with sorrowing hearts children remember their beloved parents who tended their young lives with great love and affection untiring with their endeavors to direct their children on the path of virtue and kindness have a mindful worthy of their welfare and ever anxious for their happiness there are husbands and wives who recall the affectionate bonds formed in your presence they remember the faith and understanding the trials and grief the fears and joys they shared together until death parted them yet the ties that unite their souls can never be severed there are fathers and mothers who remember on this day the most precious of all your gifts children for whom they planned and toiled over whom they watched and rejoiced in in whom were centered all their dreams and hopes this solemn hour o god stirs within us all tender memories as we recall the pleasant associations of those who were so dear to us in life we remember the joys and comforts they brought us the love and devotion lavished upon us the hardships endured for us and the lofty teachings that they strove to impart unto us and even though months and years have passed since our beloved ones have departed this life we feel that they are near to us and with us for the memory of them is forever enshrined in our hearts may we remain ever true to their trust loyal to their precepts and faithful to the heritage that they bequeathed unto us we proudly remember the men and women members of this congregation who gave yeoman service to our community whose devotions were never forgotten whose spirits are still with us and whose activities we have taken over where they left off we pray that we will always justify their trust in us we recall in love the martyrs of our own day the victims of the holocaust and we remember with pride all those who gave their lives in the world wars for the establishment and in defense of the state of israel and all who fought and died in the name of truth justice and peace for all mankind may the memories of those whom we lovingly recall this day influence our lives for good and direct our thoughts away from the vain and the fleeting towards that which is eternal teach us to emulate their virtues so that the historic chain of judaism remains unbroken with us teach us to live wisely and selfishly courageously and fruitfully in truth and understanding in love and in peace so that those who come after us may likewise remember us for good as we this day affectionately remember all those who were unto us a blessing we continue with a memorial prayer for the members of our congregation who have passed on from this world [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] m then [Music] your spirit [Music] so [Music] [Music] i oh man [Music] [Music] [Music] the holy words of shema are a powerful affirmation of our faith in god almighty we say the words of the shema at least twice a day every morning and every evening they form a critically important part of our daily service is the words of shema we are told in a talmud that we're on the lips of rabbi akiva and the talmud tells us in painful detail how akiva defied the order of the romans who told him that he is not allowed to teach the words of the torah he did so anyway and when he was captured his students watched as his flesh was flayed from his body with iron combs as they tortured him to death and the students watched the drabi akiba at that all painful moment was reciting the shema and they turned to their teacher and said rabbi rabbi akiva how can you recite the shema at such a time and rabbi akiva said all my life i waited for this moment i recited the words in shema time and time again that you shall love the lord your god behold with all your heart behold napship with all your soul with every element of your might and i thought when will i ever have the opportunity of giving god my all my everything even my life and the moment has arrived should i not want to proclaim how exceptional this moment is as i hand my soul to god and the talmud tells us that it was with the word erhad as he said the word the lord our god is one he sold the parts of this world and the shema which is said every single day of our life be said in a very unique way on the day of yom kippur because whenever we say shema on the average regular day of the year the words of shema are followed with the words by malcolm may god's glory and kingdom be blessed forever eternal i said in a whisper but on the day of yom kippur we proclaim it we raise our voices and we say only on this day of yom kippur [Music] may god's glorious kingdom be blessed forever eternal and the talmud tells us what the source of those words is it's the story of jacob our forefather whose name also was israel who was at his deathbed surrounded by his children and he was uncomfortable he was concerned he was obviously in distress and the children were concerned father why are you so distressed in this moment and he said my children i am concerned that perhaps one of you my children are not committed completely to the goal and the mission of israel look at my grandfather abraham he had a son that was holy and spiritual but he also had a son ishmael who departed from the course of abram's life there was isaac who had jacob but he else had a son asap and esau also departed from the world of torah of god's mission and purpose so i am traveled my children maybe one of you too is not absolutely committed can i depart this world without the knowledge that you are all true to the faith of israel and with that the children that were surrounding the bed of jacob as he was handing his soul to his creator in unison proclaimed the words shema israel hashem listen israel and israel also referred to their father jacob whose name was israel the lord our god the lord is one we are all in unison together every one of us committed to the cause of our people and jacob in his great satisfaction in reassurance said the words by rushing may god's kingdom be blessed forever eternal if children are committed to the cause there is jewish continuity there is the glory of god's kingdom not only today but forever eternal so the talmud says that really they wanted to institute that these words be said every day in shema but there was a concern moses did not give us those words he gave us the words as they appear in the book of deuteronomy very clearly shema and then we are hafta the words hero israel the lord our god the lord is one and you shall love the lord your god there is no reference to baruch shame how can one institute into our prayers words that are not found in the torah so it was decided that we will put them in the siddur but we'll only gently mention them in a whisper we won't audibly say these words at all we say them but we don't say them we say them quietly so as to remember this is not part of the text of our holy scriptures but the day of yom kippur is different he is on the day of yom kippur that god turns to his children and he asks us who are you where do you belong what are your commitments to the future are you part of the mission of israel are you committed to continue the journeys of your forefathers and it is always on the day of yom kippur such a somber serious day that the jewish people gather in shul they gary gather in dominion they gather in prayer and in fasting and supplication they open their hearts and they are so committed to the mission of god yom kippur day this is the day that we are aware that we are connected that we feel the presence of god that we somehow sense the journey of soul if there's any time in the year it is on the day of yom kippur on the day of yom kippur we don't only proclaim the shema as a reference to a text in the scriptures it's not only a rational proclamation of what our belief pattern is on the debrim kipper there's a passion there's a feeling there's an opening of heart there's a sense of belonging to our people israel and when god hears his children so fervently proclaim we are here we belong we are part of the family of our people israel so then the words are said not just in a whisper by roof shame may god's kingdom be blessed forever eternal if our children are present if you and i are present in the day of yom kippur opening our hearts with commitments to a better future then there is jewish continuity not in a whisper not the half permission allowed to say these words but said fervently with a sense of urgency with an awareness that there is a mission that we're all ready to continue with and where we on this yom kippur day realize all of the affirmations and all of these sensitivities and commitments let us really determine that the year ahead is going to be one of growth a step forward and extra attendance insult please god in health an extra opportunity to put on to fill in to light the shabbat candles on time to give charity to do a kindness to another human being if we are committed and resolved on this yom kippur to continue the journey of our forefathers the kingdom of god lives on in us and may we continue with the words of shema and you will love the lord your god with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might and you will teach this to your children we will communicate this to the generation after us they too will be touched by our further by our diligence and our commitment to the values of our torah may hashem give us and our children and all of our progeny the sense of connectedness the love for god and the joy and the happiness of being part of our people israel may hashem give us a year that is filled with joy [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] evening [Music] [Music] me [Music] of the previous generation he was exiled to siberia for many years for the crime of spreading yiddishkeit in the former soviet union he was once in manhattan and he came across a fellow jew when he was not observant and he offered the individual the opportunity to put on film but there was one problem mendel didn't know much english and this fellow didn't know much russian or yiddish for that matter the language barrier was quite difficult but that mendel was insistent on persuading this individual to put on philly what did he do he turns to the individual and he spoke the the the the few english words that he knew he said i jewish you jewish i it's filling youth villain and with those words he convinced the individual to put on tv and this was a very very strange meeting of two very different people very different backgrounds in fact the language barrier was practically insurmountable but amanda was able to convince this individual with a few words that he knew to put onto film remember knew the secret and in fact the secret that he knew is in fact the essence of what jim kippur is really all about and this is really the secret of jewish unity jewish unity is something which we speak about very often especially today it's it's a theme that many rabbis many individuals discuss the importance of jewish unity of coming together and jewish unity is in fact a very a very difficult topic and a very difficult idea to to achieve for the simple reason that unity means bringing people together but people are different people have different backgrounds people have different um socioeconomic are different socioeconomic levels there are wealthy there are poor there are ashkenazim there are sfardim there is the working class there's the there is the the the middle class there is the upper class there's various differences that distinguish us from each other and to bring people together means overcoming those boundaries but how does one achieve that and the truth of the matter is that the only way one can achieve it is by identifying that dimension of our being we are we are truly one where there is essentially no difference between us that is the essence of the yiddin the s there is no difference between the two just as children are all children of their parents no child is more a child than the other no yid is more yid than the other and this is what yom kippur is really all about tapping into that dimension of our being tapping into the essence of who we are that dimension of our being which is beyond which is which is beyond any corruption which is beyond any sin which can never be tainted the essential pure essence of every yid is what's revealed in him kippur and it is that which ultimately brings about the um the repentance the transformation the truth that we all seek how do we achieve repentance how do we cleanse ourselves how do we resolve to begin anew it's when we tap into that dimension that was never sullied in the first place when we tap into the essence of the neshama which was is and will always be connected tasha which can never be separate the bond that yid has with hashem can never be severed just as the bond that he has with his or her fellow jew cannot be certainly separate either and this is perhaps one of the important messages of him kippur to recognize that beyond the externalities beyond those areas in life where there are differences and there and indeed there are but the importance to be able to travel beyond it to transcend those differences and those challenges and to identify that dimension of our being which is always whole which is always pure which is always connected tasha and it is that bond between between ourselves and our fellow jews as well as hashem that really is the essence and the message and the importance of william keeper is all about so i wish you all well over the fast it should be a meaningful fast a powerful fast one which we identify the essence of who we are and to reconnect to our true self to reconnect to the neshama to our true identity [Music] after not being assured and with other congregates stepping onto the family ground for rosh hashanah could have never have felt more surreal standing side by side with our feather community listening to the dublin and hearing the shafa was a long overdue event and showed me how appreciative i am to the rabbi committee and community overall with six millions occurring over the yantef hashem truly heard our call he just showed how distance truly makes the heart grow fonder as yom kippur fast approaches i'm once again looking forward to praying at the great park by looking at the commitment and unity of each and every member it truly falls with so much hope for the future i would like to add a thought to ponder in assyria to may to shiva leading up to this very holy day although the world has been turned upside down i want to encourage you all to do the same with the situation around us instead of hoping for praise from others praise the work of others instead of waiting for reassurance please give reassurance instead of being patient for change be the change for yourself and those around you let us use our experience to help others and actively work for our goals as chief rabbi jonathan sex always says the best way to receive blessing is to be a blessing we pray for hashem to inscribe us in the book of love an incredible year ahead where the shul is once again the center of many simchas and memories happy memories i wish you a meaningful and easy fast [Music] [Music] me oh am is [Applause] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] yo [Music] is [Applause] [Music] [Music] israel [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] hello [Applause] you

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Length: 40min 57sec (2457 seconds)

Published: Tue Sep 14 2021