Kol Nidre 2021/5782 Temple Beth El, Bradenton Fl. Rabbi Michael Sternfield & Cantor Deborah Bard.

[Music] so [Music] foreign um [Music] good yantiff to everyone and welcome uh once again to our virtual high holy days services of course this evening is called nidre the most sacred day on the jewish calendar the day of atonement there is a an old play on words if you will that the word atonement can be divided into at one mint which is our tradition our more modern traditions way of saying that on yom kippur really we are intended to be at one with ourselves not to deny that it's preferable to be with family with friends with the congregation but ultimately yom kippur is a day of solitude and a personal reflection more than anything else and i hope that uh although we are not together in our sanctuary that wherever you may be whether at home or with friends that you'll approach these services in that spirit counter bard and i welcome you to our services as does our president ron eisemann and all the members of our board of directors against once again i wish you a good yantaf and welcome you to our col nadre service [Music] [Laughter] [Music] [Music] it's now my pleasure and honor to introduce to you two people who need no introduction to our to our temple neil and sandy clark both of whom are past presidents of temple bethel and i invite them to lead us in the blessing of the candles for yom kippur [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] me the first command in the torah was let there be light thus we are urged in everything we can to be a source of light let us live with honor let us act with integrity let us perform our tasks with passion and the radiance of our deeds will live after us may our ideals burn bright forever undiminished and may we conduct our lives like the flames we kindle always reaching upward striving for good reaching toward you therefore in the spirit of our ancient tradition that hallows and unites our people in all lands and all ages let us kindle the lights of yamaha keep pouring ready [Music] oh [Music] [Music] oh [Music] my [Music] we praise you eternal god sovereign of the universe for giving us life for sustaining us and enabling us to reach this season we join together in singing our young melody [Music] m [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] my um [Music] hey hmm me i'm [Music] hey hey my [Music] ah [Music] so [Music] foreign [Music] hey so [Music] hey [Music] this night compels each of us to confront our faults and frailties mirrored contemplation of what we conceal from others and even from ourselves laid bearer of artifice backdrop to a cavernous silence broken only by the ancient chant of connidre this is the time when consciousness colludes with conscience shattering the delusions with which we conceal our souls tonight god asks us where and what we are we vessels supposedly of god's holiness darken the lives of others with vulgarities of speech of deed and of the will cole nidre's call may pierce pretense and pretending unsettling us with echoes of the hurt that we may have caused intentionally or not cole nidre gives us pause to recognize how every year we have the choice once again either to grow more warn and withered dry inside or stronger wiser kinder more resolute more awake and alive to what should matter most so which shall it be col nidre sounds especially resonant to those souls who have lost their way or find themselves enmeshed in the feeling of hopelessness god where we have transgressed whether against others or against ourselves remove our shame and make us more worthy recipients of your blessings with the consent of the almighty and consent of this congregation in a convocation of the heavenly court and a convocation of the lower court we hereby grant permission to pray with transgressors [Music] uh [Music] [Music] yo [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] wrong [Music] [Music] should be [Music] um [Music] my [Music] [Applause] [Music] ah [Music] [Music] forgive the entire congregation of the children of israel and the stranger among them for the entire people have gone astray in error s moses prayed as you have been faithful to this people ever since egypt please forgive their failings now in keeping with your boundless love by yomir adonai salah kidvaraka and the eternal one responds i have pardoned you according to my word on page 8 now if you are able to please rise and join us in the barakum adonai praise the eternal god to whom all praise is due baruch let us praise the eternal god to whom all praises do now and forever [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] um we praise you eternal god creator of the universe by whose laws the shadows of evening fall and the light of each new day is opened in wisdom you have established the changes of times and seasons and ordered the ways of the stars and their heavenly courses you are the creator of heaven and earth the source of all life we praise you eternal god for the day and its work and for the night and its rest together we join in proclaiming the watchword of our jewish faithful israel adonai hello israel the eternal is our god the eternal god is praise god who rules in glory forever [Music] now on page 10 let's join together in the chanting of according to the cancellations of the torah and we hope you're chanting along with us and singing and offering your blessings where are you [Music] tom [Music] [Music] hello [Music] now let's join together in the english of the same prayer love god with every heartbeat with every breath with every conscious act keep in mind the words i command you today teach them to your children let these mitzvoth guide you along the path of life may they instruct you in your daily tasks keep them at the forefront of your vision place them at the doorway of your house so that upon entering or departing they will remind you to live by them vote good deeds in order that you may reflect god's holiness throughout your life we are on page 11 we affirm that there is only one god through god's power have our people israel been redeemed from the hands of oppressors great deeds god has wrought on our behalf and wonders without number the eternal one was with us during the long years of oppression our faith sustained us even when our people suffered the deepest anguish together now that we are privileged to live in this land of freedom may we continue to be faithful to the teachings of our torah may god guide the lives of all people and unite all hearts in friendship and respect oh god our refuge and our hope we sing your praise now as there are people in ancient days we join together in singing [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Music] or not [Music] we are now on page 13 and i ask you to join us in the recitation of the english of the husky venue prayer grant oh god that we may lie down in peace and rise up again to life spread over us the shelter of your peace guide us with wise counsel be a shield and about us fortifying us against hatred and war against pestilence and sorrow curb within us the inclination to do evil and comfort within the embrace of your love guard are going out and are coming in to life and peace from this time forth and forever praise the source of joy within us for the night and its rest for the promise of peace [Music] [Music] is [Music] me [Music] m [Music] m [Music] [Music] we turn now through to the tafila and join with cantor cone it's on page 15 and i hope you'll join in chanting with us [Music] hello [Music] [Music] m [Music] um [Music] they are [Music] oh [Music] we read now in english on page 15 god of ages past and future god of this day as you are with our mothers and fathers be with us as well as you strengthen them strengthen us as you were their guide be ours as well grant that we too may be worthy inheritors of the torah by reflecting your teachings in our daily lives then our traditions shall endure and our people israel will thrive from mother and father to daughter and son and all who follow them one generation comes one generation passes each of us is a link in the endless chain of our heritage students of the torah become teachers our faith and our ideals endure our people and our values live on through their descendants remember us for life sovereign god who treasures life inscribe us in the book of life for your sake oh god of life [Music] [Music] m [Music] at all times we give thanks to you for our lives for the lives of those we love and for the generations that have brought us to this moment for the joy of human life its wonders and surprises its hopes and achievements together for human community our common past [Music] for high aspirations and noble causes for faith without fanaticism for understanding of views not shared we give thanks for all who labor and suffer for a fairer world who risk their personal well-being so that others might live in dignity and freedom for human liberties and sacred rights for opportunities to change and grow to affirm and choose we pray that we may live not by our fears but by our hopes not by our words but by our deeds blessed are you eternal one to whom all things [Music] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] my [Music] we continue now on page 18 with the blessings and prayers for peace and let us join together at the bottom of the page grant us peace your most precious gift eternal source of peace and enable our people israel to be a messenger to all the world bless our country that it may ever be the pursuer of peace of peace and its advocate in the council of nations reign within our borders all borders health and happiness within our bonds of friendship and harmony among the inhabitants of all evidence and inscribe us in the book of life blessing and peace [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] [Music] is [Music] this is [Music] foreign [Music] and so we pause now for just a few minutes less few seconds for silent contemplation some of meditation and prayer the words of our hearts [Music] i [Music] what's [Applause] [Music] [Laughter] [Music] me [Music] the [Music] we turn now to page 32 in our prayer booklet for the section of the yom kippur service that is called the vidue the personal confession of our transgressions and failings adonai our god is merciful and gracious endlessly patient loving and true showing mercy to thousands forgiving iniquity transgression and sin and granting pardon we join together in the asham new recitation of our wrongdoings [Music] [Music] [Music] i [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] so [Music] i [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] let us read together in the middle of page 32 our god god of our mothers and fathers grant that our prayers may t may reach you do not be deaf to our pleas for we are not so arrogant and stiffness has to say before you our god and god of all ages we are perfect and have not sinned rather do we confess we have sinned we have transgressed what follows now is actually an english acrostic meaning in alphabetical order and it follows very closely the hebrew acrostic which was just chanted by the cantor let's read together we abuse we betray we are cruel we destroy we embarra we falsify we gossip we hate hate we insult we causes [Music] may the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you o god my rock and my redeemer amen we turn now to page 33 in our prayer booklet and this is a well-known and cherished part of the yom kippur service the al hait a public and communal confession of the many transgressions that we have committed in times gone by i'll read the hebrew although you're welcome to read it with me and ask you to recite in english [Music] for the sins we have committed against you consciously or unwittingly for the sins we have committed against you openly or in secret soon for the sins we have committed against you through deceit and denial for the sins we have committed against you through gossip or speaking ill of others for the sins we have committed against you through the hardening of our hearts for the sins we have committed against you through greed and over-indulgence for the sins we have committed against you by narrow-mindedness al-qaeda for the sins we have committed against you through immoral or unethical behavior for the sins we have committed against you by dishonesty in our practices for the sins we have committed against you through empty lip service and insincere apologies for the sins we have committed against you through saying what we do not mean and not doing what we say we will and finally the al-kulam aloha salih s for all these sins o god of mercy forgive us pardon us grant us atonement [Music] hello [Music] hello [Music] we call you avinu as a loving parent forgive our transgressions and failings reach for us as we reach for you we call you malcano as a wise ruler inspire us to add our strength to yours that we may help redeem and build the world to this vision to this possibility to this task we offer ourselves anew please follow after me with each hebrew sentence as you respond in english hear our voices have compassion upon us bring an end to sickness bring an end to all oppression avinu malcanu cote vainu beseifer avinu malcanu inscribe us for blessing in the book of life gives strength to our people israel avilu malcanu may this new year be a good year for all avenue assay be gracious and answer us for we are of but little merit treat us with generosity and kindness [Music] oh [Music] my [Music] know [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] foreign [Music] these are my 50th high holy days as a rabbi and my last holy days as well as a congregational rabbi and i'm especially happy to be spending the final high holy days with this lovely congregation though small in number i have found in past five years now that you are great in spirit and abundant in kindness and have no doubt that counterbarred and i will always hold you close in our hearts whether nearby or far away of course we would much prefer for these high holy days to be with you in person to express our sentiments toward you with greater immediacy but these are perilous times and we are doing what we feel we must however whether we are gathered in person or not after all these years i continue to find the high holy days mystifying and bewildering yom kippur especially to tell you the truth i still do not quite understand what there is about these high holy grail holy days that draws even the most marginal of jews to the synagogue no one would ever describe yom kippur as being a happy or enjoyable experience perhaps not the same with rosh hashanah actually not the same at all but yom kippur is as one might say a downer the services are usually pretty long maybe too long and still like the swallows returning to san juan capistrano one can be certain that every year given normal circumstances most jews will return to the synagogue in one way or another i am well aware that on the high holy days synagogues are occupied by many who are self-described twice a year jews and i presume that most of you who are watching on youtube now would include yourself in in that category do i wish that you would come to temple more often well of course i do i'm a rabbi and i and i'm i'm simply grateful however that you're back here again even virtually um as you always do at this time of year but i would surmise that most of you in fact the great majority of you would not tend to describe yourselves as religious but here you are anyway and that to me is the amazing and also the bewildering part notwithstanding your poor attendance record you seem to care a lot about being jewish no matter how peripheral most may be there persists that will to connect once again to that which makes you jewish and yom kippur in its own mysterious way seems to satisfy that desire your actual reasons for participating in high holy days are are diverse of course some of you i suppose are doing so simply out of habit or out of some residual sense of obligation and for others the high holy days are definitely a touchstone to your past and especially a a way of remembering fondly dear ones with whom we sat in the synagogue during those many years and though they may have died years ago just being at yom kippur services and hearing the ancient melodies and reading the old prayers that in that we find a measure of feeling comfort that we are still somehow close to those that we have lost i i certainly feel that way and there are those who connect on the high holy days for very different reasons really seeking comfort and hope to their troubled lives and for those of you that are feeling that way now perhaps burdened by sorrow or by bitter memories and past failures or perhaps by anxiety about the future itself i can only pray that this yom kippur will help lighten your burden that you will find a measure of both peace and fortitude for what lies ahead although you may have connected today on youtube this service does not have to be a perfunctory experience so long as you are with us i ask why not use this day well for something valuable the hasidic tradition advises us that the most important component in meditation and prayer is what they call in hebrew kavanagh kavanaugh simply means sincerity true intent to enter into the worship experience as we say with all your heart with all your soul with all your might and as long as you are connected and i have your attention at least for a little while longer there are a few things i have on my mind as the old saying goes my job this evening is to talk and your job is to listen and i hope that i will finish before you do you may be wondering why this rabbi is going so easy on you as if to say it's okay you don't need to come back until next year well please that is not my message at all i hope you will come back next year when conditions permit i would love for you to come back but the and i must add that this little congregation of ours needs you throughout the calendar year everyone counts at temple bethel you will never be you will never be just a statistic or another anonymous kind of name on the roster but perhaps you might be thinking in this day and age are services really necessary and i would answer yes they are and i would say this even if i was not a rabbi the synagogue is that unique entity which is charged with the preservation of the jewish religion of our value system of our way of life it is much more than being as the expression of today goes jewish i don't care much for that expression but you know what i mean by it no this is a place of judaism where judaism is espoused articulated and acted out through our ceremonies and our holidays and our customs and even more important than that religious services and the events of the congregation are intended to be a spiritual springboard to more purposeful purposeful living personally and communally otherwise the temple any temple is no more than an empty shell in which case it is going to be irrelevant but to be perfectly candid with you even if synagogues everywhere were filled every week and that's pretty unlikely i know i would still not rest assured that this would be a spiritual success the efficacy of any religious institution should not be measured by the number of people in the chairs or pews every week or in this case by the number of people who are connecting on youtube real success in religion and i think especially of our jewish religion of course real success can be measured only by the degree to which the uplifting words that are spoken at these services resonate through the works of the congregation itself in order to fulfill its true mission a congregation and to this i say any congregation jewish christian muslim or otherwise must do more than recite and sing beautiful words and hymns it must also find a way to act upon those ideas a congregation every congregation really is supposed to be a group of people who bound together not only for the purpose of expressing but also putting into action their sacred beliefs and principles i want to share with you a personal observation which is often discussed by the way in quiet times among fellow rabbis as it is as well by the clergy of other faiths and that is this take a breath there is no necessary connection between religious service attendance and authentic religious practice we have worshipers who attend services religiously almost every week and yet there are some of those who never seem to get it they don't seem to be willing to translate the prayers into action and there are many others many others who almost never stepped foot into a temple or church except perhaps twice a year and yet who all the time are performing incredible acts of kindness and generosity i hardly ever see such people in the temple but they are out there fulfilling in countless other ways the ideals of judaism putting into action the things that we can only speak about at religious services and so if they only come to services twice a year i am not about to be critical and what i most wish to convey is that the real work of any religion must be carried out in places other than the synagogue religious services at best are a catalyst to broader activity and at its worst only play acting and now i'd like to share with you an insight that comes from my own experience as a congregational rabbi from many years ago for a long time i was a rabbi in san diego california of course and um like most temples we had those who came all the time and those who came very seldom things haven't changed that much but we adopted a project for the congregation that we call the hunger project and it began by us reaching out to a catholic center for feeding and helping the homeless in downtown in the very poor part of san diego and it was at the saint vincent de paul center and we said to them you know you do this every single day how about if our temple takes on just sundays and we will prepare and we will feed and we will help clothe and provide provisions for the homeless people that come on that day and that's what we started doing and as far as i know it is continuing to this very day even though it began almost 40 years ago so all week long volunteers would come to the temple and they would gather various provisions and they would cook usually elaborate soups and stews and put together sandwiches and all the rest and then they would pack them up on sunday morning and take them to the center the saint vincent de paul and they would distribute the food to those who came and without fail hundreds showed up every week to receive the benefit and without fail the number of our volunteers also increased we hardly ever had to urge anybody to come and i should add that we never had to ask for money everyone knew that it was a tzedakah project and although it was rather costly to put on i think it cost nearly a thousand dollars every single week we never had to ask for money it just came because people knew that this was the right thing to do and there were people and i think there must still be people who never came to services but they wouldn't miss their day at the temple preparing the food and no matter what unless they were simply physically unable to do so they would never miss that sunday morning because it gave them a sense of their judaism and of doing something tangible and worthwhile for people who had so much less that was their judaism that was their profound experience that was their way of taking the words that we speak in the sanctuary and putting them into their own lives and making them a dynamic part of what they did every single week god bless them god bless them and i would say that uh now to continue here is where reform judaism differs very significantly from more traditional branches of the jewish religion and i regard this to be among reformed judaism's most important principles i don't care what the ritual is i stand by these words there is not a single jewish tradition that has any enduring value unless it leads to a heightened awareness of what that tradition stands for since this is yom kippur i'd like to offer you a single example of what i'm referring to we all know that jews are supposed to fast on yom kippur unless they are too young or physically unable to do so i believe in fasting of course i do but for those who may believe that merely to have gone without food and drink for this 24-hour period that they are somehow being made into better jews i'm sorry to say that you are mistaken fasting has values only only if by feeling really hungry uncomfortable and perhaps even irritable this helps you identify with those who fast not out of choice but out of necessity every single day those who often go to bed hungry on an empty stomach and those who have to live almost every day hand to mouth as much of the world's population does all the time if fasting helps us understand this even a little bit better then i would say indeed it is very worthwhile fasting is intended to be a ritual of empathy otherwise it is a little more than a very quick crash diet which is also quickly undone by a sumptuous break the fast now this is not something i'm making up about fasting it lies at the very heart of the meaning of yom kippur nearly 3 000 years ago the prophet spoke these words and i paraphrased today is this the fast that i have chosen a day of self affliction is this what you call a fast that you think god desires no this is the fast that god has demanded to unlock the shackles of injustice to break the chain of poverty to share your bread with the hungry and to bring the homeless into your house and when you see the naked to clothe them i do not believe even for a moment that god cares whether we fast on yom kippur or not whether we attend services every single week twice a year or not at all i surmise that god has more important things to do than to take attendance but i do believe with all my heart that judaism is a religion that requires of us to translate our words our rituals our beautiful traditions into action and unless we are willing to do that we are not living according to the principles of our jewish faith this has been the cornerstone of my entire rabbinical career and i believe it now more than i have ever before almost two thousand years ago one of the great rabbis of the mishnah taught it is not the talking that is essential but rather it is in the doing as it says in hebrew these are words to live by it is not in the talking but rather in the doing that is the essence prayers and rituals are hollow without follow-through judaism at its heart is a down-to-earth and very practical religion we measure spiritual success not by trying to save souls but rather by enhancing life itself by doing what we can to leave this world of ours just a little better for our having been here and although no one can say for certain i believe that god evaluates us according to our deeds not our words and i believe that when all is said and done god's countenance will shine on those whose deeds far exceed their words good yantu i wish you a meaningful and uncomfortable vest amen [Music] me [Music] foreign [Music] more [Music] at virtually all of our services throughout the year we include a prayer for those who are ill especially our own dear ones and friends and on this yom kippur especially it seems essential poignant that we should offer a prayer not only for our own but for the millions really the millions that are suffering to survive the covet pandemic and we offer this prayer prayer invites god's presence to fill our spirits and for god's will to prevail in our lives prayer may not bring water to parched fields nor mend a broken bridge nor rebuild a ruined city but prayer can water an arid soul mend a broken heart and rebuild a weakened will in gratitude we also offer our prayers for those who care for the sick with their hands their voices and their hearts who every day place the well-being of those they care for above their personal safety may they remain in good health and in good spirits and let us all say amen [Music] european [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] as we turn now to the concluding portion of our service we continue on page 21 in the prayer book pamphlet as we ask you to join us in the elenu [Music] oh [Music] foreign [Music] i [Music] please join with me may the time not be distant o god when you shall be known and worshiped throughout the world we pray that the day may come when all people shall trust in you when corruption and evil will be replaced by purity and goodness may they come when superstition and the worship of false gods disappear when all people will know that to you alone every knee shall bend and every tongue give praise may all people come to understand that we are brothers and sisters so that we will come together in harmony before you then shall your reign be established on earth and the word of your ancient prophet be fulfilled the eternal god will reign forever we join together [Music] we continue now with the kaddish which is found in the prayer book pamphlet on page forty-three [Music] [Music] [Music] may the source of peace send peace to all who mourn and bring comfort to all who are bereaved and let us say amen [Music] is [Music] and we wish you an easy fast and go march we're very pleased that you joined us again this evening for col nadre and of course tomorrow morning the yom kippur day service will begin at 10 o'clock eastern time and will be followed immediately by the yusker service so we hope that you'll join us for the entirety of both yom kippur morning and yusuker once again we continue to look forward to feeling your presence zygozoonta everybody be well good [Music] so [Music] [Music] hmm so [Music] so [Music] hey [Music] ah [Music] peace [Music] [Applause]

Channel: Temple Beth El

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Keywords: Jewish, Reform, Badenton Florida, Temple Beth El

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Length: 95min 29sec (5729 seconds)

Published: Wed Sep 15 2021