Rosh Hashanah - Day 1

good morning everyone and please turn in your masarim to page 37 for pisuke de zimra we will start with a new goon to get us in the mood after that you can stand for the brachot if you are if that is your custom la la la la la la lie is israel [Music] [Music] is please turn to page 44. li david adonai original [Music] [Music] is the seventh line down for the song okay [Music] [Music] it's [Music] oh [Music] is on page 46 the kadeshia tome please rise if you are a mourner or observing a york site please join me vyamlich is please turn to page 47 for the beginning of pisuke to zimra if you are able or it's your custom please rise baruch please join me on page 58 for the mees more the psalm 92 for shabbat means more shirley shabbat ladonna has is [Music] [Music] six lines from the bottom please join me in sadie katamar sadika [Music] is [Music] [Music] who you [Music] [Music] please turn to page 60 for the ashrae we'll begin together and oven silently in the middle and come and finish the psalm on page 61 of foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] please turn to page 63. hallelujah is [Music] hallelujah [Music] [Music] [Music] hallelujah [Music] hallelujah [Music] hallelujah [Music] hallelujah [Music] hallelujah [Music] [Music] [Music] please turn to page 65 and join me for the song um it comes on the seventh line four words in and then it will finish on the following page at the end of the psalm on page 66 [Music] [Music] he [Music] [Music] adonai m [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] okay [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] okay um good morning shabbat shalom and shanatova my name is karen mccara and i'm a member here at a daughter real and i am delighted to be leading you this morning in shakhri for the first day of rosh hashanah so we're going to begin our service on page 69 of the mahzor love shalom and i'm just going to chant right through i will call out page numbers as we go um so here we go page 69 with hamelech [Music] [Music] i [Music] [Music] l we're now going to continue on to page 70 um with the hatsui kaddish [Music] [Music] [Music] a [Music] a man we now continue at the top of page 71 with the bahu please rise [Music] a shalom [Music] [Music] they maybe seated we're now going to skip to the top of 73 where we're gonna dive in quietly because it's shabbat um so we skip page 72 we're on to 73 and um let's read together after that at the bottom of 74 we'll read in the english so and please join me at the bottom of 74 in the english all extol god who ceased work on the seventh day and ascended the throne of praise robed in majesty for the day of rest calling shabbat a delight such is the distinction of the seventh day that god rested from all work and so the seventh day itself praises god and says a song of shabbat it is good to thank adonai let all creatures likewise celebrate and bless god offering praise honor and glory to god the ruler creator of all who in holiness grants peaceful rest to the people israel on the holy shabbat may your name adonai our god be hallowed and may the thought of you our sovereign be celebrated in the heavens above and on earth below though the praise do you our redeemer is beyond any offered by your handiwork or the lights you have made may they continue always to sing your glory and we will chant together on the top of 75. she [Music] for um [Music] we're still on 75. barrage [Music] m [Music] oh oh we are now on page 76. a [Music] is top of page 77 for shema my israel [Music] foreign continue davening through page 78. and let's read together in the english on page 78 um we take our seat seat in our hand and every time we say the word suitseet we kiss them so beginning um with adonai said to moses adonai said to moses speak to the people israel and instruct them that in every generation they shall put sidsi on the corners of their garments placing a thread of blue on the seat seat the fringe of each corner that shall be your tzitzit and you shall look at it and remember all the meets vote of adonai and fulfill them and not be seduced by your heart and eyes as they lead you astray then you will remember and fulfill all my mitzvot and be holy before your god i am adonai your god who brought you out of the land of egypt to be your god i am adonai your god amen we are at the middle of page 78. now we're going to dive in quietly page 79 and then please join me on page 84. is [Music] for [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] israel uh we're now going to go to the recitation of the silent amidah and what i'm going to do is just allow you to pause your video um to do your silent amidah and when you're ready to join me again um for the repetition of the amidah just start it up again and we'll sing amida out loud together and uh amida can be found on page 81 so go ahead and pause for your silent amidah and when you're ready please join me [Music] [Music] hello [Music] [Music] [Music] m [Applause] [Music] me page 82 [Music] [Music] [Music] my um [Music] i a tuggy [Music] my [Music] so [Music] holy [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] me [Music] [Music] team continuing on page 83. [Music] hallelujah [Music] lord israel tea lord [Music] we now continue on page 85 with uh oh tall [Music] [Music] of [Music] of [Music] so we are now on page 86. uh [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] hello [Music] hallelujah [Music] [Music] [Music] ah [Music] [Music] [Music] i [Music] [Music] new [Music] me [Music] i [Music] [Music] oh [Music] oh we're now going to read in english on page 88 the fourth bracha you have chosen us among all peoples loving us wanting us you've distinguished us among all nations making us holy through your commandments drawing us close to your service and calling us by your great and holy name with love you have bestowed on us our god this shabbat and this day of remembrance a day for recalling the shofar sound with love a day for holy assembly and for recalling the exodus from egypt our god and god of our ancestors may the thought of us rise up and reach you attend to us and accept us hear us and respond to us keep us in mind and keep in mind the thought of your ancestors as well as the messiah the descendant of david jerusalem your holy city and all your people the house of israel on this day of remembrance respond to us with deliverance goodness compassion love life and peace remember us for good and let us say amen respond to us with blessing let us say amen redeem us with life and let us say amen show us compassion and care with words of salvation and kindness have mercy on us and redeem us our eyes are turned to you for you are a compassionate and loving sovereign continuing now on page 89. [Music] so um [Music] [Music] [Applause] is [Music] love page 90. [Music] foreign [Music] i [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] israel [Music] behold ah [Music] [Applause] [Music] i shall we now are on page 92 for avenue volcano [Music] ah [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] new [Music] [Music] m [Music] she [Music] [Music] [Music] new [Music] see we have now arrived near the end of our service page 94. [Music] [Music] ah so [Music] m [Music] [Music] thank you for joining me and wishing you a very sweet happy and healthy new year [Music] 99999 [Music] is [Music] i we now begin our torah service on page 96 with ain kamoja [Music] ain't um [Music] [Music] ah [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] we rise as the ark is opened in the middle of page 96 [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] may the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable to you o lord my rock and redeemer and at this auspicious time for prayer please hear hear our yearnings and our desire for peace for compassion and for a world filled with love amen amen [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] me [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] hallelujah [Music] [Music] [Applause] amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me i once was lost but now i am found was blind but now can see grace is a concept that we often associate with christianity and yet in our liturgy in our torah throughout jewish tradition god is identified a number of ways as being one who is filled with grace and shares that grace with the world all of these are words that have various translation but they all point to this concept of grace and what does that mean within a jewish context grace can be defined as that overflowing love that comes from god that is part of the world that is the very current of the world itself it's not something we can control it's not something that we earn it is simply something that is given and given freely at moments when we ourselves are open to the world around us when we ourselves are able to be present in this torah reading that we have for the first day of rosh hashanah we see a moment of grace we see hagar having been banished into the wilderness with her son ishmael crying out and concerned so concerned that she's certain that the lad with her ishmael will die because they do not have sufficient provisions to make it through the wilderness and as she finishes crying out god hears her cry and opens her eyes and she sees a well before her she was blind and then she could see this torah reading is one example of how grace can be experienced in our world and it raises the question for us to ask where have we experienced grace where have our eyes been open to the fullness of being around us and to the fact that the world will provide us with what we need for our salvation when have we experienced such moments are we open to them do we even see them as being possible this as i said is one of the many questions which this torah portion raises for us and asks us to consider as we reflect and begin the new year the torah reading as i said can be found on page 100 and comes from genesis chapter 21 via [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] elohim [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] for whoever [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] hello [Music] um [Music] [Music] a foreign [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] amen [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign is [Music] share we now turn to page 106 where we find the moftir the additional tour reading for this the first day of rosh hashanah it comes from the book of numbers chapter 29. [Music] amen um [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] is at this time we will offer up amisha bera a prayer for healing often times we associate this prayer for healing with people who are suffering from physical illness however this is a prayer that also encompasses emotional and spiritual illnesses and struggles and so we invite you to share a name or names of anyone who you know friends loved ones co-workers people who you just know in passing who you're thinking about who are struggling in some way and who need some divine love and some assistance and help [Music] is [Music] holy [Music] [Applause] m [Music] [Music] oh [Music] i [Music] we now turn to page 108 where we find the haftarah for the first day of rosh hashanah it comes from the very beginning of the book of samuel and deals with the pain the humiliation the emotional isolation and struggles of a woman by the name of hannah and it also displays her resilience may her strength and her resilience inspire us as we deal with our pain our own struggles our own emotional isolation and the difficulties that we face in our own lives page 100 108. [Music] after they had eaten and drunk in shiloh hannah rose now eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of the temple of the lord she was deeply distressed and prayed to the lord and wept bitterly and she vowed a vow and said o lord of hosts if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant but will give to your servant a son that i will give him to the lord all the days of his life and no razor shall touch his head as she continued praying before the lord eli observed her mouth hannah was speaking in her heart only her lips moved and her voice was not heard therefore eli took her to be a drunken woman and eli said to her how long will you go on being drunk put your wine away from you but hannah answered no my lord i am a woman troubled in spirit i have drunk neither wine nor strong drink but i have been pouring out my soul before the lord do not regard your servant as a worthless woman for all along i have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation then eli answered go in peace and the god of israel grant your petition that you have made to him and she said let your servant find favor in your eyes then the woman went her way and ate and her face was no longer sad they rose early in the morning and worshipped before the lord then went back to their house at rama and elkanah knew hannah his wife and the lord remembered [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] a prayer for our country oh god and god of our ancestors with mercy accept our prayer on behalf of our country and its government pour out your blessings upon this land upon its leader its judges officers and officials who are devoted in good faith to the needs of the public instruct them with the laws of your torah and help them understand your rules of justice so that peace and security happiness and freedom will never depart from our land we pray adonai god whose spirit is in all creatures awaken that spirit within all the inhabitants of our land uproot from their hearts hatred and malice jealousy and strife plant among those of different nationalities and faiths who dwell on our nation love and companionship peace and friendship may it therefore be your will that our land be a blessing who all dwell upon earth and cause them to dwell in friendship and in freedom speedily fulfill the vision of your prophets nations shall not lift up sword against nation neither shall they learn war anymore for all of them from the least of us to the greatest shall know me and let us say amen many of you may remember that during our israel moment that is when we take a moment to acknowledge our relationship to eretz israel and ask for blessings upon her i use this moment to connect via one of my own personal passions that is through israeli song today i'd like to share an israeli song that is in both text and music one that can speak to us very directly and meaningfully during this trying time in which we find ourselves it's one of my many favorite songs by one of my favorite singers yehudit ravitz the song is called milatova a good word here's what the first verse and chorus say even in the most intense heat wave i know the rains will come and even in a windy stormy and cold time i see a bird at my window things are often difficult but most of the time just one good kind word makes me feel really good it only takes one or two good words not more than that so even in hard times there is hope just remember one or two good kind words can make a world of difference and bring positivity and healing to those around you [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] me [Music] i [Music] say [Music] we turn now to page 120 ashrae [Music] um [Music] [Music] [Music] we turn now to page 121 ask everyone to please rise wherever you are as we return the sifrey torah to the aroha kodesh kiniska [Music] is [Music] [Music] is [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] me [Music] a [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] m [Music] [Music] i [Music] i [Music] we now turn to page 123 for the hatsi kadesh followed by the silent amidah which begins on page 125 and goes through to page [Music] 139 [Music] ah [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] um [Music] [Music] breathe [Applause] [Music] oh i [Music] mean when someone calls your name what do you say how do you respond oftentimes it's with a huh who's there what abraham though is different when god called abraham abram said hinani here i am and it's that answer that makes abraham so worthy of being the founder of the jewish people because he was willing to be there when god called not with a question not with a demand not with expectations or some kind of requirement just here i am i am present and being present is vital because being present is when we engage fully with the other human beings in our lives being present means that we're open to the fullness of the reality around us and being open to reality is where we experience the ultimate reality the source of all reality the divine so as we chant this prayer which is found on page 140 let's ask ourselves this question how present are we how present are we each and every day and are we worthy of the divine image that rests within us such that we can be present to the divine that surrounds all of us page 140. [Music] he [Music] is [Music] is [Music] no [Music] [Music] he [Music] [Music] [Music] he [Music] [Music] [Music] i [Music] [Music] um live is [Music] [Music] [Music] he is we remain standing now as we turn to page 141 as we begin the repetition of the musa [Music] hey [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] um [Music] m [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] my [Music] my as we turn around to page 143 for unantana i would have us consider the following at this moment in our own personal lives and that of our city our state our country and our whole world we are experiencing vast disruption covet 19 as a pandemic is not just a health issue but it affects us on an economic level and on a social level and gets into every corner of our lives and one of the lessons that we take away from a moment like this is exactly how tenuous our hold on life is how much randomness can play a role in who stays healthy and who gets sick this prayer unatana talketh imagines us each one of us individually passing before god and god looking into our very souls this is a time when we consider exactly all the vagaries of life all the random lifts of life all the difficulties that we have all the ups and downs and it asks us to imagine god looking into our very souls and asking us how have we been in this world this past year how have we lived have we been present have we been available have we been compassionate have we been kind this is a prayer that calls upon us to look into the places that we don't want to see to look at the very darkness of our own souls and ask ourselves what shall we do in this year to come to human better page one hundred and forty three unatana toketh [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] uh [Music] um [Music] [Music] [Music] m [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] um [Music] [Music] [Music] um oh [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] um m [Music] me [Music] i [Music] [Music] ah oh [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Laughter] [Music] [Music] [Music] continues on page 145. [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Applause] is [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] hello [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] i god [Music] [Music] we're now seated as we continue four lines down on page 146 with the prayer of ahomamine martin luther king said that the ark of human history bends towards justice however one of the things that we've seen in our own day and age in just these past months is that while the ark may bend towards justice sometimes the actual bending requires our participation our involvement our crying out for justice this prayer is such a cry it is an affirmation of justice and our supreme belief is jews that in the face of so much injustice we must cry out we must call out for it is when we call out that we begin the process of healing the wounds and creating a more just and fair society the home i mean page 146. hi [Music] [Music] we continue now on the top of page 149 uh [Music] [Music] my [Music] [Music] [Music] this being shabbat we continue on the top of page 153 with among the other special editions for shabbat yismichu [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] as we turn now to page one hundred and fifty four and begin the machio note and chauffeured section one of the things that i've noticed during this period of time and actually really even before covet 19 is there are many calls for elements of our society to change for elements of our political institutions to change for elements of our culture to change i mean i've noticed that one of the things about all these calls for change is that a lot of these calls are coming from people who seem to believe that everybody else needs to change but them there's a lot of pointing as to who needs to change and what needs to change but a lot of that pointing is going in one direction it's going out towards others and there's not a lot of reflection as to how it is that we as individuals need to change these next sections of prayer march wrote call upon us to consider changes talks about god's kingship talks about god's remembering god's promises and fulfilling them and chauffeur wrote is that call to action when god steps up and does however these are not statements just about god for we who are created in god's image also have to understand our own sense of power god is king because we declare god king that is the power that judaism imparts to each of us as individuals we who have the power to coordinate god we have the power to make our world a better place zikr notes we must remember the promises we've made to ourselves and to others and shofar wrote we have to bring those promises into our world for unless we respond to the call to action all of our thoughts will simply remain in our head and to do the kind of tikkun olam that is required for our world we have to begin with tikkunatsumi by repairing and bettering ourselves the mafiot section begins page 154. oh they knew [Music] oh [Music] [Music] is [Music] um [Music] oh we now continue on the bottom of page 156 with sha'arim [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] we continue now in the middle of page 157 [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] is [Music] we turn now to page 158 because this is shabbat we do not have the blast of the shofar or aresha zafatenu but [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] we now continue in the bottom half of page 160 as we begin the zikr note section with haben yakirli [Music] my [Music] me [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] is oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] is [Music] [Applause] we now continue on bottom half of page one hundred and sixty one with eloheinubelohe avotenu and we will conclude this section by going straight to hayam harat olam in the middle of page 162. [Music] m [Music] [Music] is [Music] me [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] we now turn to page 160 in the top half of that page we have psalm 150 hallelujah [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] [Applause] hallelujah [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] me we now continue on the top of page one hundred and sixty six with eloheinu villagenu once again as soon as we conclude the bracha we go straight to hayam harat holam hello hey [Music] [Music] [Music] let's [Music] a [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] m good morning good afternoon good evening good whatever it is whenever it is wherever you happen to be as you're watching this talk today i'm going to begin my sermon by sharing how i'm going to end it i'm going to end my sermon today by saying shabbat shalom shanatova and mazeltov now the fact that i would end a sermon with shabbat shalom for a sermon that's for shabbat since the first day of rosh hashanah falls on shabbat not a big surprise the fact that i would end a sermon on rosh hashanah at all saying the phrase shana tova not a big deal but mazeltov that's a little bit odd and the rest of this talk will be to explain both why i'm doing it and why i believe it to be so important for us so even before will i am guaranteed that his song will become a staple at bene mitzvah parties with the phrase fill my cup juice and non-jews have been using the expression mazel tov for a long long time and it's commonly understood to mean congratulations good job well done however the phrase itself doesn't literally mean that tov means good however mazel actually means star or constellation and so the phrase mazel tov when taken literally is not good job or congratulations but it actually means good luck or to take it even more literally the stars have aligned now within jewish tradition we see early on that judaism believes in or believed in a basic meritocracy and we see this in the torah particularly in paragraphs like the second paragraph of the shema you do good you get good you do bad you get bad a very straightforward kind of meritocracy but as judaism evolved so did our understanding of the role of randomness and fortune and luck and so by the time we start hitting the rabbinic period we see a number of different sources that speak about just how important mazel how important luck really is in one's life and so we have from a collection of midrashin known as bareishit rabbah a collection of rabbinic teachings on the book of genesis we have the teaching there is no blade of grass that didn't have mazel strike it and say grow from the talmud we read the number of children the length of one's life and the degree of one's wealth do not depend upon a person's merit but on their muzzle and we also find within our kabbalistic texts like the zohar also a focus on mazel everything depends on mazel we read in the zohar even the torah scroll in the synagogue think of that the natural world mazel the world that human beings create the society we create mazel our sacred scroll being in that ark mazel with these three sources alone we understand that rabbinic tradition sees that luck and randomness and fortune that mazel plays a role in every corner of our lives and that is why we see certain folk customs like she knew he shem changing one's name when you hit a bad streak and you want to change things up and you feel like the world is just not going your way there is a custom for people to give themselves a new hebrew name there's also the folks saying right change your place change your luck again the idea being that if you're in a particular place where things are just constantly going against you that though you're just not getting any of the breaks maybe what you need to do is change your place change your situation and maybe that will change your mazel the time that we are in right now my friends brings home the dreadful reality of exactly how random life can be if you see right now we are in the midst of a pandemic and pandemic are concentrations of this universal precondition this dramatic instance of a perpetual rule and what is that precondition what is that rule as alan de bata says the rule is all human beings are vulnerable to be randomly exterminated at any time that is just the fact of life and that randomness not only goes so far as being vulnerable to be exterminated but we're just vulnerable to randomness across the board and as alan the button goes on he says we are vulnerable randomly exterminated at any time by virus by accident or by actions of our fellow human beings me by virus we might say me by accident me by actions of our fellow human beings and our liturgy acknowledges this good deeds and prayers and even chuva only take one so far these qualities only according to the liturgy lessen the severity of the decree but don't change the decree itself this is unsettling really unsettling for us and so we try not to think about how important and how big luck plays a role in our lives but this reality forces us to confront to confront our vulnerability and our lack of control and this reality challenges our vague belief that though we know and we tell our children well life isn't fair still we still hold on to the notion that at least we deserve the good that happened to us and the success that we have had even though we understand life isn't really fair and because we like to believe in our own merit we don't like to consider the flip side that goes along with a meritocracy and that is that if i'm a winner and succeed because of my effort and my hard work then the fact that someone else didn't succeed shows that they are a failure or to use a language that for some reason in american culture is the worst word to be called or one of them a loser this is the logic of a meritocracy if you're going to say people do good they get good then the people who do bad or get bad are doing it because somehow they are deficient or wrong or losers judaism rejects this approach outright it rejects it because it lacks empathy wisdom and kindness to view the world through a solely meritocratic lens is to view the world in a cold and cruel way and one that honestly has no clue about how the world really works for the truth is life is not so much a meritocracy as it is a mausoleum and a muslim is built on the wisdom that people don't always get what they deserve that hard work and perseverance and loyalty they don't always triumph or guarantee a good result a mosletocracy understands reality and therefore understands that just because you follow all of the guidelines doesn't mean you won't get covet 19. and it doesn't mean that following none means you automatically will get coveted 19. no my friends if we have learned anything about the world that we live in these past months and the truth is if we were paying attention we probably should have learned it a long time ago life is just too messy too chaotic and too random to be so neat and tidily bundled up in a meritocracy a mausoleum we acknowledge lux role and rather than winners and losers we understand that there is those who are fortunate and those who are unfortunate in a mausocracy we understand that there's those with whom we get to celebrate mazel tov the stars aligned for you on this day may it do so always and then there are those who need our compassion we see a very concrete manifestation of this way of looking at the world when we look at the concept of sadaka now sadaka is the word that we use for charity tsudaka is the giving of our monetary resources to those who are in need however unlike the word charity which ultimately comes from the word karus meaning heart siddhaka comes from the hebrew word sedek meaning righteous or justice or fair because you see my friends judaism understands that the gifts that we have the material resources that have come our way are just that those are gifts yes we have earned some of it to some extent but if you understand the role of luck one understands that it is impossible for me to think that everything that i have i have earned for myself that everything that i possess i deserve that i am worthy of all of it judaism rejects that point of view and therefore we call the giving of our material resources to someone in need to daca justice because it's just the just and fair thing to do we don't give because oh my heart is moving me to do so though it's nice to do so when your heart moves you and when your heart moves you i encourage you to give but from the point of jewish tradition when we give sadaka whether our heart moves us or not doesn't make a difference give because it's fair because i didn't earn all of this and whatever misfortune they're earning they couldn't have earned all of it does it mean they're not responsible in some way of course people are responsible but does it mean that everything that has befallen them is entirely their fault no now we give because it's the right thing to do because it's just fair to share the resources that we have and in fact i think that is the thinking behind the idea that even a person who gets gives as well right even a person who receives sadaka must give son to dhaka because they have been given a gift and therefore they too should do the sedec thing the righteous fair thing and share what they have understanding fortune's role in our lives does not need to lead to despair and please i am not saying that hard work or even following the guidelines aren't important of course hard work is important and absolutely we should strive to follow the guidelines this is all vitally important for our success and our well-being and in addition to that we need to acknowledge we need to be sensitive and we need to accept how much mazel plays a role listen to bill gates for example when he was being interviewed once about his success he said the following i get a lot of questions about my success so i'll answer several and then reflect on the importance of mistakes the flip side of success luck played an immense role some of it came after i entered the business world but my lucky streak started much earlier than that i was fortunate to have a family and teachers who encourage me children often thrive when they get that kind of attention i was incredibly lucky to become boyhood friends with paul allen whose insights proved crucial to the success of the company we founded together without paul there would be no microsoft our timing in setting up the first software company aimed at personal computers was essential to our success the timing wasn't entirely luck but without great luck it could not have happened bill gates and interestingly if one reads interviews with a number of people who are incredibly wealthy incredibly successful and asked about their success one of the few common things that come up are hard work oh yeah perseverance absolutely and all of them speak about the role of luck about the role of randomness fortune mazel in their success and i'll give you a concrete example from my own life one small instance of totally undeserved unearned gift of good fortune i was brought into this world by two loving kind caring and devoted adults who provided me with more than enough love support encouragement and help when i needed it now i'm not saying that my parents were perfect they're not and i'm not saying that everything i got from them was wonderful it wasn't the bernhardt gene pool has some height and hair deficiencies that i could have passed on yay jaffy jeans but i'm telling you to have my parents as my parents it was an amazing bit of fortune i didn't earn was lucky to get and leaves me grateful every day of my life what mazel and the flip side has also proven to be true as well research has so shown that children growing up who experience multiple adverse childhood experiences like parental mental illness incarceration and substance abuse are more likely to drop out of school more likely to become alcoholics themselves more likely to end up in jail and experience any number of physical and mental health challenges all of which are due in part because of factors beyond their control and according to our tradition this is true of absolutely everyone we have all at times some of us more some of us less sometimes more and sometimes less been the beneficiaries of life's randomness and if we understand this this reality should change us and this change is important to us it should change us because this reality should soften our hearts it should turn us away from the constant judgment and moralizing and towards humility gratitude and joy and this is essential for us right now this is so important for where we are because as has been noted by a number of people we're not only experiencing climate change in the natural world but we are also living through a cultural climate change a societal climate change an economic climate change a racial climate change these are incredibly challenging troubling and difficult times and approaching life through the lens of a meritocracy doesn't help not only doesn't it help because it's not real enough to actually help us map out how we deal with reality but to have that be our primary view as i said creates within us very hard hearts in order to navigate the world that we are in right now we need to understand the world as a meritocracy as a mausoleum and we need to do this because this is one way that we can move our hearts towards what i said being more humble more grateful and more joyful we need that humility and we get it through this way because we understand in a muslim that we didn't do it all on our own and that we didn't succeed just because we are so great within the masatocracy gratitude becomes all the more important and apparent because we realize that we have been given so many different gifts at different times that we have been graced with so many offerings none of which we have fully earned or deserve and from the humility and gratitude that comes from looking at the world in this way there comes a sense of joy a deep sense of connectedness and contentness that comes from knowing that i am enough that i have enough irrespective of what i earn those who do not understand this reality those who just don't get it they are so unfortunate my friends i do not seek to understand why god made the world the way the world is i simply seek at various times and try to speak to the world as i experience how god made it and if you like me see the world this way then to navigate the flow that comes from the ultimate source of life it helps to acknowledge reality and the reality is that randomness surrounds us and luck fills our days and so as we begin this new year i want to wish all of you a shabbat shalom and for yourself and the health of your soul and those around you i wish you mazel tov our service continues now on the top of page 167 with retse is [Music] is [Music] [Music] um oh [Music] [Music] [Music] um [Music] shalom [Music] is foreign is we continue now on the top of page 170 hi yo i [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] is is [Music] [Music] is [Music] is [Music] [Applause] we now turn to page one hundred and seventy-two ain't kilohenu [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] we now rise as we turn to page one hundred and seventy three elenu ah [Music] um [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] we now turn to page 174 where we find the mourner's kaddish i want to invite anyone who's currently reciting the mourner's cottage or was observing a yard site to please rise and also given the events of the past six months when so much life has been lost here in our country and throughout the world i also want to invite anyone who is so moved to also rise if they so wish to to join in for the mourner's kaddish on page 174. because is i'm so pleased you were able to join us this morning and afternoon without having to give directions about prayer books and how to exit the parking lot our announcements this year will each time focus on one group we wish to thank and one program we wish to highlight for today i wish to thank our maintenance staff even without as much physically going on on campus as we prepare to open facets of our programming there is much that we have done and continue to do that they ensure our facility is functioning safe and healthy the maintenance staff under patrick miller's guidance is an essential part of our congregation with so much of what they do unseen to so many of us today we wish to say we appreciate even though we don't see it at all we know you are a part of making sure that it all happened and continues to happen thank you so today i want to draw your attention to high neighbors high neighbors is the village for a daughter real bath members who are age 65 plus our mission is to help us live well within a community of friends while fostering caring and jewish values since november 2019 we have sponsored more than 70 events including lectures discussion groups exercise and cooking classes we are online for now but hope to have live events soon with high neighbors you can chat and learn with our four rabbis and other clergy and weekly sessions on religious and secular topics get a new perspective on current events in our weekly member-led sessions here nationally renowned experts on topics related to aging health wellness personal finance and other topics enjoy discussions about current and classic movies and books learn fascinating details about your favorite classical rock and roll or jazz work in a music appreciation class and some new dishes add some new dishes to your kitchen repertoire in our cooking and baking classes share some of your favorite stories with new and old friends in our getting to know you group find out everything you wanted to know about electronics during our ask michael's sessions relax in your own home with two types of yoga classes help other seniors to find out about high neighbors or to register for upcoming classes please go to www.highneighbors.org and look out for flyers coming to an inbox near you and one final note just a quick plug for our evening minion tonight at 7 pm we will be live streaming it through our facebook page shinatova we now turn to page 175 as we conclude our services with adonalum [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign on behalf of all of us we wish all of you ashinato mitsuka a happy healthy sweet new year amen amen shanatova you

Channel: Adat Ari El

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Length: 233min 29sec (14009 seconds)

Published: Sat Sep 19 2020