Yamim Noraʾim 5782 - Kol Nidre

[Music] uh [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] i [Music] am [Music] [Music] so [Music] so [Music] so [Music] an introductory prayer for colney dre by my teacher rabbi marshall t meyer as we listen to the melancholic and shattering melody of connidre organ help us to measure our words and to find the courage and strength to be faithful to our resolve grant us the strength to bridge a bit more of the gulf that separates our goals from our achievements during the coming year on this day of atonement help us to look into the most profound depths of our being so as to better comprehend the truths of our existence and to be capable of more improvement our god and god of our ancestors as evening casts its shadows over the earth ushering in the most solemn and sublime day of the year we meet with our fellow jews throughout the entire world in prayer and meditation let us cast aside from our minds and souls or petty thoughts and vain desires what is our life and to what avail our strength what is our wealth and to what purpose our power we lift up our souls oh god and yearn for your light and inspiration on this evening of colony sanctified by the memories of countless generations of the past we found ourselves we find ourselves in your presence of god stripped of all pretension and naked in all our weakness you know well how frail and fragile we really are god strengthen us to overcome our weaknesses help us to find the strength to encounter you in our lives and to courageously confront the truth of our being help us to open our hearts and souls so that we we may not only hear our own cries but also the call and the weeping of the enslaved the oppressed the hungry the desperate the suffering and the forgotten in this spirit we rise for call nidre [Music] i want you to turn to page 204. [Music] do [Music] hmm [Music] m by the authority of the court on high and by the authority of this court below with divine consent and with the consent of this congregation we grant permission to pray with those who have transgressed foreign [Music] cool [Music] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] i oh [Music] [Music] [Music] keep is [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] pretend [Music] your me [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] do [Music] so [Music] um [Music] [Music] cool [Music] remember [Music] oh [Music] this [Music] [Music] oh [Music] no [Music] me oh [Music] [Music] let's hope [Music] on [Music] foreign [Music] um [Music] um [Music] love me [Music] [Music] oh [Music] um [Music] mm-hmm [Music] do [Music] do [Laughter] r [Music] foreign [Music] say [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] [Music] me [Music] sorry [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] oh [Laughter] [Music] israel [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] m [Music] foreign [Music] my [Music] yo [Music] is [Applause] [Music] [Music] is [Music] foreign [Music] i [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] i i [Music] foreign [Music] i [Music] after 40 days and 40 nights on mount sinai pleading for forgiveness for his people after the event of the golden calf it came time for moshe to receive the second set of tablets and he listened intently to the fine silence from which burst the wonder of repentance and god's love this time it was different from the first time when moshe received the tablets and then broke them this time there was no public revelation visible to all the primordial creatures did not tremble the sound of the shofar was not heard in the camp nor did thunder and lightning disturb the sleep of israel's myriads the mountain was enveloped in absolute silence and was shrouded in the twilight of a secret and wondrous dawn all along all alone without the company of a friend or disciple moshe climbed the cold and steep cliffs of the mountain even joshua who had never left his side did not join him this had got commanded no one else shall come up with you and no one else shall be seen anywhere on the mountain no wondrous light illuminated his path no torches burned no pure missed crowned his head the mountain was frozen in its desolation emptiness and loneliness moshe ascended the mountain looked around but could not find gun as if the heavens had not opened and god had not descended he looked in the cleft of the rock and in the hidden side of the steel stones but there was no glimmer of light god's presence and splendor were hidden in a misty fog a dark cloud moved menacingly and stood between god and moshe god came down in a cloud and stood behind him moshe did not desist from seeking god alone without a companion or a friend shaken to the core of his being and pervaded by a great fear that perhaps god will not appear from the heavens moshe stood before the clear morning sky the stars slowly disappearing as the light of day rose from the east and he reached through the awesome and sublime silence toward god who did not come toward him this time god wanted moshe to wait for him to seek him to plead and implore in prayer finally the time of grace arrived and god appeared and answered him moshe's ears perceived from the sprawling distance without boundaries from within the dark fog a still small voice announcing love and compassion the good news of repentance and from between the rocks suddenly there broke out splendorous lights of multiple shades and colors the lights of the thirteen attributes of mercy and el merciful and compassionate patient abounding in law and love and faithfulness assuring love for thousands of generations forgiving iniquity transgression and sin and granting pardon is how rabbi joseph sullivan the great 20th century talmudic scholar thinker and leader of modern orthodoxy imagined moshe's second standing on top of mount sinai our tradition teaches that yom kippur was established on that day when moshe reached the top of the mountain to receive the second set of tablets and when god revealed to him the 13 attributes of god and the promise that through their recitation we would always be able to access god's forgiveness rabbi soloveichik maintains that this revelation came to moshe at the price of great spiritual suffering the feeling of the profound aloneness of one whose life is paralyzed and hanging by a thread and the fear of a creature when it is disconnected from its creator for just a moment every yom kippur we journey with moshe each to the top of our own mountain feeling profoundly disconnected and seeking pleading waiting for god's presence and for god's forgiving grace in spite of being together in community this evening inside our soul each one of us can feel the loneliness and the inner silence as well as the dread as we confront the reality that our life really hangs by a thread we carry the burden of our own failure our sin and our guilt we plead for forgiveness we beg for god's help to rescue our lives from meaninglessness and futility in order to live our lives and accomplish what we need to accomplish we cannot be constantly exposed to these deep layers of our being we shield ourselves from these intense feelings otherwise how could we function but on yom kippur we release we open up we look honestly into our soul and we allow ourselves to feel why is there so much loneliness so much despair so much struggle at the center of our being in his extraordinary essay the lonely man of faith published in 1965 rabbi soloveichik describes a dialectic an essential contradiction and tension that sits at the core of every person it's a brilliant insightful reading of the story of creation in the book of genesis where there are two different and contradictory accounts of the creation of the human being the first account in genesis 1 reads so gandhi created the human hadam in god's image in the image of god god created him male and female god created them and god blessed them and god said to them be fruitful and multiply um and fill the earth and conquer it and have dominion over the fish of the sea the fowl of the heavens and the beasts and all over the earth the second account in genesis 2 is very different and adonai god formed the human of dust from the soil and blew into his nostrils the breath of life and the human became a living being and adonai god planted a garden in eden and adonai god took the human and set him in the garden of eden there are different translations of to tell and to tend it to till it and to watch it to work it and to tend it different combinations i love rabbi soloveitchik's translation because lavod is not just to work but to serve so in this second account he says that the human who was set in the garden of eden to serve it and to watch it in the second account human destiny is to serve and watch creation let's go back to the first account the first adam created in god's image is charged by god with creating building conquering dominating subdoing feel the earth and conquer it the first adam soloveitchik says is an entrepreneur aggressive bold utilitarian and victory this first adam is scientific technological political artistic his motto is success triumph over the cosmic forces sullivan tells us he builds plants harvests regulates rivers heals the sick participates in state affairs is imaginative in dreaming bold in planning daring and undertaking and is out to conquer the world by contrast the second adam in genesis 2 made of dust from the soil is not interested in conquering and transforming the world rather explains he responds to the cosmos by engaging with metaphysical questions why did the world come into being why is the human confronted by this stupendous and indifferent order of things and events what is the purpose of all this what does the great challenge reaching me from beyond the fringes of the universe as well as from the depths of my tormented soul mean the second adam wants to encounter the universe in all its colorfulness splendor and grandeur and studies it with a naivete or an admiration of the child who seeks the unusual and wonderful in every ordinary thing and event the second adam is not interested in dominating the world but in serving it and keeping it watching it the second adam is humble introspective reflective and aware aware of the deep mystery of existence aware of his temporality in the face of eternity the second adam was created alone not male and female together as the first adam and he's very much aware of his uniqueness his loneliness and his insecurity in order to achieve his goal of conquering and subduing the world the first adam six partnerships in a collaborative community of interests the second adam once eve has created six solidarity in an existential covenantal community of intimate relationships and longs forgotten first adam and second adam are polar opposites but they are not separate individuals each describing a different human typology first adam and second that them both live in all of us together they constitute our dual nature assigned to us by god we exist in constant and inescapable oscillation between both parts of our nature such is our destiny who does not feel the tension at the core of his of his or her being one side pulls us to the outside to be expansive and to transform the world the other side pulls us to the inside to go deep to seek intimacy to be of service and to transform ourselves the first adam and the second adam live in permanent confrontation within us they pull us into opposite directions we are torn by the conflict and we can't figure out how to reconcile between them i believe that's why we don't feel at home within ourselves that's why the alienation that's why we don't feel peace in our heart and why we feel lonely and frustrated the first adam reproaches us you haven't accomplished enough you haven't been ambitious enough assertive enough bold enough productive enough successful enough there's so much to do in the world so many opportunities to expand so many problems to solve there's no time to be self-absorbed to be profound to contemplate the world in awe and to ponder the meaning of existence get up go and do so we feel we have fallen short of our potential we have squandered the chances that we were given we have not done enough to conquer not enough to master the world and to fix it then comes the second adam sits us down and looks us in the eye do you know who you are do you really think that you are what you do what you produce or what you have why don't you retreat from time trying to master the world and work on mastering yourself are you capable of the vulnerability that is required for real encounters with other human beings when you may share your loneliness and bear your soul so we feel we have fallen short here too we have wasted our lives by living on the outside by staying on the surface we have missed out on that which is most authentic and deep in life we haven't invested in cultivated our souls our intellects in seeking to understand why we are here the meaning of all this the meaning of our actions we haven't invested in real relationships we haven't served confronted by the first adam and then by the second adam we sense how flawed we are we feel our failure our shortcomings the conflict within us between the two aspects of our nature leaves us feeling confused and divided and profoundly unwhole we climb again on this yom kippur each of us to the top of his or her mountain alone to the encounter with gun our first adam and our second adam struggled inside of us each attempting to overpower and eliminate the other we recognize they are both a legitimate and necessary part of us deep inside we know that if they'll be able to reconcile we will feel more whole our vision will become clearer we will achieve a measure of inner peace we climb on this yom kippur 57 82 holding the full potential of this sabbatical year of shemitah the call to release control and to exercise restraint the call to make space for the land and for each other to be more thoughtful and to unlock greater kindness and compassion perhaps we can make a commitment as we begin this shmitah year 57 82 to bring the first adam and the second of them closer to each other to hear and affirm each other to reconcile and to become intertwined within us if they can live in greater harmony inside us we will know that there is a chance we may live together in greater harmony with each other with those whom we have heard with those with whom we disagree with those with whom we have fought now let us continue to climb yom kippur has just begun by the but the 25 hours will pass quickly and we have no time to waste may we honestly pray throughout this holiest of days and plead with a god of reconciliation and oneness organ please reveal to us your attributes of love and kindness compassion and forgiveness help us find the image of your attributes within us in each other and around us in the world so that we may have a new beginning in a year of wholeness and blessing amen i'm going to sing now the beautiful beaut [Music] written in spain in the 12th century it's in the booklet on page 3. [Music] god [Music] [Music] be [Music] foreign [Music] me [Music] let us [Music] me [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Music] me [Music] um [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] i [Music] m [Music] is [Music] i [Music] [Applause] so [Music] i [Music] da [Music] i [Music] my [Music] i invite you to rise for rahu on page 207 [Music] [Music] on page 207. [Music] um [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] foreign foreign [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] 210 [Music] [Music] [Music] the [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] o [Music] pray for peace on pages [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] please rise on page 212. say [Music] [Music] a [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] i [Music] [Applause] [Music] my [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] me [Music] we now turn to some moments of quiet prayer personal quiet prayer the words of the amidah in the mazorland pages 2 13 through page 221 if you're here wherever you are we invite you to orient yourself towards the east towards a line you you you you you [Music] we rise now as the ark is open for ya page 223 [Music] [Music] [Music] r [Music] i [Music] i [Music] okay [Music] [Applause] [Music] m [Music] m [Music] know [Music] foreign [Music] i [Music] [Music] [Music] there [Music] me [Music] [Music] oh [Music] me [Music] me [Music] [Applause] [Music] may be seated we turn now to the beautiful p p youth kenya kahomer which is on page 227 which last year we began singing the melody of and this year we're going to sing the pewts in in total which is a beautiful notion based on a verse in year miyahu about um we being the clay in the hands of god as the potter and all these different metaphors for how god shapes us and holds us and also that god remembers that god is our creator in order to ultimately grant us forgiveness so i invite you to join along with the melody and the words on page 227 and also have a chance to read the translation which is incredibly moving page 227 [Music] yo [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] we are [Music] so [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] again [Music] [Music] my [Music] [Music] i [Music] [Music] [Music] m [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] we now rise for the 13 attributes that really spoke of that we were given in that moment on the mountain as the light motif really the formula for coming to god asking forgiveness pleading for forgiveness page 232 please rise if you're able [Music] 3 [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] a [Music] there are foreign [Music] you may be seated we turn now to adonis lee page five in the booklets [Music] oh foreign [Music] foreign [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] foreign [Music] a [Music] m [Music] [Applause] [Music] we rise as the ark is open for schmack hilleny where we plead with god to be heard for the words for the pleading for the desire for forgiveness for our failures for our wants to be seen and known and for god to answer us page 233 [Music] [Music] oh [Music] a [Music] oh [Music] you [Music] moving [Music] [Music] i [Music] m [Music] i [Music] is [Music] foreign foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] maybe seated we turned on to the pierz these beautiful metaphors between we as god's people and and god and finding different ways to be in relationship with god different metaphors of how we think about god on this yom kippur page 234. [Music] [Music] my [Music] m [Music] [Applause] [Music] the [Music] [Music] i [Music] my [Music] a bit complicated with the masks but next year 5783 without masks prescott would sing our hearts out i was going to say that i think i mean even a response is better than last year we'll take masks over nothing and for those of you at home there's still a back and forth that dynamism dynamism still exists so wherever we are outside inside at home with family or friends praying davening we're in it together with you back and forth mass or not mass at home and we're finding our way together we rise for the video the short video page 235 i [Music] am [Music] no [Music] foreign [Music] the [Music] i [Music] we turn out to page 237 for the longer confession just uh i think we say this often uh on these days that uh confession requires speaking it out it's not a confession if it stays inside and so we invite you to articulate the words if you don't understand the hebrew we invite you to chant in english in a way that it feels that you own the words that we collectively are holding the sins of the kahal of the community of all of us we'll join together uh well daven on our own page 237 and then join together for aokulam [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] whatever it is [Music] oh [Music] oh we turn now to the booklets for the additional they can be found on page the beginning of them for this evening for connidre of page 10 page 10 10. we have sinned against you when we sin against ourselves and each other for our failures of truth oh god we ask for forgiveness for protecting emotions we do nothing we're using the sins of others to excuse our own for denying our responsibility for our own misfortunes for refusing to admit our share in the trouble of others for condemning in our children the faults we tolerate in ourselves for condemning in our parents the faults we tolerate in ourselves for passing judgment without knowledge of the facts for remembering the price of things but forgetting their value for teaching our children everything but the meaning of life for loving our ego is better than the truth for not respecting god's image in every human being for running to do violence [Music] the ark is open for avino volcano page 243 or the alternative on page 244 your own metaphors to find the plea in your own voice foreign [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] um [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] m [Music] we turn now together shalom page 245 [Music] [Music] is [Music] six [Music] [Music] um [Music] [Music] [Music] we turn out to mourners khadeesh on page 247 for those marking at your site or those in mourning page 247. is [Music] so we are here we are here we are outside we are in hundreds maybe even thousands of homes throughout the country and in other countries as well together as one community it's an incredible feeling that we can be in different spaces together and pray together on this holy on this holy day of yom kippur and it took so much to make this happen so many logistics so many tests so many vaccines so many masks so much live stream in technology and so that everybody can be together virtually or in person as one community and we are really a an ever expanding community and we have something really powerful when we come together as one community from all these places in all these ways in multiple access to our services and to everything we do as a community throughout the pandemic it's now what 18 or 19 months bj has been a source of emotional support of comfort of structure of spiritual meaning and of healing many people found us through the live stream people who are not used to come here who've never stepped foot in this place but are part of our community have joined us during the pandemic which demonstrates the importance of a spiritual institution like ours at a time of such distress and vulnerability bj has been something or has provided something for people really to hold on and we have been here as a consistent source of human collection human connection as we follow the cycle of the year and our jewish calendar day after day week after week month after month this special relationship we have together with each other that has allowed us to respond quickly to each other's needs to help every one of us feel comfortable to reach out for whatever support we have needed to be here for each other in difficult times and in good times of celebration what then is the importance of an institution of a community like ours and we think about it in a couple of ways one is just to show up as we are vulnerable and honest and just be able to be in a home whether that's virtually or in this space and just come as we are and be able to feel like we can be real at a time when it's been hard to feel seen and to feel known and that's at the core of what this place is about is to feel seen and known and not pretend and then at the same time as a community we're living on thousands of years of a tradition that teaches us how to be responsive and how to wake up and how to act in the midst of challenge and to honor the moment and seize it resilient and nimble and innovative is part of the core of the dna here at bj we know how to adapt we are resilient as a community made up of many people all of you in different ways sometimes we feel more resilient than other times but collectively there is an incredible amount of resilience amongst this place and we think about that just even marking the 20th anniversary of september 11th how this community was so resilient at this time or if we look up at the ceiling i wasn't here at the time that it fell how people came together and shored up all their efforts to build and hold and and find a way forward we know how to deal with the unexpected we didn't choose to be here 19 months later and yet we were made for this moment thanks to you and some exceptionally generous supporters who stretched their own giving limits we were able to transform our 196 year old institution and offer a live stream experience that spiritually connects all of us to each other we have done so without missing a shabbat or a holiday in all of 5781 in a year of heroic efforts by essential workers some of whom are sitting right here today who went to work so many of us could stay home in safety our team here and it's an incredible team was truly heroic to make sure that you could participate that we could all participate and join our live stream for services our virtual as we came to call it is not free to us this is the clearest example of how we as a congregation can be responsive if we have the resources to live what's in our dna we need resources to give you a sense of size and scope our 5781 services last year for yamuna received 20 000 views from 80 countries 20 000 views from 80 countries our virtual created on the fly was an astonishing success our call our community was now virtual and in person our community spread to virginia and arkansas washington texas vermont seattle right oregon oregon christie i've only seen her in a zoom box for a year and a half and she flew in i guess for yom kippur across the country amazing welcome [Applause] in addition to 80 countries around the world anyone fly in from over an ocean uh next year um and you didn't just watch this is not a community to watch this is a community to participate to sing to dave in this innovation is nothing new for bj we are in a constant state of reinventing some would call it a constant state of agitation depends how you look at it throughout history the jewish people are continually faced with trauma and challenge learning from it and oftentimes reinventing the tradition to get to a better future last year at this time the sanctuary was empty there were a few people in the balcony just to guarantee a minion we had three big screens here and cameras and the musicians were in the chapel and the felicia ali and i were here the room was sun and silent because the people in the balcony who were wearing masks were not allowed to sing it was a difficult challenging last year and we we just went through it and we did it and many people participated from afar and it's been 12 months since we stood before you to ask for your support 12 months have passed there was an unprecedented challenging and imaginable year with ups and downs and then in the winter the miracle of the vaccine happened and by late winter early spring vaccines became available to all of us and all of us were here chose to get vaccinated thank god and we were hopeful in the spring and at the beginning of the summer that we were going back to normal and on a dime the delta variant forced us to reconsider our summer plans for some of us and our fall plans and we are once again of course in a much better place and yet facing some uncertainty the protocols changed all the time we had planned to be it just at lincoln center and here and have family services and all sorts of things and our plans changed from week to week the protocols changed and i have to say we have a amazing task force a covey task force that has advised us in terms of how to respond to the pandemic made of a number of wonderful board members and two health experts dr david stern and jennifer hirsch who have really advised us and i think we owe them all a great debt of gratitude for all their work and their expertise which they shared with us so we continue to try to figure it out and so here we are and there are people outside and the people in the livestream and the families gathering outside on 86 i don't know if it's raining but i hope they had a wonderful call nidre outdoors and we have never been tested as we have been tested this year and all meanings of the world and we continue to be tested every week i wonder what it says in the very sheet and got tested abraham did he go for a pcr but we couldn't he only had ten trials how many times have you been tested so we continue to be tested and we're going to likely be tested in all ways more and more over the coming months so this has been a year of transformation we have transformed the way we pray we have transformed the way we learn the way we connect with each other the ways we support each other we have supported each other through physical illness we have mourn and such evil many people hear sativa on zoom we'd never imagine that this would be the case we have to figure out how to do things in a completely different ways we have supported each other during times of incredible loneliness and sadness and through difficult financial times for many and we have much more to do it has been a time also of creativity of innovation flexibility of nimbleness and it has been a time of great love and because of your support last year you and those outside and those who are watching us at home because of this support we could sustain ourselves our community and do our work this year as a spiritual community we had the resources to meet this moment thanks to you we had the vigor to meet the demands many demands challenging placed on our community and we have lived by our shared values spirituality community inclusivity activism and growth for values to have real meaning they must be lived and this is a place this is a group of people community that do that they can't merely be nice sayings on a wall or a website to be meaningful values they must translate into action and this remarkable community lives its values every day in ways large and small and i just want to share we just want to share a handful maybe a little bit more than a handful of ways that the community has acted this year and risen together i think many of you know about the unstoppable singy will ziggs vaccination project at bj securing 1200 vaccination appointments at a time where they were impossible to find raise your hand if you were someone who made those appointments raise and raise your hand also if you were someone who received an appointment awesome there were many people who said that they couldn't get an appointment and then they called bj and bj knows how to get appointments we don't always know how to get a lab cue truck on time in front of our building but we know how to get a vaccine appointments um every night in the middle of the night people woke up to make appointments not just for bj members but for dorman on our buildings for grandparents and strangers in need our neighbors we also reinvented the ways we did spirituality we used to have multiple services and how are we going to do that when we didn't have multiple live streams happening at the same time so we created meditation on friday afternoons before that with bowie kala and meditation and a tish on the street and something for families we also reinvented how we did justice work and learning we had we used to have occupy the roof a film series and this year we had occupy the zoom we had get out the vote campaigns when no one was getting out we made calls and phone calls and postcards it's hard to believe it's not even been a year since we participated in all the get out the vote stuff for the election it feels like an eternity and we've also done our work around diversity equity and inclusion and keep doing that work and also our work in supporting black lives matter we have in this flattened world of access brought scholars and partners and teachers from all over the world we had our torah from israel series so that we could learn with our partners from israel which would normally be a very big expense to fly them over or in for a week countless learning opportunities every day of the week and for some of you who saw in the spring the families actually typically in the fall families use typically go on a reach for shabbat retreat um to be together and have a beautiful experience of shabbat which was obviously not possible so our family life and learning team created a stay home for shabbat retreat and had a beautiful outside experience throughout the course of the weekend bringing closing 88th street bringing over a hundred people david and kabalachabad on the streets so kids and families could be together which many of them hadn't been all year this is the place it's amazing and finally i just wanted to share and then i think ari and rolly will we had an intro to judaism class we always have an intro to judaism class some of the students are sitting here which on a given year normally has between 8 and 15 students this year had 30 students from all over the country many of whom were seeking conversions some of whom were not of all ages of all colors of all gender gender orientations this class was an expression one of the commitments we've made over the last couple of years around diversity and around multi-heritage families and just to say how touching it is to see the individual individual pathways i sat on a handful of the batte dean for conversion of some of these students and how moving it is to know the teacher of the class was our former fellow deborah saxonance who will be dominating shakuri tomorrow morning just what it means for someone to find their way here not only into community but to judaism and we are a pathway to that and what a privilege and honor it is to shepherd folks through that experience and to see what it means and ari wanted to share about mignon yeah before the meeting i want to say with you you were talking about resilience and we had in this last year we had over 20 kids who actually had the bar mitzvah mitzvah and some of them had actually rescheduled when they learned maybe in april of 2020 they figure okay we'll push it five months six months a year and the reality eventually was that they actually had to put the work for something that was going to be still very different to what they imagined many years ago and they actually had the resilience and they actually were able to work and all over zoom and it was beautiful to see again these are kids who also were accustomed to do it for school but for us to to see that and also the same thing for the kids put the play that was an amazing play again is not part of most of us we do not see that part of the community but these kids were so engaged by by the by the flood department by emma yeah director of the of this theater crew that was actually meeting literally the whole play was overzoom which was beautiful and just one little tip it was i was privileged to be at the rehearsal right now again they probably already finished the calling their service for kids for the family and i was there at the rehearsal and again i don't know if it was actually end up being done in zoom or not i hope that was actually done on the steps of the church but the energy that these kids have they're so eager to give and they're like this what we have created in a way lives through them in a beautiful beautiful way and lastly i want to say for me for for all of us one of the experience that was actually the most touching was probably the the morning mini and actually the minion all over every single day three million names a day to which so many of you and again people who are watching the idea that so many people have created their own sanctuary at home forget about knowing where east is they actually they feel you you feel and this is your place to that and which is again some of you might actually feel comfortable here as well as when you feel comfortable at home and so many people actually i should prefer to actually be at home there is someone i hear the anecdote of whenever we sing the melody that they don't want to hear they turn off and they sing the melody that they want to hear don't get any ideas no i didn't not so bad from home when it's snowing or it's raining i just want to share also a brief anecdote when i came back from a vacation in august i came back to shambat after a few weeks and we finished the service there were several people who were waiting to say shabbat shalom so this woman comes and introduces herself and she says i'm a member from north virginia i've been a member for the last year i found you on the internet i've been following every single week i've been coming to services i had a business meeting in new york city and i decided to stay so i could come here on shabbat and see the place that i have been praying at and with for all these months it was so moving following this woman there was a couple two women from arkansas you have been our lifeline we have watched every single service every week we came to programs we came to lectures we could not have made it spiritual if it were not for bj and we are here because arkansas has become very dangerous it was in august with the rate of people who are vaccinated we decided to come to a safe place we're going to spend a few months in brooklyn but we wanted to come here we wanted to come here it is a lot safer than arkansas for sure so uh we wanted to come here and they were almost in tears with gratitude for what all of us for the what this community has provided so as you can see from all these examples bj is here to respond to welcome to comfort to encourage to connect to teach to listen to help to help everyone find their spiritual path to provide an environment where we can spiritually grow the spirit of this community is strong and it's overflowing and our resilience knows no bounds and i'm talking to you to the people outside to the people on live stream all of us but without the funds generated from our konidre appeal we cannot fulfill our goals one third of our operating funds come from this appeal and these funds help us to keep the streaming on the number of people now working with the streaming behind us in the community house we had to buy all the equipment we had to replace the boiler in this building which is a hundred and three years old we had to make replace replacements and repairs to our sacred spaces in the community house and we had to provide for extra security after pittsburgh when we realized that in this country just as it happens in other parts of the world synagogues can be attacked also by people full of hatred and anti-semitism so we had to to great to up our security in this everything every one of these things cost money so this appeal helps also to pay for incredible musicians and and so we need to keep giving and giving so that we can be ready for another year with all the uncertainties and the eventualities as we were ready two years ago and we also were ready last year it's been a difficult year for all of us for someone of our community some people are coming it has been a tragic year of loss of illness some people have lost a job and so we ask that everybody everybody do your part all of us do our part so we can continue to do what we do to remain affordable and to remain active and this year we'd like we say it every year with like 100 participation and maybe when they will get there maybe this will be the year that everybody this is a year of shmita a year of release a year of generosity and maybe this year we can get to close to 100 of participation some people don't know that ari felicia and i and our families our members and participate also in the columbia appeal this has been happening for years we don't just work here this is our community this is our spiritual home we care for it we love it and we support it as well and so uh we ask you everyone you on the live stream to do the same so if you gave last year which almost 70 percent of our community gave last year but that's a 30 differential for those of us who are excellent at math if you were part of that 70 thank you thank you you made this year possible those on our email list will receive an email friday morning please click as soon as you receive the email if possible and make a donation these funds become immediately available for our vital work and it eliminates the need and cost of follow-up the more time you wait the more we make phone calls and send emails and bother you so save us the time and save yourself the frustration and we will find you we're very determined uh this is a moment where those who can should step up and not step back if you did not give last year we invite you to begin a new habit a donation to the con nidre appeal if you can give 36. or three hundred and sixty dollars we've had kids give of the amount of the year fifty seven fifty seven dollars and eighty two cents anything that says i'm in i wanna be a part of this if you can make a thirty six hundred dollar gift or a thirty six thousand dollar gift which some people can and can easily and some people do in our community and we're forever grateful for the incredible generosity of anyone who gives significant funds or percentage of what they can give which for some is five dollars and for some is a hundred thousand dollars last year so we're gonna thank you if you can give one dollar it helps us count your participation visit www.bj.org to make a gift and if you are one of our amazing bj friends joining us from around the world and around or around the corner we thank you for your support last year your generosity made a meaningful impact on our fundraising two hundred thousand dollars came from non-members [Applause] so for those who are on the live stream if you didn't hear that that was a lot of clapping in the community which is just a sense of if you're touched by this place give you don't have to be a member yet although anyone can be a member we are so glad anyone has found bjn are grateful for your support please do not rely on others to achieve our goals we need you and the person to your left and the person to your right or the person who clicked to join the live stream before you and the person who clicked after you some way by being here being present this community has found a place in your heart just as it is a part of ari rowley becca and my hearts it's changed our life and we think it can change so many lives yours and many more so we leave you with this question not only about what can you give but how has your life changed because of this holy community everyone we now i just have to find my announcements page there's a lot of stuff going on um we want to honor and thank the the ushers and greeters for today susan lieberman miriam hirscher joan jenkel diane golkov ryan brenner mandy braun scott weiner steve maury greenberg shira nadich levin karen adler paula weiss ricky lieberman andrea newman and eileen rosenthal we also want to honor our head ushers rosh hashanah which we didn't get his chance to do henry weinberger and judith trachtenberg and our team of gabayim will get honored tomorrow within aliyah we want to ask those who are in the sanctuary to please leave your maksarim your moxor supplement booklets and handouts on your seat yom kippur morning services begin at nine o'clock tomorrow morning for those who have registered in person um we invite you to do the same which is come early and on time we always say this which is uh it's really a pilgrimage in to that mountain and it matters for us to do that together so we invite you to be on time and there will be some breaks during the course of this fila particularly east core will be at 11 45 and mustaf will start at 12 45 and the seder avodah will begin at 2 30. we whether minha will be at five o'clock for those joining us in person whether inside the sanctuary in the outdoor prayer space on 88th street please continue to arrive early to ensure a smooth check-in process for all konnedrade donations can be made after yom kippur again 100 participation join all of us standing here and making your gift there is also a beautiful tradition to begin preparing for sukkoth right after yom kippur and so we invite you to embrace this mitzvah lulav and a troll lulav and atrocites are imported from israel and include branches of myrtle and willows and can be purchased at westside judea or flowers by special arrangements um so i think we'll conclude with adira vena or and just before after after our dear evan orr will say the bracha feet it's typical that we greet people uh on these most awesome nights of the year this will not be a year where we'll be uh obviously at the door but we're extending to everyone and pray that this will be a deeply meaningful yom kippur and we seize the opportunity to be together in all the ways we can to find the pathway forward on that mountain adira vena or page seven and eight [Music] [Music] oh [Music] you [Music] no [Music] m [Music] of [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] i [Music] [Music] [Music] as the clay in the hands of the potter we are in your hands oh god help shape us to be the human beings we are called to be give us strength to confront our failings courage to believe we can change and commitment to stay the course on this night of koni dre and this year of shmitah may we release control of all we hold on to so tightly strip ourselves of all pretension and assumptions about the way things have to be may we have the spaciousness to choose again may you grant us to see your image in all people releasing us from hatred and the blemishes on our souls and build a jewish community a country a world based on love dignity and justice may our voices ascend this evening with honesty and humility and with our tears times are hard for so many of us we feel alone and despair exhausted and heartbroken help us to come in the morning with the ability to pray with all our soul listen to your call feel your healing and your comfort and may our hope rise up in the evening adonai oh god merciful gracious slow to anger abundant in kindness and truth help us to mirror your attributes to walk in the world with more love and patience to overflow with generosity and to speak the truth you are a god of forgiveness help us to be human beings that can confer that can give forgive god who spreads a shelter of peace may we come to know a time soon when only your peace will spread and not illness or fear may you heal all those in need of healing and may families and friends and communities be able to gather in fullness arm and arm and may the ways we have been able to connect with one another and with you oh god sustain us god remember us on this day remember that for all our failings and all the ways we will beat our chests we also have merits and goodness and dreams help us to carry forth the legacy of those we have loved but who are no longer by our side let their souls give us light even when we feel we are in darkness grants comfort to those who are mourning the cot venus on this day confronted with our mortality and fragility help us to understand the preciousness of our life and the length of our days inspire us to choose life and inscribe us in the book of life once again foreign [Music] so [Music] you

Channel: B'nai Jeshurun

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Length: 174min 29sec (10469 seconds)

Published: Wed Sep 15 2021