Yom Kippur Yizkor Service, Central Synagogue - September 25, 2023

thank you glasses oh today I was like thank you honest foreign foreign the next one hmm [Music] thank you [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] thank you [Music] foreign foreign foreign foreign [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] thank you foreign [Music] foreign [Music] thank you thank you [Music] we are so glad to see you back after a short break this afternoon let's ease back into Services by singing away our hunger pains and learning a song that will serve as sort of an anchor throughout this service [Music] try that wholehearted [Music] is it really that simple Cantor you can do that [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] good afternoon everyone here in the sanctuary and joining us on JBS at JBS and our live streaming gets an extra portion of honey this year for being here to start the afternoon portion of our service together I'm Rabbi Maurice South so honored to be with my clergy colleagues our Rabbi Emeritus Peter Rubinstein Rabbi Angela buchtel our senior Rabbi Rabbi Andrew Kaplan Mandel and Cantor Jenna Pearsall we're so thrilled to be with all of you continuing on into the holiday we're joined in our bema by our synagogue president xiaomi silverberg Dr Shani silverberg and a member of our Board of Trustees David Weil thank you for both of your service and uh and your commitment to this community it means so much we're going to continue into our prayer book with our afternoon prayers page 72. on Yom Kippur we seek to heed the command to walk with God no matter how lost we may feel we can find the way back to God's path by grappling with the Eternal questions posed by this afternoon service what is the path of atonement what is the compass on our path what happens when we stray who prepared this path for us who prepared this path for me what do I need to say before I reach the end of this path and begin the next home [Music] [Music] [Music] there yeah [Music] wholehearted [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] my God what is the path of atonement with renewed urgency we search for the path of atonement our ancient sages knew that in the final hours of the most sacred day we needed to remember why a world God created could be so broken how time and again are people aspire to their best and fell short that our personal story for forgiveness is interwoven with our people story we can find the road to forgiveness in the retelling like all things that the path of atonement was blazed in the beginning we return as one Community to that moment page 75. very sheets [Music] [Music] is [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] [Laughter] [Music] foreign [Music] we continue on page 76 at the beginning of time God decided to bring this world into being God Drew in the first breath from that contraction Darkness was created and then God said let there be nice ten holy vessels came forth each filled with primordial light had those vessels remained intact the world would have been perfect but the vessels burst and the holy Sparks within them were scattered like sand like seeds like stars our charge is to gather those Sparks by repairing what is broken in ourselves and in the world when enough holy Sparks have been gathered the Broken Vessels will be restored the repair of the world will be complete we are God's Partners in this Divine labor for when God created the first human beings God endowed each of us with a pure soul to direct us toward the holy work of repair here at the beginning of all things we enter the path of atonement for God created a world that was good but not perfect the first step on the path is reminding ourselves that no matter what snakes voices we've heeded Gardens on which we've turned our back or responsibilities from which we've fled we are good enough [Music] [Music] foreign foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] and the highest definition [Music] foreign the next step on the path of atonement takes us to the foot of a mountain when we arrived at Mount Sinai weary from wandering God Called to Moses and declared that if we lived by God's covenant we would be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation at Sinai Israel was given the greatest gift a text that became our map for the Journey of Life a compass to Traverse the path of atonement God charged Israel to use Torah to become a blessing to all people this scroll has nurtured our people from generation to generation it teaches us love and Justice hope and peace its words Enlighten our eyes and its Commandments give purpose to our hearts story [Music] foreign [Music] the needs forever [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] Christmas Israel journeyed on from Sinai and reached the Promised Land on one of its mountains they built a City Jerusalem and on top of the mountain a temple where they offered sacrifices of Thanksgiving and atonement please rise [Music] great crowds converged upon the temple its courts overflowed with Israelites young and old for no matter how far they strayed from the path they knew there was the possibility of return the high priest stood in the innermost chamber of the temple to offer confession on behalf of all Israel today the ancient priests are no more but we are a kingdom of priests we need no intermediaries between ourselves and God each of us this afternoon becomes the high priest just as they entered the holy of holies we open the innermost chambers of our hearts We rise and recite the same words that have echoed on the path of atonement for millennia God I plead before you we have sinned we have done wrong we have rebelled against you my family and I the community of priests and the whole house of Israel I beseech you grant atonement for the sins the wrongs and the acts of rebellion that we have committed as it is written in the Torah of your servant Moses on this day atonement shall be made for you to purify you from all your wrongs and pure you shall be in the presence of the Eternal after the high priest pronounce the name of God the people bowed and touch their heads to the ground saying [Music] [Music] [Music] How Majestic that ritual was humming with the hope of thousands of hearts beating as one how devastating that the path of atonement through the holy of holies was destroyed two sages bore witness to the Temple's Final hours they saw the Roman soldiers breach the walls defile the sacred spaces and set it aflame as Rabbi yahushua fled the destruction of Jerusalem with his teacher he looked back at the house of God Ablaze overcome he uttered in despair responded my child do not grieve for there is another path to atonement the prophet Hosea taught us God does not desire sacrifices but has said Deeds of kindness and love today we pledge to turn our lives into an altar and our actions into offerings all around us lie hidden Sparks of Divine Light waiting to be uncovered every time we reach out with love and compassion every time we heed God's call to return We uncover another of these Sparks bringing us one step closer to restoring the vessels of the light that began at all as we return to the path of atonement We Make This Promise rounded in Torah behold I hereby take upon myself the instruction of the Creator you shall love your neighbor as yourself [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] come on there are half times [Music] [Music] [Music] find yourself find yourself give yourself heal yourself seal yourself give yourself [Music] you [Music] save us yourself [Music] and you shall live each days [Music] find yourself find yourself give yourself give yourself [Music] yourself [Music] and you shall understand [Music] what's wrong and make it right [Music] find yourself find yourself give yourself [Music] give yourself [Music] and you shall live each day [Music] God [Music] please be seated [Music] [Music] walk in my purse [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] what is our compass on this path God is our compass and God's teaching directs our steps we turn to the heart of Torah to parasha kidosheem and remind yourself of her highest ideals it's my privilege now to Welcome to the Pima those who be assisting us with the reading of the Torah for the honor of chanting the Torah I invite Alexandra Goldberg Dania Hermann and Evie Herman and for the honor of the Aliyah I'm pleased to call Susie and Kevin Davis this Yom Kippur afternoon we read from a section of the Torah known as the Holiness code it's a listing of Commandments from Leviticus that reminds us of the high standard set for all of us take a look at these Commandments as we're chanting them from the Torah and perhaps select one that you would like to concentrate upon in this upcoming new year you can find the words of this week's excuse me this day's special Torah portion on page 84 and 85. for who ever is foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] hey him [Music] to him [Music] hello tell our kids [Music] [Music] [Music] hello hello [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] honey I don't know hello [Music] for our tour readers leave I just want to thank them for such incredibly beautiful chanting and for representing so beautifully our next generation and to also thank those young students you saw receiving Torah all of them became bar Bat Mitzvah in the last year and we love having you back on our bema we hope it's many more times thank you for honoring us thank you for the honor I want to Echo around my book tells appreciation uh to all our honorees thank you so much this section of the Torah that was just chanted so beautifully that you were reading along with in your prayer books known as the Holiness code contains some of the most moving moral lessons within our tradition including the Commandment to love the stranger as yourself for You Were Strangers in the land of Egypt this Yom Kippur we have asked members of our Central synagogue welcome project a group of central volunteers who work with highest to resettle Refugee families in New York City to share Reflections on this verse and its meaning based upon their own experiences of migration and resettlement and is my true honor to introduce our fellow congregate Jane ginns Central's director of communications Johanna Castellanos and Carlos Amanda Rai Carlos can come up now Carlos and his Husband Isaac were we settled in New York this past year with the support of our community love this stranger as yourself for You Were Strangers in the land of Egypt commands the Torah at this and 36 other times in our tradition I have long understood it as the expression of a deeply Jewish value of welcome shaped by our people's long history of displacement but recently I have begun to think that it is repeated so many times for another reason because welcoming and loving the stranger can be hard a few weeks ago I returned for the first time in 34 years to a small town in Italy where my family lived as Jewish refugees from the Soviet Union it was a time of great uncertainty for us we had been stripped of our Soviet citizenship and waited in the small Beachside town to hear whether the American government would grant us Refugee status but I was a 10 year old kid and it was summer in Italy and there was a beach and my memories were of playing in the black sand and craving the ice cream we couldn't afford to buy being back in this town at its Central fountain that had been the Gathering Place for our displaced community was surreal I watched my kids play in the same black sand as vacationers not refugees I felt deep gratitude for my family's good fortune and then we were approached by a street vendor selling handmade African bracelets experienced New Yorker that I am I readily indicated to him that we weren't interested until I paused because the thing is we had been Street vendors too our generation of Soviet immigrants brought trinkets Russian Wooden Spoons nesting dolls to sell to supplement our meager savings while suspended between our old and new lives we kids all hocked our Wares in the few words of Italian that we knew I had half forgotten that many school degrees later and yet there we had been selling things on those same streets of that same Little Italian town this man's story was both unalike and similar he had fled Africa as a stowaway and now made a living selling bracelets in his own Refugee purgatory it had been easy for me to other him and turn away from this stranger it was hard to remember that we weren't that different so now I think that perhaps our liturgy repeats itself not only because loving the stranger is part of our values but because it can be challenging in the face of the strangers strangeness lest we lose our way we are reminded to stay the course I was born in Maracaibo Venezuela I was only two years old when my 26 year old mother immigrated to the United States she was in search of a brighter future for me and my sisters today 30 years later I find myself grappling with an existential quandary what does it mean to be Venezuelan yes I was born in Venezuela but am I Venezuelan I left so young all I know is that I can't cook very well my feet get tied up when I dance salsa my Spanish isn't as expansive and fluid as I would like and I don't have many memories of my homeland either I feel a profound sense of disconnection from my heritage why am I telling you this because this year I worked with the central welcome project to help resettle two remarkable Venezuelan people they helped me uncover pieces of my identity that I didn't know were in me I didn't realize that by welcoming The Stranger I was going to be welcomed by The Stranger in this past year I have spoken more Spanish than I have in the last five years I'm getting better while celebrating Carlos birthday we shared a dance together and I didn't step on his toes that much I've been welcomed into their home and served home-cooked meals that I never thought I would have again we can't wait to celebrate the holidays together by making adakas as a family Toshiba is the central theme of the holidays typically Toshiba is translated from the Hebrew as repentance but it literally means return as if turning back to something you've strayed or looked away from I want to thank Carlos and Isaac for rekindling my Venezuelan spirit guiding me back to embrace my roots in many ways helping me return home last August I lost my beautiful Venezuelan mother much too soon her presence lingers Within Me shaping every passing moment even today while preparing these words her remarkable Journey came flooding back an arrival in an unfamiliar land her three little daughters in hand braving an unknown future once strangers we were embraced by compassionate people along the way she paid it forward until her very last day in honor of her enduring Legacy I will continue to find ways to perpetuate these acts of kindness Carlos and Isaac helped me find a piece of my mom that I thought I'd lost May her memory be for a blessing as she continues to inspire me every single day says Venezuela is foreign I left the violence and Poverty of Venezuela on July 26 2016. I remember watching people get stabbed while standing in line for food those memories have stayed with me until today Avia mi madre images when I arrived in the Dominican Republic in search of better economic opportunities I felt like a piece of my body went missing my mother my daughter my soul and my spirit were all in Venezuela for years I felt alone is a porfin um foreign and then I met my love Isaac a kindred spirit from my home country and together on March 21st 2023 we landed at JFK airport in New York City we came here as refugees survivors of the homophobia and xenophobia we endured as a gay couple living in a foreign country Frio Central Park I never dreamed I would live in the United States when we first arrived I was called all the time I remember walking in Central Park looking up at the big buildings and feeling as we say like a cockroach at a chicken dance you have been our best gift Manos is there have been many surprises here I feel safe walking down the street with Isaac but the greatest surprise of all is the family we have found at Central synagogue we have felt God's love through your hands from you I have learned more about God and God's love the more I know the more I learn to love myself Jane John and Carlos you you reminded me of an important principle here at census I think I always have a tissue in your pocket because you never know when you're going to need it and I am I need one right now because um you've touched all of us with your with your message and your lives and your your presence and um we're grateful for helping to bring the words of the Torah right before our eyes and into our hearts on this Yom Kippur day thank you so much we'll invite the congregation please rise in honor of the Torah [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] thank you foreign [Music] foreign [Music] wholehearted [Music] walk in my past [Music] we're on page 88 what happens when we stray please join me in the year that has passed we've all strayed from the path and raised large and small but our tradition does not expect Perfection and so it asks us to imagine we are like our ancestor Jonah we have run from what we know to be right and like Jonah we can find our way back Jonah in Hebrew Jonah the prophet walked with God until one day he decided to stop not only stop he sought to flee from God as if that were possible for anyone let alone a prophet he boarded a ship and set sail hoping to hide to hide from what the text does not say certainly from God but perhaps also from his responsibilities from those who needed him from himself God sent a storm that threatened everyone on the ship knowing he was to blame Yona asked to be cast overboard and as he tread the water waves crashing upon him a great whale swallowed him up sitting in its belly in the depths he prays in his prayer we finally begin to understand him and his flight Yona was sure he had gone too far he was sure there was no way back he was sure his choices had cut himself off from Love From Grace from kindness but in the depths he discovered he would not be left imprisoned and imperiled Jonah sings out karate mitsara Lee in my trouble I called to God who answered me you heard my voice I thought I was driven away out of your sight the waters closed in over me the bars of the earth closed upon me forever yet you brought my life up from the depths you answered me Jonah may have walked away from God but God did not walk away from Jonah in these Final hours we are asked to inhabit Jonah's story what in our lives makes us feel alone cast out drowning in the depths we've read Jonah's prayer as we sit in the belly of our sanctuary let's take some quiet time to find our own there is a way out of the waters up from the deep what do we need to do in these last hours to enable us to say I called out to you from this narrow place and you answered me means [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] yes [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] lady raise [Music] we continue on page 95. foreign [Music] thank you walk in my path and you shall be wholehearted and who prepared this path for us we have time and again encountered persecution in our long history as a people but we gain strength from the memory of those who stood against the tyrants and oppressors walking in God's way in ungodly times foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] the Lord [Music] come on [Music] is wrong [Music] these I indeed remember and my heart is grieved how the Arrogant have devoured our people together during the Eternal March of the Jewish people we have wandered through the deepest nights periods when a press is ruled lies were mistaken for truth and innocence Lord I miss these moments of violence and Terror shine out the lights of those who maintain their faith in the depths and those who stood up to the tyrants Wrath they reminded us of the responsibility not to grow calloused by hate their stories have demands of us to listen for the cries of those who suffer to a hawk into the name as agents of redemptions these I remember the ones who lift up each year these I remember the ones who taught Judaism when it was forbidden the wicked Kingdom of Rome issued decrees of religious persecution against the Jewish people anyone who ordains rabbis will be killed and anyone who is ordained will be killed and what did Rabbi Yehuda bin Baba do he went and ordained five elders and when their enemies discovered them Rabbi Yehuda binbava said to the newly ordained rabbis my sons run for your lives and they said to him our teacher and what will be with you Rabbi Yehuda bin Baba was elderly and unable to run he said to them I am cast before them like a stone that cannot be overturned and when they came upon him the Romans murdered Rabbi Yehuda Ben Baba but the five new rabbis escaped [Music] us on [Music] they'll tell me Monday [Music] foreign [Music] who has created me you breathe the soul into me and gave me a holy law a clear and pure Emerald you delivered it to Moses and never after gave another as you saved Daniel from the Lions so save your own righteous from tortures and inquisitions amen Adonai to Heaven go to Heaven Come page 100. [Music] songs [Music] foreign [Music] say sing a song of the songs [Music] [Music] sing the Lord's song in the foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] page 101 we acted from the heart and look what happened if you had to calculate whether you would do any good by protesting you wouldn't have gone but we acted from the heart we wanted to show that we weren't willing to let them go what one is capable of doing when there is danger can never be repeated I am not a fighter by Nature only when I have to I did what was given me to do when my husband needed my protection I protected him I went to the rosenstrasse every day before work and there was always a flood of people there it wasn't organized or instigated everything everyone was simply there exactly like me [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] we are on the top of 102. and now the boy is turning to me tell me he asks what have you done with my future what have you done with your life and I tell him that I have tried that I have tried to keep memory alive that I have tried to fight those who would forget because if we forget we are guilty we are accomplices and then I explained to him how naive we were that the world did not know and remain silent and that is why I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation we must always take sides please join with me neutrality helps the oppressor never the victim silence encourages the Tormentor never the tormented sometimes we must interfere when human lives are endangered when human dignity is in Jeopardy National borders and sensitivities become irrelevant whenever people are persecuted because of their race religion or political views that place must at that moment become the center of the universe [Music] foreign foreign [Music] [Music] call yourself [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] we claim as our kin all of the House of Israel and all who dwell on Earth those who are in distress or captivity whether on sea or land may God have compassion on them and bring them from distress to relief from Darkness to light from oppression to Redemption at this moment swiftly and soon and let us say Amen when we recall the pain of our past we also must recall its Splendor the foundation with which Our Lives begin and our debt to the long line of our ancestors all those who have come before their lives and their teachings sustain us the Merit of their lives stands at our side today as we seek forgiveness [Music] home wholehearted oh [Music] prepared this path for me I turn my thoughts to those who shaped my life [Music] [Music] can't seems [Music] oh my God [Music] [Music] Lorde [Music] princess [Music] believe me and notes [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] I now need to share the story of a Yona who did not run away from God quite the opposite actually the Italian doctor giuseppiona is an example of someone who rushed toward goodness in World War One his work in military hospitals behind battle lines led him to be recognized as a patriot of unwavering faith in Venice Dr Yona treated those in need without charge and became known as the Poor People's doctor by playing a leadership role in his City's libraries and museums he ensured that everyone had access to Art and knowledge he was not particularly religious but this well-respected physician was asked to become the president of the Venetian Jewish community in 1940. it was an unthinkable time right after the fascists approved a Manifesto of racial Purity that removed Jewish doctors from hospitals and universities it was at this moment that Dr Yona agreed to represent his people exactly 80 years ago this month September 1943 the Nazis took over Italy and demanded a list of all of the Jews of Venice Dr Yona requested a day to compile the names instead he burned all the records that he could and killed himself ensuring that he could not be tortured to reveal what he knew it saddens me greatly that it was only this Summer that I learned of Dr yona's story while in Venice in the Venetian ghetto where I encountered a plaque of 11 lines long in the Piazza Giuseppe Yona is a name that we ought to know it's a name that we ought to honor as news spread of his death originally the authorities refused to allow a public ceremony but the gondoliers whom he had treated for free created A procession along the canal silently in his memory he did not have children so I will be reciting yescor and Kadesh for him today how he died is not something that we glorify it's not something that we celebrate it's something we mourn but how he lived reminds me of a verse from The Book of Micah that we often recite this time of year God has shown us what is good Dr yona's willingness to step up again and again for people not just at the time of his death but throughout his life God has shown us what is good if you are here today remembering a loved one you also know what the prophet Micah was talking about God showed you what is good whether that's your parent partner a sibling a child a dear fellow congregant who used to greet you every Friday night in big ways in small ways you got to witness goodness times it takes a bit more effort to see the good amidst a difficult personality and we may even need to learn what is Good from a counter example but most of the time there is at least a glimmer that we can appreciate and treasure indeed Proverbs teaches us that the soul of a human is the lamp of God so there are little lights all over the world it's such a varied collection of colors those lights maybe your loved one illuminated compassion wisdom honesty Joy hope the Hasidic Master the spot Emmet taught that doing a Mitzvah is like lighting a candle before God the more Good Deeds the more the soul shines brightly for the divine perhaps that helps explain why we can still experience such feelings of warmth from those who are no longer with us physically it is therefore so fitting how we honor luminaries in our lives we light a special candle on Yom Kippur as well as at the end of Sukkot at the end of Passover at the end of Shavuot and on the York side on the anniversary of our loved one's death we are not simply brightening the room although that is a benefit of the practice when you light that Memorial candle that lasts all day you are first acknowledging and celebrating the Eternal connection we call the candle a near nashama the light of the Soul the Hasidic Masters taught that the Hebrew word for candle is near it's an acronym for nephesh and ruach Soul and Spirit while our loved one may not be physically with us anymore that soul that spirit continues to shine brightly in our lives so long as we continue to summon its glow so we do so the custom of lighting a candle comes from the ancient Rabbi Judah the prince before he died he instructed his sons to leave his lamp lit in its place after his passing the city of Venice did the equivalent of lighting a lamp when they named a wing of their Municipal Hospital Yona Pavilion it's where you can find the Pediatric unit today I hope Venetian children and families who are treated in that space learn more about its namesake Dr giuseppiona and feel inspired to carry forward his torch of caring and courage throughout their lives perhaps we should retell the story of this Yona each year to prompt us to find the good and spread it and to remind us that we can tap into our own loved ones highest qualities and ensure that they Shimmer for as long as we live the attributes that made them so Irreplaceable and made them so cherished in our lives are indeed what we are now called to embody we need not be our loved ones nor could we be in some cases we would not wish their circumstances on ours but we can consider their most important traits press our Wick close to theirs and carry their flame forward if they were truth tellers how can we be a bit more honest and forthright if they were dreamers how can we show a bit more imagination and daring if they were hospitable how can we turn strangers into friends if they had untapped potential how can we make sure to let our own light shine in this moment of memory in this season of significance we say matov God has shown us what is good May their luminous Souls shine brightly and guide our steps always [Music] that people come into our lives for a reason bringing something we must learn and we are to those who help us most grow if we let them and we help them in return well I don't know if I believe that's true but I know I'm who I am today because I knew you like a comet poured from orbit as it passes the sun like a stream that meets a border halfway through the wood who can save I've been changed for the better but because I know you yeah I have been changed for good [Music] it will maybe can in this lifetime so let me say before we part so much of me it's made from what I learned from you you'll be with me like a handprint on my heart and now whatever way our stories and I know you have Rewritten Mine by bringing my friends like a ship blown from a wind of the sea like a sea dropped by a skybird in a distant word who can say if I've been changed for the better I do believe I have been changed forever because I knew you because I knew you because I cause you I have been [Music] page 106 birth is a beginning and death a destination and life is a journey from childhood to maturity and from youth to age a journey from innocence to awareness and ignorance to knowing from foolishness to discretion and then perhaps to wisdom her journey from weakness to strength or strength to weakness and often we hope back again from Health to sickness and back we pray to health again it's a journey from offense to forgiveness from loneliness to love from Joy to gratitude pain to compassion and grief to understanding a journey from Fear to Faith and from defeat to defeat to defeat until Looking Backward or ahead we see that Victory lies not at some high place along the way but in having made this journey stage by stage a sacred pilgrimage so birth is a beginning and death a destination and life is a journey a sacred pilgrimage to life Everlasting [Music] I don't know [Music] no knowledge [Music] live on [Music] the gates [Music] the Moon [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] oh yeah [Music] I don't know [Music] I don't know [Music] please join with me on page 107. a Psalm of David Eternal God you are my shepherd I shall not want you make me lie down in Green Pastures you lead me besides Still Waters you restore my soul you lead me in right paths for the sake of your name even when I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I shall fear no evil for you are with me with Rod and staff you comfort me you set a table before me in the presence of my enemies you've anointed my head with oil my cup overflows surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I shall dwell in the house of the Eternal God forever we continue on page 110. foreign source of life at this hour of Memorial we recall with grief all your children who have perished through the cruelty of the oppressor victims of hate their deaths have brought Darkness to the human soul they lie in nameless Graves and far-off forests lonely fields and among the rubble of Destruction and yet they shall not be forgotten we take them into our hearts and give thanks give them a place beside the cherished memories of our own loved ones they become ours we pray To You O source of Mercy that your torahami come to Glow with a renewed light in the human soul that remembering them we may sanctify your name and all the world thus will their memory become an enduring blessing of compassion to all your children we remember those who have died in years past and named with sorrow our loved ones here at Central synagogue whom death has taken from our midst this year Hosea body Robert E Abrams Allen afterman Ernest Albanese Carol Allen Peter Aaron Mark Carroll Julian Ashton Alan Axelrod Kathy Barron Jules bass Phil basser Phyllis Bernie iucia Pearlman Bernstein Roz Bernstein Loretta Larita Black Elk running Hawk Michael Blackwood Victor plivas Charles J black Amy bloom Joan Blum Sandra brand Eleanor Brenner Thomas Brower Donald brief Marilyn Brown Michael Brook Stanley Chatzy Moore schwatzky Dr Herrick Cohn Myron konowitz Stephanie cook Paul Corwin Howard Cowan James crown Craig Dasher Robert Davis Sandra dickerman Mill Drazen Beverly dridle saw dreidel Audrey Edelstein Bruce Eisen August August Michael fire Richard fargione Renata farjon mayor Mindy fedida Stanley feldstein Feldman Richard feldstein Alfred fields Nancy Fallon Baum Monroe Firestone David Fisher sander flaum Doris flax Helen Forster Richard Frank Eva Freeman Paula galber jeromei Robert gerdwagen Cheryl Rubin gerdwagen Lester Gilbert Herbert gingold Sarah Jane Ginsburg David Globus Carol Gluck Sanford Gluck Carol Goldberg Harvey Goldenberg Edith Rosenwald Goldman Michelle Morris Golson Adrian Greene Pritchard Edward green Sharon green Ann gresser Margaret Faye Griffin Harold cross Adele Grossman Michael gruenbaum Adele Halperin Ed Herbst enosclaw Herzberg Sarah celes Hildebrand Norma Hirsch Helen Horne Audrey horn Betty show y Sandra ingber David a jazz Jason Annette cowet Richard Clan Robert CasCal Harvey Katz Joan Keating Alex kirschenblatt Joyce kirschenblatt Howard Kessler Louis Kimmel Larry cleven's Karen Coppell cow Knits bird crawl Barry kugel Phyllis Landau Daniel Abraham Lang Debbie Lang Louis Largent Bernice lazair Lewis lefkowitz Douglas Ledger Douglas Lehman Jonas Slifer Sarah T Sarah T lease Paul Lewis Ross Lewis Vivian Lewis Verona lift Seymour Liechtenstein Howard gross Mark lippman Stephen London Carl lubick Kenneth Kenneth Lux Nino maglioko Jr Edo mandelberger Richard Marlin Edward Meyer David milberg Alan middleman now Moskowitz Jerome matalo Wallace mustaf Lloyd needle Jeffrey Newman Marjorie Oberlander Elizabeth O'Connor Paul O'Connor Arthur Oaken Sandra allenov Pamela oppenheim Nina Pacman Nikki Peck Anita Perlman Ada perwine Helen Piazza Leah pleat Stephen Plotkin Bernice Podell wine rib Kirk Pond Peter pretzfed pretzfelder Richard ravich Mark Marty reingold Kenneth Rosen Ruth rosenblatt norik Stephanie Roth's child Betty Rubin Daniela Rubinstein Susan Rubinstein Floyd running Hawk Larry running Hawk Ronald Ruskin Dorothy Ryan Mary Alan salop Madeline shotkin Florence Schneiderman Carol Ann Schoenberger Alan Schwartz Harold Schwartz Nancy Schwartz David Siegel Sarah Southerner Robert I Shapiro Stephen Schindler Bruce Mortimer shotkin Mark Schulman Sydney Schumann Leonor Siegel Phyllis Silverman Barbara Simon Martin singerman Stephen sklar Perla slova Harold sokoloff Riva Jane Solomon and Spitzer Max Stadler Bob Steinberg Renee Steiner berla Laura Trachtenberg Strauss Jacqueline B stoogen paprin Pamela swerdlick Janet tur Joseph Tachi Susie vexler Jonathan Warwick Elizabeth Ward Albert Beno Weil Hazel I Weinberger Joseph Wexler Barbara wolpe Laura zakin and Gloria zelaznik taking these dear ones into our hearts with our beloved we recall each with reverence in the rising of the Sun and it's going down we remember them in the blowing of the wind and in the chill of winter we remember them in the opening of buds and in The Rebirth of spring we remember them warmth of summer we remember that in the rustling of leaves and in the beauty of Autumn we remember them in the beginning of the year and when it ends we remember them when we are weary and in need of strength we remember them when we are lost and sick at high we remember them when we have Joys we yearn to share we remember them so long as we live they too shall live for they are now a part of us as we remember them on the top of page 111 are the words in our service that allows us to have our own personal remembrance it's customary to read in Hebrew or in English the words at the top of the page and insert the name of our loved ones that we're remembering on this Yom Kippur service will do so now and we'll do so silently foreign for the memorial prayer [Music] [Music] [Music] come on [Music] [Music] I don't know [Music] oh God full of compassion eternal spirit of the universe Grant perfect rest under the wings of your presence to our loved ones who have entered eternity source of Mercy let them find Refuge forever in the shadow of your wings and let their souls be bound up in the bond of eternal life the Eternal God is their inheritance may they rest in peace and let us say Amen please join me in kadishatom amen [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Mercy from awesome songs [Music] well we've made it to Neila literally means locking as in the gates are about to get locked so whatever transgressions you still need a toning for whatever final pleas you need to pray this is your last opportunity before the gates close and lock but I'd like to think of niella not only as locking but as our being locked in we may be hungry and tired but during the ELA I can feel it we are spiritually awake and fully present we're locked in maybe it's because we notice the sun is starting to go down or maybe because Nila has some of my very favorite Melodies in it and maybe yours or maybe it's because we will open the ark and remain standing those who are able for the entirety of this Naila service whatever is the reason when we get to nahila we are not only locking that final gate we are locked in spiritually we're in this so let's walk through this final gate together all of us with compassion forgiveness softness and hope page 114. [Music] oh [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh oh [Music] what do I need to say before I reach the end of this path and begin the next at the end of this path of atonement facing the new year I am still searching for the right words but I trust that if I meet this moment with a full heart God will open my lips [Music] help me [Music] I don't know I suffers [Music] [Music] I don't know [Music] hello [Music] hello hello [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] office [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] life [Music] is [Music] foreign [Music] because [Music] [Music] I don't know [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] Hallelujah [Music] [Applause] we take a few moments now for the silent prayers of our own hearts thank you [Music] foreign [Music] Tory Godly [Music] May the world [Laughter] [Music] and the meditation [Music] [Music] oh God my advice I read the Earth [Music] oh right [Music] foreign [Music] Adonai our God is merciful and gracious endlessly patient loving and true showing Mercy to thousands forgiving iniquity transgression and sin and granting pardon [Music] ment [Music] no sound [Music] [Music] up high ER [Music] foreign [Music] I don't know it is [Music] [Applause] [Music] no sense [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] okay the gates remain open bottom of 120. Our God God of our ancestors grant that our prayers May reach you do not be deaf to our pleas for we are not so arrogant and stiff-necked as to say before you our God and God of all ages we are perfect and have not sinned rather do we confess we have gone astray we have sinned we have transgressed [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] I don't know [Music] foreign [Music] good time [Music] I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I am [Music] but God no because [Music] it's no wrong [Music] let's move [Music] foreign [Music] she hurts [Music] we abuse we betray we are cruel we destroy we are bitter we falsify we gossip we hate we insult we jeer we kill we lie we mock we neglect we oppress we pervert we quarrel we Rebel we steal we transgress we are unkind we are violent we are wicked we are extremists we yearn to do evil we are zealous for bad causes for all these sins o God of Mercy forgive us pardon us grant us atonement foreign [Music] foreign [Music] we are about to hit the home stretch the last few songs that really get us through the last of these Gates but before we do I want to offer a few words of thanks there are too many but I just have to name some I want to start with my most unbelievable clergy colleagues here and in David Geffen Hall and even a few that are not here this holiday due to baby and covid you can't imagine the flexibility this year for this holiday that we had to have and I'm so grateful they are among they are the most amazing clergy that you can have and generous and of Goodwill Rabbi Rebecca Rosenthal and the whole Youth and Family engagement team brought Incredible family and taught services to our community to Marsha caban our executive director for your passion and all the magic working behind the scenes you and your team most especially Elizabeth Brown Jordan Kessler Judy zipkowitz Johanna Castellanos and all of your teams to our operations team led by Lydia Vargas everything looks so beautiful thank you to our director of security Brian Vaughn who really made this the safest place to be over these holidays we are so deeply grateful to our unbelievable music director David Strickland and our assistant music director who this over these holidays becomes like a director behind the scenes Misa awama and to the most world-class musicians and singers that we get to have here at Central synagogue you bring your heart and soul to this music and we feel it every time thank you to Jesse Lotter and the and all of the AV and Tech Team so that you can watch it here and from home and it sounds good and what and looks good to George and Emily Lansbury and their professional production team who does the high holidays for us we're so grateful to Janet Walton who is our liturgy specialist and she helps us prepare you should know that as soon as we finish High holidays the week after we start to think about what can we do better and how do we plan next year to our clergy assistants who do so much work behind the scenes and I want to particularly shout out to Lori Dubin and Yael warrock who really lead the clergy team with these holidays and all the honors thank you to our Rabbi Emeritus it is always such a privilege to be on this bema with you and we um we really stand on your shoulders and feel that every time we're together especially with you to our extraordinary leadership of this synagogue and headed by our president Dr Shawnee silverberg represented today on our board also by David Weil we are so grateful to the incredible lay leaders who give of service to this congregation to our ushers in shamashim thank you for giving of yourselves for these holidays all of us can help the shamashim by bringing your mockers at the end of services to the back of the sanctuary I want to thank my family for putting up with me in the last few weeks in particular and for traveling back to be here for the holidays it makes the holidays for me most of all I saved the best for last to thank this community Central is you and you are um this heart and soul of this congregation the way that you care for each other the way you support us the way you actually provide for and support Jewish life all around the world it is truly extraordinary and it is the greatest professional privilege to serve as the rabbi of central synagogue and I'm so grateful for this privilege and I never take it for granted thank you thank you so let us draw strength from each other if you feel like you want to come down or if you want to fill in any of this the the really expensive seats are still available in the very front um I oh I can't believe I did not also thank all of you who are watching us from wherever you are you are part of our community you support us and we are grateful to to be a part of your holiday um so please come on down we are going to oh Cantor Janet Pearsall who has been so unbelievable and this is her third service of the day she's going to start to take us home with a vena volcano page 122. let us read together the Aveeno malkeinu let us read together the Aveeno malkano and the English let the Gates of Heaven be open to our plea do not turn us away empty-handed from your presence give and pardon all our misties remember that we are dust avina malkanu have compassion on us and on our children let the New Year be a good year for us for blessing in the book of life gives strength to your People Israel be gracious and answer us for we have little merits generously and with kindness and be our help [Music] [Music] come on [Music] [Music] good Ness [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] anymore [Music] [Music] 124 God of awesome Deeds God of awesome Deeds grant us pardon as the gates begin to close God we stand in awe before your Deeds [Music] be sure [Music] deep before [Music] [Music] [Music] their homes [Music] [Music] [Music] in order [Music] we're on page 125 open for us the gates of righteousness and we shall enter to praise our God open the gates open them wide we knock at your Gates do not turn us away empty-handed open the gate so God open the gates for us and for all Israel open the gates of our hearts as we leave behind the Gates that are closing may we face this year with insight and compassion accepting our vulnerability we emerge from these sacred days lifted by hope humbled in awe before your creation aware of our view virtues and failures seeking and granting forgiveness strengthened by memory we ask of you foreign [Music] [Music] good morning [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] okay [Music] your day [Music] Hallelujah please [Music] [Applause] Hallelujah [Music] join with me on page 126 we'll read together now as evening Falls light Dawns within hope and trust revive the Shadows darkening our Spirits have passed with the last rays of the Seventh Son the radiance of your forgiveness shines forth we are restored we are renewed how can we find words to thank you for your goodness how can words alone Be fitting thanks and so we make this pledge we shall thank you with our lives we will offer you the work of our hands open our hearts our life our work with a constant love for you God of the universe creator of all life source of all being then shall our souls rejoice and sing my grief into dancing Release Me From My anguish and surrounded me with life with gladness eternal God I shall give thanks to you forever we're so thrilled there are so many young people here in the congregation this evening we know there's so many watching with us as well if you're a high school senior or younger all the way down younger we heard a little cry earlier you might have to bring your grown up for for this one but we want you to join us on the Bemis so high school seniors others younger if you can come up if you need a parent to come up with you that's okay too we want you to be with us on the bema as we close out Neila return to page 130. come on up come on up hear o Israel Adonai our God is one [Music] blessed is God's glorious Reign forever and ever foreign through your life [Music] foreign the Eternal one is God [Music] [Music] I believe [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Applause] as we close with havdala I'd like to invite people to get close with the family that they came with or people they want I'd like my family to come up and Rabbi Sal's family if they're here to join and any other clergy family to join I'd like to invite Marcia caban and Noel to join us on the bema as well and it is such a joy to see these beautiful children on our bema all of them I think this might be the most we've had and I can't remember how long it is beautiful to see you we'll send you some candles too can we get a few more candles up at the front [Music] la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] no matter [Music] [Music] [Applause] foreign [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] a good year a year of Peace [Music] a good and sweet year [Music] [Music] thank you [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music]

Channel: Central Synagogue

Views: 41,514

Keywords:

Id: Lzpu0mL83a0

Length: 175min 38sec (10538 seconds)

Published: Mon Sep 25 2023