On Thursday and Friday, we will gather for Rosh Hashanah in all the ways that our diverse community approaches the Divine. Reflections about the High Holy Days from area clergy has become a favorite installment in our Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur editions of the TJP. This is the first of two installments; the rest will appear in our Oct. 10 edition. The TJP thanks the Rabbinic Association of Greater Dallas for helping to coordinate submissions from the community’s rabbis.
In the wake of Oct. 7, It has been a trying year for Jews everywhere, especially in Israel. We pray for the return of the hostages and the safety of the Israel Defense Forces soldiers bravely fighting for Jews everywhere. May the new year see the wildfire of antisemitism extinguished. May the stirring sounds of the shofar call us to examine ourselves, to work hard to be better people and to do what is right for ourselves and others. Most of all, may you have a sweet new year and many blessings of health, spirit and peace.
My prayer as we welcome the High Holy Days season
By Cantor Elisa Cohn
Spiritual leader, Congregation Beth Shalom, Arlington
God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca, Leah and Rachel:
The month of Elul is ending, and we know this is an auspicious time to connect with you as we prepare ourselves for Your Holy Days.
Meet us in your field, O God. Allow us to bare our souls to you.
Hear what is in our hearts and allow us to share with you the times when we may have missed the mark this past year.
May we have the insight to meditate on our past and present and to set realistic goals for our future.
God of our ancestors, as we return again, may we be granted the courage to face those we hurt this year with humility and may we wholeheartedly forgive those who wounded us.
We know ELUL is an acronym for our loving relationship with You.
“Ani l’Dodi v’Dodi li” — “I am my Beloved’s and my Beloved is mine.” (Song of Songs 6:3) It has always been You, O God. You have always been and always will be our Beloved.
God of Protection — we are scared. The world has felt more tense than ever. Help us to find avenues for peace and love so that our children and grandchildren may grow up knowing the gifts of safety and loving coexistence.
As we stand with one foot in 5784 and the other in 5785, we pray that this be a year of peace, security, health, joy, prosperity and fulfillment for us all.
Hashiveinu, Adonai! Return us to our best selves. Thank You for this year and this life. Praised are You, God of this beautiful world, who causes us to return again to our best selves!
Shanah Tovah!
The complex collective cry of the shofar
By Rabbi Mordechai Harris
Chief Impact Officer and Rabbi in Residence, Jewish Federation of Greater Dallas; President, Rabbinic Association of Greater Dallas
As the sound of the shofar calls us together this Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, its piercing tones and wordless prayer will reverberate within our collective consciousness, complicated by a year of profound pain and continued uncertainty. The diverse cries of the shofar remind us every year that there is no uniform way to grieve or to process the many complex emotions that surround this season; how much more so is this true as we mark the first anniversary of the Oct. 7 atrocities.
In my time as a pulpit rabbi, I consoled many families through loss and never once did I witness two people mourn in the same manner. This year, some will cry out in sadness, others will confront God in puzzled anger and still others in quiet reflection, contemplating if they have any actual agency to impact the troubled world around them. The shofar, as our ancient call, gives permission for all these responses. It assembles us, not as a homogenous unit, but as a community where each soul, each response, is vital and valid.
But the shofar is not only the sound of tears; it is also the joy-filled song at the coronation of our King — a King that unites a people in common commitment and purpose, leveraging the strength of the kingdom, powered by its citizens, to build a proud and enduring legacy. Locally, as we stand side-by-side in this season of renewal, we affirm our role in the broader global Jewish family. When we are united, even and especially in our diversity, we embody the resilience that has sustained us through the darkest of times.
As we enter this new year, we carry the pain of the past and the present, but we also carry the hope that together we can make the future brighter. May the blasts of the shofar remind us of the power of community and may we emerge stronger, ready to build a better year, together.
Love your neighbor
By Rabbi Nancy Kasten
Chief Relationship Officer, Faith Commons
The 16th century Kabbalist, Rabbi Isaac Luria, prepared to enter worship with the following intention. “Here I am, ready to take upon myself the sacred charge of my Creator: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’” (Leviticus 19:18). Luria believed that the most important commandment, as Jews and as human beings, was to love others. He recognized that doing so required intention and that he wasn’t required only to love the easy ones — his family or friends or those he agreed with. He was required to love all of God’s children and to see them as neighbors, proximate and connected to him.
Two hundred years later, Rav Nachman of Bratzlav wrote in Likutei Moharan, “Contention makes it impossible to speak. For the essence of speech is from peace, as it is written, ‘I will speak peace’ (Psalms 122:8). It is therefore necessary for each person, prior to praying, to accept upon herself the positive commandment to ‘Love your neighbor as yourself,’ so that due to the love and peace she exudes, she is then able to speak in prayer.”
As we prepare to enter worship on these High Holidays, Rabbi Luria and Rav Nachman remind us that we are obligated to eschew contentious speech and fulfill the mitzvah of loving our neighbor, lest our prayers be futile. When we do so, we don’t just pray for peace, we manifest it. Shanah Tovah.
It depends on our actions
By Rabbi Dan Lewin
Director, Maayan Chai Foundation
The Jewish people have endured a painful and trying period that has shaken us to our core. As the final era unfolds, the divide between good and evil has become shockingly clear. The tearful melodies of our brutal history echo loudly in the present. Yet, alongside this heavy weight on the collective Jewish heart, we have witnessed the remarkable unity of our nation, an unshakable spirit of courage and a deep bond with our sacred land. The eternal wisdom of the Torah remains our compass and refuge.
Rosh Hashanah is a day of both brightness and judgment, holiness and awe. The universe pauses in silence, bracing for a new, higher light to enter our world from the source of all life. The flow which will shape the coming year depends on our actions. The piercing call of the shofar calls the soul, reminding us of humanity’s purpose — to accept the One omnipotent Creator, the guider of our destiny, and to instill positive changes in our lives.
As we approach the new year, a time for the heart to rebuild its trust and allegiance, we have an extraordinary opportunity to pray for blessings and sweetness — revealed goodness, both materially and spiritually. May the Almighty shield us across the globe, granting us renewed strength, comfort and peace.
In the darkness, hope abounds
By Rabbi Andrew Paley
Senior rabbi, Temple Shalom
As we welcome in 5785, we imagine a time and a world that is better, kinder and filled with wholeness and holiness, a world different than the one we experienced this last year. It is a time filled with hope and possibility.
There is much darkness in our world: violence, war, illness, worry. Sometimes many of these ailments strike simultaneously. So when life is dark, what gives me hope?
I take hope in knowing that Judaism is an invitation to a life of hope whereby we, as God’s junior partner in the ongoing work of creation, have a role to play in making the world better and brighter. Judaism teaches that God requires us and our efforts to bring about the shalom our world so desperately needs. As Jeremiah 31:17 taught, “…there is hope for your future, declares the Lord.”
I take hope in knowing that I stand in relationship with others. My family, my temple, my colleagues and friends, remind me that even though I may be by myself sometimes, I am not alone. Community, the antidote to loneliness, gives me hope.
Finally, what gives me hope is knowing that I can bring light to the darkness. When I light candles on Rosh Hashanah this year, I am really imposing light on the darkness. I am shouting that darkness will not prevail, that I am not powerless. I can light a match. I can create a spark. I can help. I don’t have to live in darkness. As George Iles, a 19th-century playwright once said, “Hope is faith holding out its hand in the dark.” Even in the darkness, hope abounds. May you and yours have a hope-filled, sweet and joyous New Year!
Begin the year with sweetness
By Rabbi Adam Ruditsky
Adat Chaverim, Plano
L’shanah Tovah U’metukah! This year it is not just “may” you have a sweet new year, more so than you “deserve” a sweet new year. This has been a very rough year for us as a Jews and our communities, and beginning the year with a little sweetness just seems right. We begin this Rosh Hashanah also by standing in solidarity with our friends and family in Israel. We remember that Israel became a state when they returned to their ancestral homeland in the backdrop of European antisemitism, celebrating their first Rosh Hashanah during a time of war to fight for their survival. Israel in its 76th year will celebrate another Rosh Hashanah during another time of fighting for their survival, this time fighting a battle on seven fronts with the likes of Hamas and Hezbollah who seek Israel’s destruction. It almost seems that in order to fully turn to you and wish everyone in the DFW area L’shanah Tovah, we have to extend those very same warm Rosh Hashanah, New Year’s greetings, to those in Israel as well. This new year as we continue to rid our world of evil, may we also begin the new year continuing to reveal its good.
We will dance again
By Rabbi Matt Rutta, M.A.Ed.
Member of the Rabbinic Association of Greater Dallas
As we welcome the new year of 5785, we are reminded of the resilience ingrained in our Jewish heritage. In every generation we have faced unimaginable challenges but always find hope. This year, I experienced that hope firsthand. My friend, Shlomi Ziv, was taken hostage by Hamas on Oct. 7 while doing security at the Nova festival where his cousin Aviv Eliyahu and our mutual friend Jake Marlowe were murdered. For eight long months, we prayed for Shlomi’s safe return; in June, our prayers were answered: Shlomi was rescued by the Israel Defense Forces, bringing with him stories of survival, trauma and strength of the human spirit. An interior designer, Shlomi now dedicates himself to building a social hall/emergency shelter at the family’s synagogue near the Lebanese border. Dedicated in memory of Aviv and Jake, it will be a place where everyone can celebrate joyous occasions and feel safe in times of trouble.
Judaism teaches us that even in — and especially in — the darkest of times, we must celebrate life. This is not new for us; our history is filled with moments of joy in the face of terror. We dance, we sing and we continue to hope for peace, even when it feels distant. As the song “Mahapechah shel Simchah” (“Revolution of Love”) by Lior Narkis and Omer Adam says, “God, God, just protect the dancers; hug the lovers so that we can always be happy.” The song and our faith remind us that the greatest act of defiance is to live fully and joyfully, even in times of war and loss.
This new year, may we carry that joy and strength with us. As we reflect on the darkness of the year behind us and look forward to a brighter future and victory, let us affirm: We will dance again!
Unity of hope and prayer
By Rabbi Meir Sabo
Head Rabbi, Tiferet Israel Congregation
As we stand at the threshold of the High Holidays, we are granted the profound opportunity to reflect on the past year. That past year was NOT a regular year at all. We feel the great times of awe, days of judgment and prayer. The land of Israel is crying and fighting, brave, strong and in need of support. The unity of “KOL KAHAL ISRAEL,” the entirety of the Israeli nation, is united in support. Not necessarily agreement as to the logistics, but unity of hope and prayer, for our hostages to be freed, for our soldiers to be victorious. Unity of hope and prayer for our brothers and sisters to be safe and well, for refua shelema to those injured in body, heart and soul.
During these sacred times, allow yourself to stand in front of Hashem and beg, plead and even demand blessings for the entire nation: “Barchenu Avinu kulanu ke-echad,” Bless us our Father, all of us as one.
During these High Holidays, we have the chance to stand together, and from the tefillot of our congregations, a unique and genuine voice will rise: AM ISRAEL CHAI.
Shanah Tovah U’metukah!
The shofar calls us home
By Rabbi David Stern
Senior rabbi, Temple Emanu-El
On behalf of the Temple Emanu-El clergy: Rabbi Debra J. Robbins, Cantor Vicki Glikin, Rabbi Amy Rossel, Rabbi Kimberly Herzog Cohen, Cantor Leslie Niren and Rabbi Michael Lewis
Gunnar Schonbeck (1917-2005) created famously imaginative instruments from found materials: rebar, car parts, plumbing, aircraft fuselages and more. At a Schonbeck exhibit, you get to play everything: congas made of airplane parts, a rack of chimes that looks like a deconstructed Calder mobile, an 8-foot lyre. The discarded scraps of metal and wire that make up Schonbeck’s brightly colored creations gain a second life, and their story a second telling. Scrap metal from a junkyard now makes music and joy.
Schonbeck’s instruments make the messy sound of new beginnings — just like the shofar that we will hear on the Days of Awe. Tekiah/shevarim/teruah/tekiah gedolah — in ragged majesty, the shofar offers the Jewish sound of second chances. We come to this season to examine our souls, with the fundamental faith that teshuvah is always possible. We have erred in the past year — we have hurt people we love, we have let selfishness trump compassion, we have shied away from our obligations to our community and to the Jewish people. We struggle for a compass in a world that can frighten and overwhelm us.
And now the shofar comes to call us home — to the essence of goodness that God has implanted in every one of us. And especially this year, it comes to call us together. From the horrors of Oct. 7 to all the harrowing days since, from the rise in antisemitism to the uncivil fractures within our own community, this year we pray with all our hearts for a new beginning that will bring the hostages home, Israel’s soldiers to safety, peace to the region and an end to suffering for too many of God’s children. May we take to heart the sound of second chances. May it be a year of new beginnings for us all.
Symbols of strength and success
By Rabbi Shira Wallach
Senior Rabbi, Congregation Shearith Israel
On behalf of the entire Klei Kodesh, Senior Rabbi Ari Sunshine, Senior Rabbi Adam Roffman, Rabbi Avi Mitzner and Hazzan Itzhak Zhrebker
Getting in the car after school the other day, my 9-year-old daughter asked me, “Can we get some Swedish fish for Rosh Hashanah?”
Wondering if this was a new gefilte fish trend, I asked a few follow-up questions that helped me understand that Hannah was talking about a creative take on the Rosh Hashanah Seder, a beloved tradition from the Sephardi and Mizrahi Jewish communities, to eat symbolic foods on the first night of the New Year. In the Talmud (Horayot 12a), Abaye teaches that on Rosh Hashanah, one should make sure to see squash, fenugreek, leeks, chard and dates, as each of these grows prolifically and therefore symbolizes strength and success.
Over the generations, our ancestors have added to this list, expanding the menu of meaningful (and delicious!) simanim, symbolic foods. A pomegranate is said to contain 613 seeds, reminding us of our obligation to fulfill mitzvot. Apples and honey represent our hopes for a sweet new year. And just as we read recently in Parashat Ki Tavo: If we obey the commandments, then God will make us “lerosh velo lezanav,” like the head, not the tail (Deuteronomy 28:13), hence the tradition to feature the head of a sheep or a fish. Vegetarians and others who may not appreciate an animal head on the buffet: Don’t worry! You can use a head of lettuce or cauliflower. In our house, you’ll probably find heads of Swedish fish adorning our table. And just as those who came before us established their own personal connections to this practice, I hope you’ll feel empowered as well to add new and impactful simanim to your Rosh Hashanah table.
From all of us at Shearith Israel, we wish you a year of sweetness and blessings, a year in which all of our prayers will be answered.
Trepidation, yet optimism
By Rabbi Howard Wolk
Community Chaplain, Jewish Family Service of Greater Dallas; Rabbi Emeritus, Congregation Shaare Tefilla
Beginnings are exciting. We anticipate the start of new ventures, new projects and new opportunities. Often these beginnings are tinged with elements of nervousness and uncertainty. We hope and pray for success, but who really knows?
For most people, embarking on a new year is filled with the same types of emotions and concerns, sometimes trepidations.
As we head into 5785, trepidations — even more so. We are approaching the one-year anniversary of the massacre of Oct. 7. Each day since then, we have all been glued to our phones and televisions for updates on Israel. We wake up to alerts, we go to sleep deeply concerned.
Members of our community have lost relatives and friends in the war.
Some of us have family members who have made aliyah during the war! (My son, Yonatan, and his wife and three children, for example.)
Many of us have traveled to Israel in the last 11 months, to volunteer, to visit, to bring needed clothing and supplies to our holy chayalim.
The Mahzor’s refrain of mi yichyeh oo’mi yamut — who shall live and who shall die — is a painful reality to us on a daily basis.
But, no matter what, we are an optimistic people.
Israel is here to stay!
We are certain that Am Yisrael Chai!
Young adults from our community are in Israel right now for their Gap Year. One of my grandsons is there now, too.
People are going to Israel and no one is abandoning her. That sends a powerful message of resolve and commitment to our future.
We pray for the chayalim and for the safe return of the hostages.
May 5785 usher in peace, health and tranquility for all of us.
Happy and healthy new year to all.
Ketiva Va‘hatimah Tovah.
Our unique mission
By Rabbi Nasanya Zakon
Director, DATA of Plano
As Rosh Hashanah approaches, we have to cram to get ready. We don’t have time to read the book or even the Cliff’s Notes — but we do have time to see the movie! Well, maybe not the movie, but at least an opening scene. An early scene in “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” tells us all that we need to know about Rosh Hashanah prep. Harry is under the stairs and receives a letter telling him that he is a magician and not a muggle. He always assumed he was a muggle because he lived among them and looked just like them. Now he knows who he really is and what he must do! What does this have to do with us?
We too forget that we as Jews have a special role and mission. We may want to live lives with standards and hopes just like the rest of the world. Rosh Hashanah, though, brings us our proverbial letter from the owl that tells us that we have a unique mission. We have a role to live exalted lives which will thereby inspire others worldwide to do the same. We are tasked with the job to be mikadesh Shem Shamayim, to sanctify G-d’s name in this world. We must make this world a place G-d will feel welcome and comfortable.
Let each of us take these precious days and moments to contemplate what aspects of Torah I must study to assume this role in my unique way.
Shanah Tovah!
The shattered and the sweet
By Rabbi Brian Zimmerman
Senior Rabbi, Beth-El Congregation, Fort Worth
The world seems so broken right now.
Our prayers are with our Israeli brothers and sisters, fearful of incoming bombs and awaiting word of the missing hostages.
Our prayers go out to all innocent people struggling to make a daily living and find safe passage in the Middle East.
Our prayers are with this country in which brothers and sisters turn to one another with hate in their eyes. The election season has been the culmination of years of focus on what makes us different.
As we read about the shattered, we are reminded of the sweet.
Our people have lived through countless centuries of war and loss, and yet each year, Rosh Hashanah arrives with a taste of the sweet to temper the pain.
Whether you put your honey on challah or your family comes from a region of Poland that added sugar to their gefilte fish or you make your challah with plump raisins, these foods don’t solve the world’s problems, but they remind each of us that a new year is a chance to try again.
Sweetness awaits us this week as hope fills our stomachs.
As we give thanks for our daily blessings, we prepare for another year of opportunities in our ongoing ancient and Jewish story of hope.
Shanah Tovah Umetukah.
May we be renewed with the sweetness to face the world that so desperately needs us.
