Homecoming is a blessing. Each year, as the the staff and I work to prepare this place of spiritual and social homecoming for all of you, I feel the excitement of return within myself, and the pull of familiarity in ritual, and in the voices and faces of those I know and hold dear. It feels right that this preparation takes place each year as the Jewish high holy days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are being celebrated all over the world. These are the days of elation, preparation, forgiveness and reciprocity. This time of year leads us to Jubilee.
In the ancient Hebrew tradition, the Jubilee is to be celebrated every 50 years. During Jubilee all the inequities that have built up over the ensuing years are to be redistributed. All debts are forgiven, all slaves freed, and all land given back to those who owned it when the original maps of Judeah were drawn. According to Rabbi Brad Hirschfield, the most popular tradition of Rosh Hashanah - the blowing of the shofar (horn) - reminds us of the Jubilee. The blasts of the shofar horn are a reminder of the music played at the Jubilee, a reminder that hope is alive, that justice will come, and that each person and family is of worth regardless of their present circumstance. Each year as the shofar sounds, according to Rabbi Hirshfield's interpretation, we have the chance to return to "our holding" to "what is most deeply our own".
As we come home from our summer adventures and routines, as we re-enter the rhythm of our Unitarian Universalist worship and community life together, let us relate to one another from our deepest selves. Let us be conscious of our own worth, our own strengths, and our own failings, so that we may truly celebrate the strengths of others, and have compassion for their failings. In the spirit of the high holy days, may we strive to know ourselves deeply, so that others may know us. May we strive to let go of past hurts, and old projections, so that we may truly see and feel for every person in our sanctuary, in our partnerships, and in our wider community. As we worship, work, mourn and celebrate together this year may all that we do be life-giving. May all that we do point toward the Jubilee, when all people will be free. Free in body, and in spirit, too.
See you Sunday!
Rev. Jennifer
To read Rabbi Hirschfield's article on Rosh Hashanah click herehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/rabbi-brad-hirschfield/rosh-hashanah-2010-libera_b_702705.html
Many groups involved in progressive Judaism are doing a great job getting their message across to youth and young adults. For a fun video about the high holy days, aimed at younger folks, check out this link http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/25/rosh-hashanah-makes-the-s_n_694640.html
And if you'd like to explore this time of year with the young children in your life, try books such as Gershon's Monster by Eric A. Kimmel
