October 3, 2025
With last evening’s final blast of the Shofar still echoing in souls, I want to hearken back to one prayer we shared during yesterday’s long day of prayer. When I need to feel grounded during the year, these are words I might turn to which would remind me of our core purpose. When we long for God’s presence, these are the places we go to find the touch of the Holy.
If I could see God’s face within my heart . . .
I’d see the human face in a thousand acts of mercy —
the one who gives bread to the hungry
and shelters the lost,
who hears the voice of grief
and makes room for the stranger;
who brings relief to the blind, the bent,
the unjustly imprisoned;
and is true to the essence of holy work:
defying evil, healing brokenness, easing pain;
and, in the end, forgiving ourselves as God forgives us.
As we, once again, read these words with Shabbat about to emerge, may our hearts be filled with compassion to hold all the brokenness, and may our hands be strong so that we can collectively heal the wounds of the brokenhearted.
Yesterday, Rabbi Martin addressed the painful divisiveness in our society and the importance of openness to diverse viewpoints. She encouraged us to join together in a listening campaign in which we will share our concerns about the complexities we are facing together.
On Wednesday evening, I spoke about the importance of maintaining a connection to and a love for Israel, even if some of us might feel troubled by actions taken by the Israeli government. Our commitment to Israel needs to be grounded in our connection to our people and a vision for a better tomorrow. I hope you will consider joining me in a learning series I will be offering entitled “Two Peoples, One Land” in which we will be strengthen our understanding of our own narrative as it is tied to the State and land of Israel. We will also explore the Palestinian narrative so we can gain a better understanding of the complexity of the history. If you would like to read my sermon, A New Dream of Zion, please click here.
Though Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are behind us, we still have exciting plans to celebrate Sukkot and Simchat Torah. I want to take a moment to thank Rabbi Martin for her leadership. It has been a blessing to have a clergy partner this year. Thank you to Julie Sapper, our Director of Musical Programming for her coordination, leadership, and direction of our Shironim, Neilah Singers, Teen Singers, and Instrumentalists. Thank you to John Stefano and Debbie Costa, for their beautiful voices and partnership in leadership. Thank you to Morissa Freiberg, Hannah Movshin, Bentley Adkins, and Cade Crane for their coordination and leadership of our youth programming and services. I would also like to thank Debbie Vinocur, Hannah Karr, Everett Smith, Rhonda Simon, Alisa Swissa, Enos Wisnewski and our custodial team for their attention to detail and the planning of all the logistics for our High Holy Day Services. We know that you do so much behind the scenes and the High Holy Days would not happen without you. Thank you to the many volunteers, including all our singers, ushers, greeters, the Brotherhood and Women of Beth Tikvah for all you did to make these High Holy Days possible.
As we move into the year ahead, may we each find opportunities to connect with one another through the many offerings we share.
Shanah Tovah and Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Rick Kellner