September 11, 2026
Tonight, the sun will set and the night sky will be a little darker with Tishrei’s new moon. It is the seventh month of the year, and the Torah tells us the first day of the seventh month shall be a day of complete rest marked by the sounding of the shofar. As we welcome 5787 and leave behind the prior year, we are filled with many hopes. A year ago, I reflected on Rav Abraham Isaac Kook’s fourfold song of Jewish life, Jewish peoplehood, and all of humanity. Rav Kook was the first chief rabbi of Israel and is considered to be the founder of Religious Zionism (though a very different brand of Religious Zionism than we see today). He wrote, “There is one who sings the song of the self, finding everything within himself. There is one who leaves the circle of herself and sings the song of her people. There is one who sings the song of all humanity, and there is one who rises even higher, uniting with all creatures to fill the universe with song. (These words are an adaptation of Kook’s original text.)”
I often return to these words because they inspire me to reflect on important questions. I cycle back to them at each turn of the year, wondering how I might see them.
Singing the song of the self invites me to think about essential questions: Who am I? What have I done over the past year? How have I lived by the values I deem most important? How have Torah and Jewish wisdom guided my life? How have I supported my family and the people closest to me? Where have I fallen short, and what do I need to do to close the gap between what I have done and what I ought to do?
As we sing the song of our people, we think about the past year. There is a song of rejoicing over the return of all the living hostages. There is a song of concern as the world continues to marginalize Jews and as the Jewish story is under attack. There is a song of commitment to Jewish security, Jewish pride, and making meaning out of what we experience. As I think about this song, I wonder what I can do to strengthen my own ties to the Jewish people. I wonder how I can best support the people and State of Israel. I wonder what I can do to bring about security for the Jewish community. What can I do to share the Jewish story?
To sing the song of humanity is to recognize that we do not live in a shtetl separate from others. While there is a particular message in the Torah, there is a universal one as well. We stand up to tyrants and counter the turmoil swirling around us. What can we do to ensure we see the humanity in others? How can we best treat others with the dignity they deserve? What are the commitments we can make to care for the orphan, the widow, and the stranger?
To rise even higher is to join with all humanity to fill the universe with song. We ask ourselves in this season: Who will be our partners? With whom can we join together to create a chorus of beautiful music? How can we reach across the great divide to strengthen the mission we want to achieve?
As we come together this Rosh Hashanah and during the season of the Yamim Noraim, the High Holy Days, let us sing the song we hope to sing, but let us also listen to the voices of those around us as well as the song of Torah. With these diverse voices, we can strengthen one another as well as the world in which we live.
Shanah tovah and Shabbat shalom,
Rabbi Rick Kellner