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Yom Kippur Sermon 2023 by Rabbi Gabrielle Pescador

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Aaron shall place his hands upon the head of the live goat and make confession for all the transgressions of the children of Israel.

Our Torah portion goes into detail about the Yom Kippur priestly practice. Aaron, the high priest, has to prepare himself and perform all the details impeccably. He risks death in order to do this. He wears special garments, has a ritual bath. He then atones for himself and his own household. Only after that can he enter the holy of holies and offer a sacrifice to atone for the Israelites and sprinkle blood on the altar seven times as an act of purification.

Our tradition tells us that in post-biblical time, in our time, prayer takes the place of the sacrifices, of korbanot, of ways of drawing near to God. We no longer have a high priest to perform sacrifices of atonement and rituals of purification on our behalf. The closest we have is the shaliach tziboor – the prayer leader. Whether that person is a rabbi, hazzan or lay leader, the shaliach tziboor is supposed to pray “on behalf” of the congregation, to lift their prayers. In fact the Shulkhan Arukh and other rabbinic writings list requirements for the shaliach tziboor; for instance that person should be pious, knowledgeable, have a pleasant voice and be well liked. 

There is a lot we can learn from rabbinic discourse as well as from our Torah portion on the subject of spiritual leadership, of what it means to be a shaliach tziboor. In order to help others, like the high priest, like the shaliach tziboor, we must first make sure that we have taken care of our own souls, and our own intimate relationships before we can serve the community well. If the promise for the Jewish people is to be mamlechet kohanim – a kingdom of priests – we are all called to imitate priestly qualities but in an inclusive, more democratic way. We all have to become the shaliach tziboor. 

How do we do this? We begin by doing what we are doing today – by doing teshuvah, by owning up to our errors and dysfunctional tendencies, and by taking responsibility for our part in a dispute or conflict. We are called to mend our ways and be impeccable – and I don’t mean perfect, because that’s not possible – but to be awake, present, focused, ethical and just, as we recalibrate ourselves. 

To draw from our wisdom texts, we are to cultivate a pleasant voice. That does not mean that we have to be professional singers, or even sing on key; it means that our voices should communicate pleasantly, with love, compassion and respect. As for being well-liked, I don’t think that is about being popular or charismatic, but more about being a mensch, being a trustworthy and decent person, and keeping our hearts open, and doing so especially in the face of conflict, and in interacting with people we find challenging. 

In one of our Elul workshops for instance we talked about finding things to appreciate in the people whom we find difficult. Doing this does not erase or bypass the challenges in our relationships, but what it does do, is help us to not turn people into unidimensional figures. 

Because we are more than our errors, we are more than our flaws, more than our irritations and hang-ups. If not, teshuvah is not even worth thinking about. And like I said last week (probably more than once), teshuvah is not just a solo practice; we do teshuvah in order to love well – to have compassion for ourselves and others, and to love beyond our besties, to love beyond our community, to love beyond the personal. To love God.

Like the high priest who purifies the Israelites by sprinkling sacrificial blood seven times, we purify ourselves with gratitude, as gratitude exercises the heart; it expands the heart. And if we want to draw from the 7, gratitude practice is a 7 day a week enterprise. If we exercise gratitude on a regular basis, we are able to zoom out and see more broadly, which helps us to reframe and recontextualize our struggles, and see how much we have in common with people we may find challenging. Through gratitude we may even understand their point of view a bit better.

In taking on the responsibility of the high priest, by being part of mamlechet kohanim, a kingdom of priests, each of us contributes to the wellbeing of the community. We lead from the bimah, from where the Davening Team is situated, to my right, from where you offer readings and kavanot at the microphone also to my right, and from your seats through active participation. Frankly, we are all leading by showing up here today. We lead by supporting one another, wherever we are, however we can, inside the sanctuary and in our daily comings and goings. We do this by being awake to the truth of “what is” before us and by keeping our hearts open so that we can find a way to build bridges of connection and understanding, and by appreciating what each one of us has to offer.

G’mar chatima tova – may we all be sealed for a good and fulfilling life in the coming year.

Kol Nidrei Sermon by Rabbi Gabrielle Pescador

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We pray for peace. Oseh Shalom. We pray for the world to be experienced as one beating heart. How can this be achieved with all the polarities in the world? How can we make peace, how can we bring all the pieces together? 

Many of us try to stay on top of the news and commentary on it, we donate and volunteer, we champion good causes, we try to be good citizens, we try to be inclusive, we try to do our part. And I don’t know about you, but I’m completely exhausted from it, from all the information, all the misinformation, emails and calls to action. My head is spinning from the noise, from the worry, from the continual shock of how far things have gone awry. Don’t get me wrong, I want to be awake to world and not stick my head in the sand. I try to stay awake and do what I can. And sometimes it seems like all I can do is pray – for strength, for inner peace to get me through it.

In the very act of praying is the acknowledgement that we need help, that we need support. We can’t do it all. In praying we slow down and surrender a bit. In doing that, we come closer to experiencing the world as one beating heart. We come closer to recognizing that we have to take care of our individual beating hearts. The call for self-care is essential, especially now – to meditate, exercise, eat properly, to take time for relationships, for quiet and slowing down, to take time for rest, to turn off our phones, step away from the computer and rest, to let the mind wander, to read poetry, to walk in nature, to pray, to find ways to let go of all the schmutz that we are carrying around.

Our tradition has special slowing down medicine – and that is shabbat. To create a shabbat practice, a day without an agenda, a day to just be, a day to be with friends and family, a day to listen attentively to the inner voice, a day to listen attentively to the voice of a dear one.

If I may, I would like to plant a seed for the new year, and that is to invite you to find shabbat buddies. To have shabbat dinner together, to take turns hosting, to tell stories and engage in real heart-to-heart conversation, as a weekly ritual. Share spiritual practices, favorite poetry.

Perhaps a shabbat afternoon walk would work for you, or a visit to your shabbat buddy’s home for afternoon tea and snacks. Maybe I shouldn’t be talking about snacks today, but I’m sure you get the idea. Turn off your devices and enjoy one another heart-to-heart. Bear witness to the soul of the other. 

According to author Judith Shulevitz, shabbat allows us to escape from commerce and allow space in time, that if done in community can become a cultural asset. She stresses that shabbat is easier to do in community than as a solo practice. It’s harder if you’re the only one doing it. And I’m not talking about being halachic, but just carving out regular time to slow down even if only for a few hours. It doesn’t have to be for the whole 25 hours of shabbat; the invitation is to set aside a few sacred hours with ritual regularity. And sure, continue with your solo self-care practice. Just consider adding a spiritual mutual-care practice, a practice of restful true meeting with the other – to listen, to bear witness, to be playful, to share, to maybe study a bit of Torah together, to sing or pray together, to take pleasure in being with another. The invitation is to make time for this, to rest in the other and be refreshed. 

Slowing down is what will save us in this time of chaos and uncertainty. To use a Wizard of Oz metaphor of the ruby slippers, slowing down is the power we’ve had all along, that we always have access to. It doesn’t mean that we stop doing, that we stop caring about what’s going on in the world. It means that we have what it takes to stop spinning in circles with over-thinking and worry, continually making to do lists and ticking items off that list. We have shabbat. Shabbat is our pair of ruby slippers, that helps us come home – to ourselves, to our friends and families, to the God sparks within – that helps us come home to God.

Rosh Hashanah 2023 Sermon By Rabbi Gabrielle Pescador

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This is a season of birth and rebirth. The Torah portion for today speaks to that theme, beginning with the birth of Yitzchak, a miraculous gift from God to Sarah and Abraham in their old age. After decades of trying to conceive without success, Sarah had given up on the dream of having a child and told Abraham to sleep with her maidservant Hagar, and Yishmael was the result of that union.

In today’s Torah portion, Yishmael first appears at Yitzchak’s weaning party. When Sarah sees Yishmael, she gets so upset that she tells Abraham to kick the boy and his mother out of the household. Sarah feels threatened by the presence of Abraham’s first-born son, so she takes steps to secure her own son’s position in the family hierarchy. Abraham is not happy about Sarah’s plan, but God tells him to listen to his wife. So Abraham casts Hagar and Yishmael out with limited provisions and Yishmayel nearly dies of thirst. 

There is a lot that is troubling about this Torah portion. Our forefather Abraham seems to have no moral backbone; he goes against his better judgment and follows a plan that endangers the lives of others, of his own flesh and blood. Our foremother Sarah shows signs of jealousy, hunger for power and extreme lack of compassion. And yet, we pray in their merit. We did this a half hour ago, earlier in today’s service, at the beginning of the Amidah; we recited their names in our prayers, Elohei Avraham, Elohei Sarah, “the God of Abraham, the God of Sarah.” They are supposed to be tzadikim, righteous people. They are the couple known for their open-tented hospitality. Clearly that is not the case in today’s Torah portion. 

We have to face that our biblical ancestors are flawed and not just a little flawed. The truth is that we don’t have examples of perfect human beings in Torah.

Isaac seems almost invisible to us, as he is limited and does not come into his fullness due the severe trauma of coming so close to being sacrificed by his own father. Rebecca and Jacob co-conspire; they lie and manipulate to steal Esau’s birthright. Joseph is a braggart and also lies and manipulates, and his brothers are so jealous of him, that they throw him into a pit to die. Moses is short-tempered and reluctant, and at times overly protective of his position of power. David is so covetous of Uriah’s wife, that he sleeps with her, gets her pregnant and then tries to cover up his misdeeds by sending Uriah to the front lines of battle to die; and then David marries Uriah’s wife. These are just a few of the many more examples of flawed behavior in the Tanakh. Yet these same flawed figures also have moments that are worthy of praise. They are generous, loyal, brave, self-sacrificing, wise. Some have deep moments of spiritual connection. Some reflect deeply on their lives and try to make amends and do deep teshuvah. We see the teshuvah impulse in the book of Psalms which is attributed to King David. 

We read the stories of our biblical ancestors over and over again, week after week, year after year, and look for lessons in their lives. You could say that their flaws make them seem more human, more relatable. That does not mean, however, that we should erase or excuse their flaws. Because they have impact. 

Our flaws also have impact.

In Torah, human frailty appears hyperbolic which makes it harder to ignore. The frailties become a giant mirror that we can hold up to ourselves to ask difficult questions. Who among us has ever been jealous or shown signs of entitlement, arrogance, anger or impatience? Who among us has ever lacked compassion for another, or been blinded by our needs and desires? Who among us has fought to maintain control? Who among us has bent the truth to manipulate an outcome? And yet, even if we have erred in those directions, we are not all that. Yes we are flawed, but that’s not the whole story. We have also been generous, loyal, brave, self-sacrificing, wise. Some of us have had moments of deep spiritual connection. Some of us are here today because we are deeply committed to doing teshuvah. And at times, that can be super hard because we also know that some of our actions have had a negative impact on others. We can’t erase that. But still, while holding the truth of what we’ve done, we can also do better, because teshuvah is a journey that also has impact. 

Torah teaches us that the journey of trying to create a rich meaningful life, of trying to build  family and community is of key importance – of trying to find a place for God/goodness to dwell  within us. All of that is the path to redemption. Like with our biblical ancestors, there are so  many obstacles in the way; some are out of our control and some are not. The obstacles that  are more within our control are likely more ego-based. They are the flaws that we can do  something about. 

In recognizing the flaws of our ancestors, we are asked to recognize the flaws in ourselves, in our communities and in our history. During the Days of Awe, we focus on what needs to be corrected and healed. And at the same time, we must give ourselves and our ancestors kavod, for journeying, for trying in the state of brokenness.

We have made mistakes and we are more than our mistakes. We are not perfect and never will be. Perfect does not exist. Perfect is static and lifeless. Trying, being awake to the moment, responding with our heart, serving with love, having the courage to recognize the truth of who we are in the moment, is the work of Teshuvah. We must commit to that journey. That is why we are here today. 

Erev Rosh Hashanah Kavanah By Rabbi Gabrielle Pescador

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Shalom everyone. It’s so good to be here to celebrate the High Holy Days together and take a  deep dive into the process of teshuvah, to exame where we have missed the mark and how we  can get back on track, and to acknowledge what we have done well and what we want to  conDnue doing in the coming year.  

Rosh Hashanah, is an opportunity to recalibrate, to renew. AFer blowing the shofar on Rosh  Hashanah we recite: hayom harat olam, “today the world is born.” Through teshuvah, we birth  a new world; we have a fresh start.  

What kind of world do we want to create this year? What kind of inner life do we want to  create? What kind of worlds do we want to co-create with others?  

The truth is that we create worlds all the Dme, with our thoughts, speech and acDons. The  difference is that during the High Holy Days, we try to be more conscious of that and reflect on  what we need to correct and how we can make the most of what we have to offer in this world.  We also are to take note that teshuvah is not just a solo acDvity as we are social beings who do  not live in isolaDon. We are connected to one another and affect one another.  

Full disclosure, I think about this idea of connecDon, of interconnecDon, a lot, especially when I  am leading services, and so I have come up with a kavanah to help me feel the room, which I am  going to share with you this evening. My kavanah is a short visualizaDon that is based on  science believe it or not, on quantum foam. You may have heard of it.  

At the tiny quantum level, empty space isn’t really empty. It’s actually a vibrant place, with tiny  subatomic particles appearing and disappearing, in constant motion. It is a dynamic space that  bears some resemblance to the effervescent behavior of the foam on the top of a freshly poured  beer, with bubbles appearing and disappearing and for that reason, scientists call it “quantum  foam.”  

So now I will share my quantum foam meditation/kavanah with you.  

Before I start a service, I look around the room and take in all the faces. Join me and take a look  around and see who’s here (the familiar and unfamiliar faces, the people streaming on youtube).  Now close your eyes or soften your gaze and hold all the people in the kahal in your mind’s eye and  imagine dynamic beer bubbles between all of us in constant motion. We respond to the foam and  it responds to us as individuals and as a group. As we move, the foam moves. As the foam  changes, we change. Each of us are involved in all the subtle changes. Each of us affects the other.  

Let’s breathe into that awareness.

And now for the next step. Let’s visualize the foam lighting up. Imagine light streaming through  the bubbly space between us, streaming through us, lighting up all of us, weaving us together into  a giant tallit of radiating light.  

Breathe into that. Can you feel the person next to you? In your row? Can you feel the room?  

Now take a few moments to concentrate on the breath and center yourself and bring your  attention back to just you. Feel your feet on the ground and your hips on your chair, still paying  attention to the breath, inhaling and exhaling, and when you are ready, open your eyes and look  around the room and take in all the beautiful neshamot, all the beautiful sparks of light held  together as ONE.

Finding Connections In Times of Need

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By Rabbi Gabrielle Pescador

Beautiful Bog at Eddy Nature Center

In times of crisis, it is very important to find connections and sources for support.  Reach out to loved ones, attend to self-care, and be patient with yourselves.  It’s okay to not know what to say and to have mixed feelings.  It’s okay to be silent from the shock of it all.  And it’s okay to pray, not for answers, but to hear your own voice.  In the words of CS Lewis, “I pray because I can’t help myself. I pray because I’m helpless. I pray because the need flows out of me all the time, waking and sleeping. It doesn’t change God. It changes me.”    

We have 2 opportunities to pray together in community this weekend, on Shabbat and on Sunday morning for our first Rosh Chodesh minyan.  And if praying alone is better for you right now, then do that.   Hitbodedut (self-isolation) is a style of prayer popularized by Rabbi Nachman of Breslov.  It is a way to be in open, spontaneous, and direct communication with God that is accessible using our own words, not the words of the siddur in rabbinic Hebrew or Aramaic.   Hitbodedut can be done anywhere, but Nachman recommended that it is best done in nature, as “each and every grass blade has a song which it sings, and from the grass’s song, the shepherd’s melody is created”  ((Likutei Moharan 63:1:2).  The hope is that being in nature allows the nervous system to settle down so that we are better able to hear those songs and be nurtured by them.


There will be a time to be critical, to analyze and make assessments.  Some of us are ready and for others it is way too soon.  Wherever you find yourself, be gentle and be kind, and remember to care of yourself as well as the ones you hold dear.   

Service Details:

Saturday Morning Shabbat Service: Saturday October 14th, 10:30am-noon. Meditation, prayer, discussion, community. Everyone is welcome! Hybrid services will be in person at the JCC of Ann Arbor and online via zoom. Email aarcgillian@gmail.com or see your weekly mailers for the zoom link if you would like to attend online.

Rosh Chodesh Online Minyan: Please join Rav Gavrielle on Sunday, October 15 at 9 am for a morning service on zoom to celebrate Rosh Chodesh.   She will be weaving prayer, nigunim and teachings on Rosh Chodesh practice and the special qualities of the upcoming Hebrew month of Cheshvan. Email aarcgillian@gmail.com or see your weekly mailers for the zoom link if you would like to attend.

Praying for Israel

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(Note: this post will be continually updated with additional prayers. Last updated October 24, 2023)

Dear Ones,

As we are reeling from the shock of the attacks on Israel, some of us are also wrestling with the complexity of our emotions relating to our varied dreams of pathways to peace in the region. No matter what our political leanings are, my hope is that we agree that now is the time for prayer. There are captives, casualties; many are wounded and traumatized, and sadly, the situation is likely to get much worse for both civilians and combatants. Let us pray for them all, and at the same time, let us pray for peace, as remote as that possibility seems right now. Below is a selection of prayers for the State of Israel and the Middle East, for the hostages, and for peace and justice for the Israelis and Palestinians.

May we know peace in our times.

With love,

Rav Gavrielle

Prayer for Peace in the Middle East
(Kol Haneshamah for Shabbat & Chagim, pp. 421-420)

Rock and Champion of Israel, please bless the State of Israel, first fruit of the flourishing of the fruit of our redemption. Guard it in the abundance of your love. Spread over it the shelter of your peace. Send forth your light and truth to those who lead and judge it, and to those who hold elective office. Establish in them, through your presence, wise counsel, that they might walk in the way of justice, freedom and integrity. Strengthen the hands of those who guard our holy land. Let them inherit salvation and life. And give peace to the land, and perpetual joy to its inhabitants. Appoint for a blessing all our kindred of the house of Israel in all the lands of their dispersion. Plant in their hearts a love of Zion. And for all our people everywhere, may God be with them, and may they have the opportunity to go up to the land. Cause your spirit’s influence to emanate upon all dwellers of our holy land. Remove from their midst hatred and enmity, jealousy and wickedness. Plant in their hearts love and kinship, peace and friendship. And soon fulfill the vision of your prophet Nathan: “Nation shall not lift up sword against nation. Let them no longer learn ways of war.”
And let us say: Amen.

Prayer for Peace in Israel During Wartime
(by Rabbi Ron Aigen)

Rock and Redeemer of the People of Israel, Guardian of the Covenant —
bless and protect the State of Israel and all of her inhabitants.
Guard this good land established with liberty, justice, and peace
as conceived by the Prophets of Israel.
Open the hearts and minds
of all the leaders of the nation, her sons and her daughters,
to guide them in the paths of peace and justice with true strength and wisdom.
Strengthen the hands of those who defend and protect our holy land,
and crown their efforts with success
that they might establish your reign of righteousness,
free from all oppression and fear.
May the work of their hands be established
and the words of Your prophets be fulfilled:
“And they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks:
nation shall not lift up sword against nation, nor shall they learn war anymore.”
Amen.

Prayer for the Middle East
by Rabbi Sheil Peltz Weinberg

Two people, one land, Three faiths, one root, One earth, one mother, One sky, one beginning, one future, one destiny, one broken heart, One God.
We pray to You: Grant us a vision of unity.
May we see the many in the one and the one in the many.
May you, Life of All the Worlds, Source of All Amazing Differences, Help us to see clearly.
Guide us gently and firmly toward each other. Toward Peace.

Prayer for the State of Israel
Siddur Mishkan Tefilah, p. 377

O Heavenly One, Protector and Redeemer of Israel, bless the State of Israel which marks the dawning of hope for all who seek peace. Shield it beneath the wings of Your love; spread over it the canopy of Your Peace; send Your light and truth to all who lead and advise, guiding them with Your good counsel. Establish peace in the land and fullness of joy for all who dwell there. Amein.


Prayer for the Land and State of Israel
by David Seidenberg

Our father, our source in heaven and on Earth, Rock of Israel and its redeemer, bless the state of Israel, so that she may become the beginning of the flowering of our redemption.

Shield her with Your embrace of love and spread over her Your sukkah-shelter of peace, and send Your light and Your righteousness to her heads, ministers, advisers, and to the nation that elects them, and to her judges, may they be stalwart to bring Justice, and strengthen the voice of those who support democracy. Align them all with the spirit of justice from You, as it says, Zion through justice will be redeemed and her captives through righteousness (Is. 1:27).

Rescue all of Your land, from the Jordan River to the sea, from the spilling of blood, and all of her inhabitants, under every government, from haters without and hatred within, and grant peace in the land, and secure calm to her defenders, lasting joy to all her inhabitants, and true hope for all her peoples.

And let us say: Amen.

Prayers for the Hostages:

  1. Acheinu (Prayer for the Captives)

(Music by Abie Rotenberg)

Acheinu kol beit yisrael, ha-n’tunim b’tzarah u-vashivyah,
ha-omdim bein ba-yam u-vein ba-yabashah,
ha-makom y’raḥeim aleihem, v’yotzi∙eim mi-tzarah lirvaḥah,
u-mei∙afeilah l’orah, u-mi-shibud lig’ullah,
hashta ba-agala u-vizman kariv, v’nomar amen.

For all our family of the House of Israel, who face anguish and captivity, whether on sea or on land: May the Divine have compassion upon them, and bring them from distress to relief, from darkness to light, from subjugation to redemption, now, speedily, soon, and let us say: Amen

2. Psalm 142 & Special Mi Shebeirach

Psalm 142

מַשְׂכִּיל לְדָוִד
בִּהְיוֹתוֹ בַמְּעָרָה תְפִלָּה׃
קוֹלִי אֶל יְהוָה אֶזְעָק,
קוֹלִי אֶל יְהוָה אֶתְחַנָּן׃
אֶשְׁפֹּךְ לְפָנָיו שִׂיחִי,
צָרָתִי לְפָנָיו אַגִּיד׃
בְּהִתְעַטֵּף עָלַי רוּחִי וְאַתָּה יָדַֽעְתָּ נְתִיבָתִי,
בְּאֹֽרַח זוּ אֲהַלֵּךְ טָמְנוּ פַח לִי׃
הַבֵּיט יָמִין וּרְאֵה וְאֵין לִי מַכִּיר,
אָבַד מָנוֹס מִמֶּֽנִּי אֵין דּוֹרֵשׁ לְנַפְשִׁי׃
זָעַקְתִּי אֵלֶֽיךָ יְהוָה אָמַֽרְתִּי אַתָּה מַחְסִי,
חֶלְקִי בְּאֶֽרֶץ הַחַיִּֽים׃
הַקְשִֽׁיבָה אֶל רִנָּתִי כִּי דַלּֽוֹתִי מְאֹד,
הַצִּילֵֽנִי מֵרֹדְפַי כִּי אָמְצוּ מִמֶּֽנִּי׃
הוֹצִֽיאָה מִמַּסְגֵּר נַפְשִׁי לְהוֹדוֹת אֶת שְׁמֶֽךָ,
בִּי יַכְתִּֽרוּ צַדִּיקִים
כִּי תִגְמֹל עָלָי׃		A prayer by David at a time of enlightenment,
written when he was hiding in the cave.
My voice calls out to YHVH,
my voice begs my YHVH to listen.
I pour out my words before Hashem
to tell of all my troubles.
When my soul wraps itself around me protectively,
you know my path – on every road I take they lay traps for me.
Look to the right and see – I don’t recognize anyone;
I have lost all avenues of escape, no one is looking for me.
I call out to you, YHVH, I say you are my protector,
my portion is still in the land of the living.
Listen to my prayer for my calamity is boundless;
rescue me from my pursuers who are so much mightier than me.
Take my soul out of bondage so that it can thank your name;
the righteous will crown themselves with me
when you act with benevolence towards me.

Special Mi Shebeirach

מִי שֶׁבֵּרַךְ אֲבוֹתֵינוּ
אַבְרָהָם יִצְחָק וְיַעֲקֹב
יוֹסֵף מֹשֶׁה וְאַהֲרֹן
דָּוִד וּשְׁלֹמֹה
הוּא יְבָרֵךְ וְיִשְׁמֹר וְיִנְצֹר אֶת הַשְּׁבוּיִים׃
(שמות של השבויים)
בְּתוךְ שְׁאָר אֲחֵינוּ בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל הַנְּתוּנִים בְּצָרָה וּבְשִׁבְיָה.		The One who blessed our forefathers,
Avraham, Yitsḥak, and Yaakov,
Yosef, Moshe, and Aharon,
David and Shlomo,
may they bless and safeguard and preserve the captives:
(name of captive(s))
among their brethren in the House of Yisrael in trouble and captivity.
בַּעֲבוּר שֶׁהַקָּהָל מִתְפַּלֵּל בַּעֲבוּרָם,
הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא יִמָּלֵא רַחֲמִים עֲלֵיהֶם,
וְיוֹצִיאֵם מֵחֹשֶׁךְ וְצַלְמָוֶת,
וּמוֹסְרוֹתֵיהֶם יְנַתֵּק,
וּמִמְּצוּקוֹתֵיהֶם יוֹשִׁיעֵם,
וִישִׁיבֵם מְהֵרָה לְחֵיק מִשְׁפְּחוֹתֵיהֶם.‏		In the merit of the prayers of this holy assemblage who pray for them,
may the blessed Holy One shower compassion over them,
and deliver them from darkness and strife,
remove their bondage,
deliver them from their afflictions,
and return them speedily to their families.
”יוֹדוּ לַה׳ חַסְדּוֹ
וְנִפְלְאוֹתָיו לִבְנֵי אָדָם“ (תהלים קז:לא)‏		Let them give thanks to YHVH for his lovingkindness,
and for his miracles to the children of Adam.
וִיקֻיַּם בָּהֶם מִקְרָא שֶׁכָּתוּב:
”וּפְדוּיֵי ה׳ יְשׁוּבוּן
וּבָאוּ צִיּוֹן בְּרִנָּה
וְשִׂמְחַת עוֹלָם עַל רֹאשָׁם שָׂשׂוֹן
וְשִׂמְחָה יַשִּׂיגוּ
וְנָסוּ יָגוֹן וַאֲנָחָה“ (ישעיהו לה:י)‏
וְנֹאמַר אָמֵן.‏		And establish for them that what is written,
“And the ransomed of YHVH shall return,
and come with singing unto Tsiyon,
and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
They shall obtain gladness and joy,
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”[2]
and let us say, Amen.

Mi Shebeirach

(Debbie Friedman)

Mi shebeirach avoteinu
M’kor hab’racha l’imoteinu
May the source of strength
Who blessed the ones before us
Help us find the courage to make our lives a blessing
And let us say Amen

Mi shebeirach imoteinu
M’kor habrachah l’avoteinu
Bless those in need of healing with r’fuah sh’leimah
The renewal of body, the renewal of spirit
And let us say Amen

Healing Prayer from Torah

(Numbers 12:13, Yedid Nefesh)

אָנָּא אֵל נָא רְפָא נָא לָהּ

Ana El na refa na la, “God please heal her.”

Link to musical setting by Nava Tehilah:

Prayers for Peace:

Oseh Shalom

Oseh shalom bimromav
Hu Ya’aseh shalom aleinu
Ve’al kol Yisrael, v’al kol yoshvei tevel
Ve’imru, imru, Amen.

“Maker of Peace on high, make peace upon us, on all of Israel and all the inhabitants of Earth, and let us say, Amen.”

See various musical settings of Oseh Shalom below:

Brit (Covenant) – Hosea 2:20:

וְכָרַתִּי לָהֶם בְּרִית בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא עִם־חַיַּת הַשָּׂדֶה וְעִם־עוֹף הַשָּׁמַיִם וְרֶמֶשׂ הָאֲדָמָה וְקֶשֶׁת וְחֶרֶב וּמִלְחָמָה אֶשְׁבּוֹר מִן־הָאָרֶץ וְהִשְׁכַּבְתִּים לָבֶטַח׃

V’charati lahem brit bayom hahu im chayat hasadeh v’im of hashamayim v’remes ha’adamah v’keshet v’cherev u’milchamah eshbor min ha’aretz v’hishkavtim lavetach

“On that day, I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the creeping things of the ground; I will also banish bow, sword, and war from the land. Thus I will let them lie down in safety.”

 

Rabbi Nachman’s Prayer for Peace

May it be Your will,
Holy One, our God, our ancestors’ God,
that you erase war and bloodshed from the world
and in its place draw down
a great and glorious peace
so that nation shall not lift up sword against nation
neither shall they learn war any more.

Rather, may all the inhabitants of the earth
recognize and deeply know
this great truth:
that we have not come into this world
for strife and division
nor for hatred and rage,
nor provocation and bloodshed.

We have come here only
to encounter You,
eternally blessed One.

And so,
we ask your compassion upon us;
raise up, by us, what is written:

I shall place peace upon the earth
and you shall lie down safe and undisturbed
and I shall banish evil beasts from the earth
and the sword shall not pass through your land.
but let justice come in waves like water
and righteousness flow like a river,
for the earth shall be full
of the knowledge of the Holy One
as the waters cover the sea.

So may it be.
And we say:
Amen.

A Prayer for Compassion (by Trisha Arlin)

Blessed One-ness, Blessed Connection,

Kadosh Baruch Hu:

We pray for all who are in pain

And all who cause pain.

We pray for those of us

Who are so angry

That we have lost compassion for the suffering

Of anyone who is not a member of our group.

And we pray for those of us

Who cannot see the suffering

Behind the loss of that compassion.

We pray for the strength

To resist the urge to inhumanity

That we feel in times of fear and mourning.

We pray for the courage

To resist the calls to inhumanity

That others may make upon us in times of crisis.

Blessed One-ness, Blessed Connection,

Kadosh Baruch Hu:

May we find relief from our hurts and fears

And may we not, in our pain,

Lose our empathy

For the hurts and fears of others.

We pray for all who are in pain

And all who cause pain.

Amen

A Prayer for this Moment

By Dr. Melila Hellner-Eshed

God of the spirit of all flesh,

Here we are before You, broken spirits, torn by grief;

have mercy on us, mortals created in your Image.

Watch over us in a time of destruction and tragedy, terror, death and panic.

Please, please:

may our compassion be revealed, may the love within us

overwhelm the harsh judgment, vengeance and evil within us.

Behold: fierce, burning pain cries out, seeking revenge, not comfort.

Watch over us, Shekhinah, our strength,

over our scorched spirits, our terrified souls,

over our completely infuriated flesh.

May the Divine Image rise, shining like the dawn,

from our crushed hearts.

May we have faith that we will merit

to witness the goodness of the Holy One,

the goodness of humankind,

in the land of the living.

Amen

A Prayer for Israel in this Time of War

By Rabbi Naomi Levy

God, our Strength and Protection, we pray for the State of Israel in this devastating time of war, shock and grief. Our hearts are breaking. We pray for the lives of the civilians and soldiers who have been heartlessly Kidnapped by Hamas. Watch over them, shelter them, bring them home.

We pray for the souls of the innocent victims who were brutally murdered. Send comfort and strength, God, to the grieving. Send healing to the injured, and strength and wisdom to their doctors and nurses. We pray for all our family in Israel in this time of tragedy and crisis.

Watch over Israel, God, spread Your shelter of peace over the land and over all our siblings who live there. Shine Your light upon Israel’s leaders, officers and advisers, that they may overcome divisiveness and act with clarity. Protect those who defend Israel, let them be safe and victorious over those who attacked our people. May they root out terrorists while preserving the lives of innocent civilians in Gaza, and create a pathway toward true and lasting peace. Bring peace, God. Let it rain down from the heavens like a mighty storm. Let it wash away all hatred and bloodshed

Peace, God, please, God.

God of the brokenhearted, God of the living, God of the dead, gather the souls of the victims into Your eternal shelter. Let them find peace in Your presence. Their lives have ended, but their lights can never be extinguished. May they shine on us always and illuminate our way. Amen.

Malchuyot Drash

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By Deb Kraus

Malchuyot is about majesty, kingship, power.  

Because this past year I finally visited Israel and Palestine, I can’t think about power without thinking about the abuse of power.  We don’t usually tackle this problem from the Bimah and while I know what I’m about to say is pretty mainstream in our core community, I am aware that some visitors may be shocked by my candor.  But Marge Piercy challenged us in a poem last night, “where have I spoken out? Who have I tried to move?”  And the message I picked last night from theblessing box said, “may my words 

So here goes: 

Our group went to several Palestinian communities where power, on the part of the Israeli government, and the  soldiers and settlers they support, has been institutionalized:

 Ir David (city of David) is a national archeological site in disputed territory that appears to exist solely to document the presence of ancient Jews, so as to lay claim to the area.  18 year-old soldiers stand around in their crisp brown uniforms chatting with each other uzi’s strapped to their belts.  In Silwan, which is where Ir David continues to expand, Palestinians are being thrown out of their homes, and to add insult to injury, they are expected to pay to have their homes demolished.  

On another day, we picked olives near Bethlehem with a Palestinian family whose home has been destroyed not once, not twice but four separate times.  We used our power as Jewish Americans to prevent them from being bullied during the harvest.

But the situation which was the eeriest to me happened when we visited Yad Vashem, the national Holocaust Museum.  We were stunned to realize how many of the same tactics were used by both regimes.  For example, people’s homes are routinely broken into in the middle of the night and those detained have no due process. Palestinians can’t travel without going through slow , crowded checkpoints and out-of-the-way airports.  It is illegal for our guide, a Palestinian Christian, to live with her husband, an Arab Israeli.  Palestinians have few rights and no voice, and constantly live in fear that their basic needs will be taken away, if in fact, they ever could count on them at all.  

I know what collective trauma can do to a people, and I want to emphasize that I get “never again,” truly I do.  But in this case the new Israelis made the calculation that military strength and personal intimidation, humiliation, were the ways to insure “never again.”  And over time. this results in those 18 year-old soldiers I mentioned already, acting like this is normal.  And it results in settlers, some now in their third and fourth generation, militantly believing that this land, which is clearly within Palestine, is indisputably theirs.  

And so the oppressed became the oppressors.  Most ironically, of course, this has not resulted in peace or security for anyone.

I knew about all this, of course.  I’m a good progressive Jew.  But to see the many facets of this was mind-numbing.  And as an American Jew, this happens in my name.  In all our names.  

Sheila Weinberg, who we just quoted in her prayer for peace in the Mideast, was our trip leader along with her husband Maynard.  One day she pondered, “Jews never had power before.  And you never know how you’ll deal with power until you have it.”  This was after visiting Hebron, where settlers daily rain garbage and human waste down on Palestinian merchants… just meters away from where Abraham—Ibrahim—is buried.

While the Mideast is not simple, the overall message is: Power is so easily misused.  

So as we rise and prostrate ourselves for the Grand Aleynu, let us think about our relationship to our power and privilege and vow to become more aware of it.  And to stand up for the powerless, in our groups but also beyond them.  Do what you can, when you can, even if just so Marge Piercy’s words don’t sting as much next year.  For awareness is always the first step towards change.

Kavanah Alef 3

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By: Jim Morgenstern

One of my favorite aphorisms says:  Institutions [and religion, universities, corporations all qualify!] … “Institutions by their nature transform experience into dogma.” 

The inference that is drawn [ albeit subconsciously!] is that by practicing the dogma we will recover the actual experience.  Clearly not correct.

Yom Kippur is a Jewish moment in the year where we have the great desire for recovering the experience [of t’shuvah / Kipur /  atonement].  And we do not lack for dogma or rituals or practice: Consider:  We have Five services in lieu of the usual one or two or three or four, we have more prayers in every service than usual, we recite the  confessionals aloud as a group, we fast for 25 hours, we retell the ritual of the scapegoat and Temple service, etc.  Tennis shoes, anyone ?  I do not mean to ignore these pieces of dogma – They are all useful tools in our toolbox or arrows in our quiver – choose your metaphor!  

If I go through my to-do list of ritual today and check off each item as I accomplish it – will I therefore automatically experience the feeling of t’shuvah?   Is it sufficient to focus on V-ing all my check-boxes? Or is there a gulf between the practice and the experience and if so how do I bridge that gulf?  and no – I do not have the magic answer to this.  moreover, I think it unrealistic to expect that a single answer would be applicable to all in the community.  

It strikes me that one of the key aspects of today’s Judaism is that our spiritual experience is the responsibility of each of us individually — I do not now have go-betweens between me and God … no pope, no ‘high priest’, no “spiritual leader” to intercede for me.  To me,  the beauty of the Reconstruction Movement is that it recognizes THAT individuality of practice.  

But I need to ask the burning question:  How can I during the course of my day transform the practice of the dogma of Yom Kippur into the experience that I seek? 

I think that the best I can do for myself is to recognize that this gulf exists – between executing the rituals, practicing the dogma as it were,  and recovering the experience.  I think that aspiring to the Yom Kippur experience extends beyond executing the checklist of rituals and I need to open myself to the search towards recovering the experience.

gmar hatimah tovah

Cultivating Gratitude in Challenging Times

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By Carole Caplan-Sosin

I was out in the hoop house when I got the call. It was late march and all of my winter planning had turned into spring planting, and I was now surrounded by hundreds of tiny seedings which were to become the farm’s produce and products for the coming year.

I hesitated to answer when I saw that it was her. There’s no planning, no preparation, you know, for a call like that.

“Hello dolly,” I finally said.  “Mom”, she answered, “it’s cancer.” A blackness that had almost devoured me ten years earlier, began to grow thick around me and threatened to suck me in. 

I’ve been asked to speak this morning on how one cultivates gratitude in challenging times. I honestly thought this would be an easy piece to write. After all, I’ve had my share of challenging times, and as a yoga teacher and teacher trainer I’ve been talking about gratitude practices for years. But the truth is, as I sat down to write, all that became clear was just how difficult it is to cultivate gratitude—especially in challenging times! Sometimes gratitude simply seems out of reach.  It’s ok.

In the US in 2022, an estimated 290,000 new cases of invasive breast cancer were diagnosed among women and over 40,000 died from the disease.  At age 30 you have less than one-half of a percent chance of being diagnosed. Elana had turned thirty less than three weeks before her diagnosis. We were stunned. I packed for San Diego, where she was living with her father, not knowing when I would return. 

It was on the plane ride out that an unwelcome but familiar fear began to take hold. Ten years earlier her father had dragged me—and our family— through a long, unnecessary and devastating court case. With good therapy, however, I had learned to refer to this time of my life simply as “the crash,” and see it mainly through a rear view mirror.  Still, I realized I hadn’t spoken to this man in years, but would now have to be with him daily for months to come. But the panic eased with incredible gratitude I had that a friend was letting me stay in her beautiful San Diego home, and that, somehow, amazingly, her home was no more than 8 or 9 houses away from his. Sometimes gratitude comes gifted from and for what others do for us. Let them.

Every night at dinner since they were very small, I would ask my kids to share their best and worst thing of the day. Rules were you could have two bests, but never two worsts. My first night in San Diego Elana announced her worst was that she had been diagnosed with cancer, but her best was that her parents were together with her, sharing shabbat dinner in her father’s home. Sometimes gratitude just shows up and blows your mind.

A breast cancer diagnosis is a portal through which you pass and are changed forever. We agreed that we would look towards the BEST POSSIBLE outcome—whatever that might be, grateful for the incredible privilege we had to get Elana the care that she needed. Elana extracted and froze her eggs, proactively shaved her head and thoughtfully donated her long curly hair. We bought wigs and scarves to adorn her beautiful baldness, but we also bought donuts and bagels to bring to each chemo and doctor visit, consciously offering thanks to those who devoted their lives to helping families like ours. Elana decorated each box with colorful markers as we waited in endless waiting rooms. It wasn’t a lot. But it was something we could do. Sometimes gratitude comes from and for what we can do for others. Just do it.

You will not hear me say that ‘everything happens for a reason’. I’m just not convinced life works that way.  And I will never say that I’m grateful for Elana’s cancer. Yet who knew a possibility existed where my ex and I could talk and laugh and sing karaoke and love our child together as she went through the horrible thing she did? Who knew that Elana’s cancer journey would allow me to so deeply heal that part of me horribly damaged years earlier? Sometimes gratitude disguises and surprises. Let yourself be amazed by it.

But can we actually cultivate gratitude? I don’t know. Maybe the best we can do is surrender to all that we can’t control, and learn to live with radical acceptance of what shows up in our lives. Perhaps work to cultivate a lifestyle that allows for the possibility of moments of gratitude to become accessible. I walked early every morning in California and consciously took notice of the flowers, the sun and the sea. It filled me just enough so that I would have something to offer her when I arrived as she woke each day. Sometimes gratitude is no more than the by-product of softening inner spaces that we hold so tightly closed. Let gratitude set you free.

While I was in California tending Elana, the weeds on the farm grew uncontrollably, swallowing perennials whole. Fruit trees bent and broke under the weight of untended fruit. Those seedlings that I had nursed that previous winter and early spring—they all died. But tomorrow is Elana’s cancerversary- and together we will celebrate her being one year cancer-free. Of the 4 million breast cancer survivors in the United States today, it’s easy to be grateful that my daughter is one of them.

I pray that this year we all may find gratitude, or that gratitude may find us so that our minds may be a little more open, and our hearts a little more free.  G’mar tov.