Echoes of Elul Day 29: A Parting Echo

By Rabbi Sharon L. Sobel

I arrived in Southern California three months ago, full of excitement and hope to begin this new journey as your new senior rabbi. That was the inspiration for the theme of this year’s “Echos of Elul: New Beginnings.”

At the same time, each one of us is beginning our own new personal and communal journeys: a communal new journey as congregation and rabbi, and our people’s journey into our Jewish New Year 5783.  We also are taking individual new journeys of the spirit, discovery, health, talent and so much more, as we saw from the wide variety of writings in our “Echoes of Elul” written by congregants as young as eight, all the way to “the age of wisdom.” I was so inspired by your submissions, felt I had the opportunity to gain better insight into what is important for some of you and I look forward to welcoming 5783 with all of you.

As we’ll pray this evening:

The Time is Now (Lyrics by Debbie Friedman and Tamara Ruth Cohen)

The time is now.
We’ve gathered ‘round.
So bring all your gifts,
And bring all your burdens with you.
No need to hide.
Arms open wide.
We gather as one.
To make a makom kadosh

…We’ll make this space
A holy place,
So separate, so whole
Rejoice every soul
Who enters here. (Mishkan Hanefesh: Machzor for the Days of Awe, Rosh Hashanah, CCAR Press, New York, 2015. Pg 9.)

Wishing you and your loved ones all the best for a Shana Tova U’m’tukah – a sweet New Year filled with the blessings of health, contentment and peace.

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