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Last month’s tragic events continue to reverberate in our minds and our hearts. The victims will not be forgotten; nor will the acts of heroism and humanity that characterized our response. Many times since September 11, our community has reflected on the limited control we have over the course of our lives -- to assert the control we do have, and to accept our vulnerability at the same time. That limited control is well summed up in the High Holy Days’ Unetaneh Tokef prayer, with its list of three things we can do to avert the severity of the mythic decree: teshuvah, tefillah, and tzedakah (repentance/turning, prayer, and justice/charity).
In the weeks and months ahead we will need to find ways to move on with our lives, and to affirm all that is worth living for, even as we mourn our losses and continue to reflect on the tragedy. One such avenue--incorporating all three of the Unetaneh Tokef ’s ideas--is just now becoming possible in our community: coming together on Sunday mornings to reflect, to pray and study, and to act.
Now that the Torah School’s upper grades (6th-10th) meet on Sunday mornings, the Adult Education committee has worked hard to create concurrent adult learning opportunities. Before the start time of these Torah School and adult education programs--sometimes at 9:45, sometimes at 10:00 (check The Scroll)--we have now begun to regularly daven, pray together, as a community celebrating the weekday liturgy. Sunday morning now joins Shabbat morning as a central time in the life of our community, when the building is alive with sounds of prayer, learning, and organizing.
Weekday prayer of course expands and fulfills the tefillah suggestion from Unetaneh Tokef . It helps us continue our process of teshuvah as well, since two of the paragraphs in the weekday Amidah bring the themes most often associated with the High Holy Days into sharp daily and weekly focus. And besides the liturgical emphasis on tzedek (justice) and tzedakah in the weekday service, and new opportunities for us to come together in planning and executing social action activities, coming together outside of Shabbat and festivals enables us to fulfill one of the synagogue’s traditional roles: that of tzedakah (here as ‘charity’) collection.
So praying together on Sunday mornings is a good idea, both as a response to the chaos of the world around us, and for its own sake. To make this work, however, we first need the willingness to expose ourselves to what is for many a ‘new’ liturgy. We must overcome any discomfort we have with it by familiarizing ourselves with the melodies, the sounds, the rhythm, the meaning of these weekday prayers. Because most of these Sunday morning services are short, many will be creative in form--incorporating music, mediation, discussion, dance, chant, and other choices yet unplanned. Come at 9:45 or 10:00, and expand your liturgical and spiritual horizons!
We also must add yet another book to our at-home Adat Shalom bookshelf. The weekday siddur (Kol Haneshamah Limot Hol) is different from, lighter, and better suited to these purposes than our Shabbat v’Chagim prayer book. Each of us should own our own copy, and bring it to shul each Sunday, for two reasons: First, expanding our Judaica collections is a good thing, and there may be any number of times we might consult this volume at home. And second, even as we have moved into our own building, we maintain the haimishness of the olden days--thus our community chooses to own enough weekday siddurim for guests and for our students who use them, but not one for every member.
Soon, as part of the next billing cycle, Judy Gelman and I will attach a note announcing ways to make it easier for you to get your own copy (we will be placing a bulk order through JRF and offering them to members at a discount). There will also be the opportunity to dedicate one or more copies to the synagogue as a donation--and to do the same for the new, still slimmer siddur to be used in shiva homes, that is due out from JRF in a few months. We hope you will respond quickly.
We look forward to seeing you on Sundays in the year ahead, as we continue to find strength and comfort in one another, in the tradition, and in community.
Rabbi Fred Scherlinder Dobb
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