Save the Date
Saturday evening Sept. 17 at 7:30pm - Slichot - An Evening of Reflection at JCM - An evening of reflection, study and prayer. Join us to also hear the Shofar during the month of Elul.
Lights of Repentance
Rabbi Abraham Kook, once said that repentance is a unique, divine creation whose source is the holy of holies, "For there the Eternal has commanded the blessing, even life forevermore" (Psalms 133:3). The power of restitution embedded within penitence renews all and brings everything to fruition. Rabbi Kook taught that "Penitence comes not to embitter life, but to make it pleasant. Penitence is essentially a return to origins, to the source of supernal life and existence in their completeness" (Lights of Repentance).
Turning: Elul 5782 by Alex Carter
In the turn of seasons
we are called to return,
to find our way
back to our true nature.
My flaws are so many,
my shortcomings too numerous:
Thoughtless materialism,
taking loved ones for granted,
not holding back a sharp word.
Just for starters.
I can’t fix it all in a mere forty days.
But we are taught
that the journey of teshuvah
begins with one step.
So I pray
for sure footing –
for one moment of focus,
one expression of gratitude,
one cooling moment
with my own breath at the center.
These small things
light the way,
the path of return
to the spark of the Divine within.
Thank you to Steve Schechter for bringing my attention to this meaningful poem.
-Rabbi Raanan
