September 2022

Dear Sha’arei Shalom friends,

I cannot believe that as I write these words September is staring us in the face. Wow – did that summer fly by. I hope that this finds you well and that you had a restorative summer!  I hope that you were able to enjoy family and friends, and hopefully some tastes of normal.

This summer saw our congregation finally complete our COVID-delayed B’nei/B’not Mitzvah ceremonies. Our students were incredible as they navigated the delays and their preparations, and there was certainly uplift in being able to celebrate in person. Our Sha’arei Shalom Religious School returned to in-person sessions last year and we have managed to safely convene for Shabbat services as a community for many months now. And while I’m not quite ready to greet Rosh Hashanah and 5783 (I am working on it feverishly!), I am looking forward to having as many members of our community feel comfortable doing so, together at Ashland High School as we observe both Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. I imagine I am not alone in wanting to turn the page to a fresh, new year.

This summer was a busy one. After almost 2.5 years, I found myself back teaching adults in person out in Great Barrington. It was a strange and comforting transition back into three dimensions. And summer also affording more opportunities to see friends, some I have not seen in person in years as well as plenty of time with children and our now four grandchildren.  Blessings, blessings, blessings.

As I navigate this month of Elul, our month-long preparation for the soul work of our High Holy Days, in addition to my preparations for our services together, I am doing some personal soul work as Jewish tradition suggests is fitting for this month.  If you are curious about such personal soul work, I heartily recommend Rabbi Alan Lew’s book, This Is Real and You Are Completely Unprepared: The Days of Awe as a Journey of Transformation. I have read this several times in past seasons. Another useful book is Preparing Your Heart for the High Holy Days: A Guided Journal by Rabbis Kerry Olitzky and Rachel Sabath.  One final book is The Days Between: Blessings, Poems, and Directions of the Heart for the Jewish High Holiday Season by Marcia Falk.

From my study and practice of Mussar I find a bit of daily journaling helpful, as I reflect on my thoughts about the year that is ending and my hopes for the year ahead.

I also just learned (from a book I am currently reading) about a new website that can be helpful in reflection – www.thepowerofawe.com. While it is not geared towards our coming Holy Days, it is a great tool.

Yes, our leaders, the Ritual Committee, and I, as your rabbi, am at work preparing for the coming holy days. I do fervently believe that we all gain if we each do a bit of soul-searching and spiritual preparation for entering the New Year. I pray that 5783 will find us together more often in three-dimensions. I hope that each of our families will have reasons to celebrate life and life’s joys. I pray that our nation and our world will inch closer and closer to the wholeness we call shalom as this New Year dawns upon us. We could all use more than a dose of that!

Wishing you a peaceful conclusion to summer – I look forward to welcoming the New Year as a community.

Rabbi Eric