While part of me would like to use the subject line of this week's edition of TRT to rant against the members of Congress, whose childish game of partisan politics have landed Americans in a vice of shutdown, I will leave that for another week ... Stay tuned!
I have been using these days since the conclusion of Simchat Torah (the last of the Tishrei holidays) to organize all of my notes and sermon drafts, and to identify which of my ideas and assertions are worth bringing along into the rest of the year ... Some will be kept for sharing with students in my various classes for teens and adults, while others will be leftovers for consumption next year. Indeed, I was truly blessed with having more material than I had time to work into sermons, talks, and articles.
Among my most passionate moments was a challenge during Rosh Hashanah, Day 1 to resist the lure toward simplicity and self-indulgence:
"We need to get the message out there that we don't want our members just to come and pay homage to an ancient ritual, but rather to find deep personal significance in the words, the melodies, the rhythms of these rituals and practices. It's about growth over gratification ... meaningful observance over rote observance."
My underlying notion here was the urge not to take our overall observance too mindlessly, but to use these occupations of time to build upon our earlier experiences and to notice the differences by which this year's practices can be compared to those of earlier times. Use the discovery of certain prayers and traditions to grow up(ward) and become more centered in your identity!
Truly, we are not fated to the flywheel of recurring experiences on the same level, year in and year out. No matter how established in our routines, we all should feel the urgency to rise above ourselves, and to inspire others around us to join us in our growth measures.
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