The Rosh Hashanah Sermon

I have finally finished my high holy day sermon…well, the one for Rosh Hashanah. The task of writing the high holy day (HHD or Hi Ho, if you will) sermon is daunting at best. Now, I love writing and delivering sermons. It is one of my favorite parts of the job. But there is a lot of pressure on the Hi Hos to deliver a home run.

This year I feel especially challenged for a few reasons. First of all, I am new here at Brooklyn Heights. I do not know this community very well yet. Therefore, I am not sure what they need to hear. Are they into this whole repentance thing? Do they believe in this or do they show up at the church (the off site facility we use for HHD which can hold the high volume of people who show up…about 700) because it is somehow obligatory to do so? What are they coming here for? Are they motivated? Complacent? Conflicted? I have been asking around trying to understand where they are at but have been met with lovely but not so helpful responses of, whatever you say will be fine.

Sigh.

I am also a bit of an overachiever so "fine" does not quite sit right with me…

Secondly, I only have twelve minutes. I have a lot to say and twelve minutes feels painfully short. I think I give good sermon so over twelve minutes does not feel long for those listening (so I have heard) and for me, the challenge is condensing the phenomenal cosmic power of the Hi Ho message into an itty bitty living space.

And lastly, this is my first pulpit that has both an extant community and a senior rabbi with experience setting the bar of Rabbinic Expectations. In my past HHD experiences I have been the solo show and have felt that REALLY whatever I do is fine because if I were not there, no one would be. (Last year I was in Japan which you can read about at www.inaweinjapan.blogspot.com and for the 2 years prior to that, I was at MIT Hillel) Here, they have heard real sermons from Serge (to this comment I imagine he might reply something humble about how good his sermons are. I have heard his sermons, they are very good!). Here, they know what a practiced Rabbi does and DOES NOT look like. If I goof, not only will I know, but they will too.

The pressure is on.

The process was pretty funny. I wrote about 5 sermons. I am not one of those rabbis who suffers from writer's block. I hate TOO much to say and have trouble distill distill distilling it into something deliverable and manageable.

I found that as I wrote, I was pouring out the essence of my ethic of t'shuva. And I want to share the whole view with people. All of it in all its nuanced glory. I think a lot about this stuff and I want to share what I am thinking, see what other people are thinking, shape their views, have them shape mine…

And then I realized, it does not work that way. I may only have one shot to share this ethic of care with the BHS community. I may not be their intern next year. Who knows. And if that is the case, then they get one year's worth of the ethic and I get one year of response.

Suddenly, I see the beauty of being a part of congregation for many many years. You learn, gorw and develop together.

And I am struck with a profound desire to have that….to grow up and grow old with a synagogue community somewhere in this world….

Who knows what this year and the years ahead will bring. May you who read this (as well as those who do not read this ) be blessed, truly blessed this year in ways great and small and with the greatest gift ever to see the blessings you have, to love them, to cherish them, to be fed and nourished by them and step into the great abyss of 'the future."