>> Torah portion
THE ISAAC AGREE
DOWNTOWN SYNAGOGUE
Invites the Community to Observe
THE HIGH HOLY DAYS
DOWNTOWN
SYNACIOqUE
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Parshat Nitzavim-Vayeilech: Deuteronomy
29:9-30:20; Isaiah 61:10-63:9.
B
oth literally and figuratively,
I do a lot of looking-back
through old files as Rosh
Hashanah and Yom Kippur approach.
I reread some of the things I've writ-
ten and preached in the past; I go back
through my 5774 calendar,
to remind myself of what I
did and what I didn't do, of
whom I saw and whom I
missed.
And then, just before the
New Year begins, I encoun-
ter (again) this week's Torah
portion: "You stand this day,
all of you, before the Lord
your God ... to reaffirm the
Covenant"
I am reminded that, just
as the Children of Israel in
ancient times stood on the threshold
of entering their Promised Land, we
ourselves stand in large numbers, with
just as much anxiety and excitement,
on the threshold of our New Year. And I
ask myself, 'Am I ready to stand before
God?"
In my preparation for these Days
of Awe, as I studied and thought and
considered and prayed, I encoun-
tered a teaching from Rabbi H. Rafael
Goldstein of Los Angeles. He quoted the
saintly Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel:
"Judaism is a religion of time, aiming
at the sanctification of time ... The Bible
senses the diversified character of time.
There are no two hours alike. Every
hour is unique and the only one given
at the moment, exclusive and endlessly
precious. Judaism teaches us to be
attached to the holiness in time, to be
attached to sacred events"
That is why we celebrate and com-
memorate our holy days and festivals,
our life cycle events and ritual ceremo-
nies — to add holiness and meaning
to time. And then, those marked times
help us remember the things we do: the
deeds, mitzvot, behaviors and gestures
that are the visible displays of "standing
before God" as Jews.
Rabbi Goldstein wrote of once see-
ing an exhausted man who wore a shirt
with a company name printed on the
back: Time Movers. "No
wonder he was so tired" he
thought. "He had spent his
day moving time!"
And his self-questioning
continued: If you could really
move time, how would you
do it? Would you make time
move slower or faster? Doesn't
time fly when you're having
fun? Would you move your
time to a different century?
The call to us as a people
and as individuals is here,
again: "You stand this day ..." This day
(a phrase repeated in our New Year lit-
urgy) is situated between the two times
of our lives, past and future.
"We are in the constant flow between
the two; every moment is either about
to happen or has slipped by. We experi-
ence time each moment as it comes"
"You stand this day ..." helps us mark
the passage of our past year and prepare
for the new What have we done with
our time during 5774? Have we lived
our time to the fullest? How will we live
our time in the future?
Rosh Hashanah calls us to be Time
Movers — and not just from past to
future. But from wasted time to more
productive time; from self-centered
time to selfless time; from ordinary
time to holy time.
In other words, as we enter 5775 and
as we prepare to stand before God, let
us not only think about how to mark
and move time, but also promise to
change how we move through time.
ROSH HASHANAH SERVICES
Wednesday Evening, September 24: Maariv
Thursday Morning, September 25
Thursday Evening, September 25: Mincha/Maariv
Friday Morning, September 26
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Friday Evening, September 26: Mincha/MaarivlKabbalat Shabbat
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NOTE: Downtown at the Synagogue
Saturday Morning, September 27
9:00 a.m.
YOM KIPPUR SERVICES
Friday Evening, October 3: Kol Nidre
Saturday Morning, October 4•
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Mincha
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Blowing of the Shofar
12:30 p.m.
5:00 p.m.
.6:30 p.m.
7:50 p.m.
7:15 p.m.
9:30 a.m.
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September 18 • 2014
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