4 | SEPTEMBER 26 • 2024 J
N

I

’ve always loved fall. Where many 
see spring as the season of rebirth, 
to me, fall is the time of year that 
brings new beginnings, new possibilities, 
new hope. As the summer heat breaks 
and gives way to cooler 
days, changing colors, a 
return to school, football 
games and apple cider, the 
prospect for growth and 
renewal feels endless. 
Fall also brings a time 
of personal growth, as it 
generally occurs during 
Elul, the last month of the Hebrew cal-
endar leading into the High Holidays. 
According to the website My Jewish 
Learning, “Elul is traditionally a time of 
introspection and personal stock-taking, 
known in Hebrew as cheshbon hanefesh 
— literally ‘an accounting of the soul.
’ 
This process is conducted in preparation 
for Rosh Hashanah when, Jewish tra-
dition teaches, all of humanity is called 
to account and a Divine judgment is 
issued.
”
Coincidentally, September is also the 
month of my birth, so I have both a per-
sonal and spiritual reason to take a deep 
look inward. This week, I celebrated my 
50th birthday. 50! Given I am still about 

30 in my brain, I’m still 
coming to terms with that 
number. 
Yet, while I enter the season — and 
my next year of life — with my usual 
sense of optimism, this year feels vastly 
different. How could it not? The last year 
has changed our Jewish community in 
unfathomable ways.
As next week we mark one year since 
the horrors of Oct. 7, 2023, we reflect on 
a year defined by profound challenges, 
fears and grief. Our homeland is being 
crippled by war against an enemy that 
will not back down. Thousands of our 
people, civilian and soldier alike, have 
been killed or injured on or since that 
fateful day. Across the border, many of 
our hostages are still in captivity while 
Gazans caught in the middle of the con-
flict are being racked by a devastating 
humanitarian crisis. 
A tremendous rise in antisemitism 
and anti-Israel sentiment around the 
world has given way to a sense of fear 
and anger, not to mention betrayal, at 
those who have not supported us as we 
believe they should. Our kids don’t feel 
safe on their college campuses. Even 
within our own community, there are 
polarizing differences of opinion on a 

wide variety of topics that feel irreconcil-
able — a chasm that may only widen as 
we approach our November election. 
Although we continue to live our 
everyday lives, and there are moments of 
joy amidst the pain, there is nonetheless 
a sense of heaviness that permeates the 
air. 
One of the most rewarding parts of 
my job is the time I spend out in the 
community, attending events and getting 
to know the diverse mix that makes up 
the Metro Detroit Jewish population. By 
asking questions and truly listening to 
the answers, I get to know people on a 
deeper level. And if I have learned any-
thing in the last year, it is this: Despite all 
the heavy sentiment, despite our vast dif-
ferences, there is an overwhelming sense 
that the ties that bind this community 
are stronger than those that divide. The 
vigils, the marches, the special services, 
the visiting speakers and the missions to 
Israel have all been opportunities for us 
to get together, bear witness and feel all 
the feelings as a collective. For me, that 
has been extremely heartening. 
Now, more than ever, it is critical that 

we be on the same team. That doesn’t 
mean we vote for the same candidate or 
even cheer for the same football team. 
But when push comes to shove, we 
support and stand up for one another, 
regardless of our disagreements. That is 
what it means to be a community. 
Having reflected on all of this, I realize 
I’m very blessed to be turning 50. I’m 
in good health, besides an ache here 
and a pain there. I am lucky to have an 
amazing brother, an incredible partner, 
and a loving and supportive group of 
friends all over the world. I love my job, 
which allows me, with my talented team, 
to keep the Detroit Jewish community 
connected, educated and informed, and 
in that community, I feel embraced in 
return. 
It’s this feeling of community, and the 
strength of spirit it fosters, that Rosh 
Hashanah encourages us to celebrate. 
Let us continue to draw courage from 
these unbreakable bonds. May our unity 
and love guide us through these trying 
times, and may the coming year be filled 
with resilience, hope and renewed pur-
pose. Shanah Tovah. 

PURELY COMMENTARY

from the executive director
A Season of Rebirth

Marni Raitt

A 

close friend of mine, who 
serves as a Jewish chaplain 
in South Florida, recently 
shared with me the following interac-
tion he had with a senior 
patient in a memory care 
facility:
“Rabbi: ‘Hi, my name 
is Moshe, nice to meet 
you! What is your 
name?”
Patient: “Um, Um… I 
don’t remember…
” 
 Ten minutes later … 
 Rabbi: “Shema Yisroel.
”
 Patient: “
A-donai E-loheinu.
’’
Upon hearing this story, I began 
thinking about the depth of the Jewish 

soul and its eternal connection with 
G-d. Regardless of the physical circum-
stances of the Jew, one’s Jewish identity 
will ultimately rise to the surface.
As we embark upon the Hebrew year 
of 5785 since the Creation, we can-
not underestimate the importance of 
reflecting upon the past year and forg-
ing ahead with renewed and resolute 
perspective on life as a Jew.
If we can apply one biblical verse to 
this past year’s experience for the Jewish 
people, I would suggest the following 
verse in the context of Balaam’s proph-
ecies regarding the Jewish people: It is 
a nation that will dwell alone. Has there 
been a period in this generation when 
we, the collective Jewish people, felt 

more “alone” than during this past year? 
However, when examining the 
abovementioned verse, it becomes 
clear that this prophecy is not intended 
to inform the Jewish people about its 
liability, rather it is to be understood as 
an asset for our survival. It should not 
be hard to recognize that throughout 
Jewish history, our key to survival as 
a nation was not that which is com-
monly the key for other nations, such 
as a common language, culture or geo-
graphical location. The one factor that 
was always present (on some level) was 
the devotion to Hashem and His Torah, 
the connection to our Jewish soul. This 
has provided us with the meaning and 
purpose necessary to have the strength 

to withstand the many persecutions and 
tribulations our people have suffered. 
This is also what continues to make 
us unique, different and “alone” in the 
family of nations. 
This Rosh Hashanah is our opportu-
nity to reacknowledge the key to Jewish 
survival and embrace our “aloneness” as 
an asset and connection to the ultimate 
decider of personal and world events, 
G-d Almighty. 
Wishing you and yours a happy and 
sweet new year with much revealed 
blessings of health, security and 
nachas! 

Mendel Polter is the rabbi at the Woodward 

Avenue Shul in Royal Oak.

Rabbi 
Mendel 
Polter

essay
Embracing our ‘Aloneness’

L’Shana Tova 5785

WE GRIND 

