High Holidays: Time of Renewal and Joy

Keeping Connected September 2025

Shalom Friends!

I hope you have had a wonderful summer! We recently got back from an amazing trip to Bermuda which was a great way to end the summer. While I enjoy the warm weather, I also appreciate the change of seasons. With Fall coming soon, it also means the High Holidays are approaching. The holidays give us a chance for introspection and a time of renewal and also a time of joy. Interestingly, while preparing for a board meeting, I read an article about Yom Kippur bringing a sense of joy. Personally, I did not associate joy with Yom Kippur. I have always thought of Yom Kippur more as a time to think about how I could be a better person in the coming year, but I did like the idea and would like to share the article I shared with the Board with all of you as well. The article was written by Rabbi Boris Dolin of Congregation Dorshei Emet in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and was published on www.reconstructingjudaism.org:

“Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel said: There were no days as happy for the Jewish people as the fifteenth of Av and as Yom Kippur. The Gemara asks: Granted, Yom Kippur is a day of joy because it has the elements of pardon and forgiveness; moreover, it is the day on which the last pair of tablets were given. -Talmud Tractate Ta’anit 30b

This text from the Talmud reminds us that even the most “serious” of Jewish holidays are rooted in joy. What does this mean for our Jewish community, and even more specifically for those who serve on a board or take on a leadership role in the community? Hopefully, it allows us to put everything in perspective and can be a reminder for why we should be doing this work in the first place. Contrary to the popular imagination, the guilt that we might feel during the High Holidays is not as primary a Jewish emotion as joy, happiness, and gratitude. Joy is what will keep people coming back through the doors of this synagogue to be part of the Jewish community more than a few times a year. It is what will compel people to do more Jewish learning and study, allow them to truly own a sense of spirituality and holiness, and is what will help people to connect more with our tradition and with each other. As we begin the year, may our work be one that brings us joy and inspires others to connect with all that we do as a community.”

Source: https://www.reconstructingjudaism.org/files/resources/document/a_little_text_study_for_board_meetings_-_vol_3.pdf

Next, I want to thank everyone who has returned their pledge form so far! Your pledges are so important for funding everything we do at Congregation Shalom. Also, thank you to everyone who has pledged at least $36.00 more than their pledge last year! Remember, that a very generous member is matching $36 dollars for every family who increases their pledge from last year by $36 or more by the end of October as part of our Quadruple Chai Pledge Campaign! If you have not sent in your pledge form, please be sure to send them in as soon as you can. Our budget is based on your pledge.

In closing, may you have an enjoyable end to summer, and I hope to see you at High Holiday services!