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IJN Staff Prayers 5781

ROSH HASHANAH EDITION 5781
SECTION D PAGE 20

Shana Goldberg:
Every Sukkot, we see the picture: Thousands of kohanim gathered at the Western Wall for the priestly benediction. When we watch the video, we hear the blending of thousands of voices bestowing upon the Jewish people blessings of peace, grace and security. Those thousands blended into one reach deep into the Jewish soul.

There’s something about collective voices united as one that seems to have the power to transcend the individual, to transcend their physical space, to reach a higher metaphysical plane.

Although the prayers and liturgy will remain the same this Rosh Hashanah, something will be different. We will all be praying for the same thing — for healing from a global pandemic. We will be praying, first and foremost, for good physical health and an effective vaccine. We will also be praying for food security and economic recovery.

What power our collective prayers will have this year! Millions of Jewish voices — whether from their homes or in the smaller groups that will meet in person — all united in a singular prayer. How often does that happen? This is perhaps a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

I pray that we take full advantage of it and that our prayers are accepted by Heaven.

Larry Hankin:

The wolf will live with the sheep and leopard will lie down with the kid; and a calf, a lion whelp and a fatling [will walk] together, and a young child will lead them. A cow and a bear will graze and their young will lie down together; and a lion, like cattle, will eat hay. — Isaiah 11:6-7

It appears that the prophet Isaiah is describing the Messianic Era in this passage. I couldn’t help thinking of these words when the news broke of Israel and the United Arab Emirates establishing diplomatic relations, followed by similar news regarding Israel and Kosovo, and Israel and Serbia, and, most recently, Israel and Bahrain! I know I am jumping the gun regarding the Messianic Era, but these are the kinds of things we pray for on Rosh Hashanah.

We could say “Dayenu” — it is enough. But it isn’t enough. I pray for a continuation of this pattern of formerly hostile nations making peace with Israel.

My 5781 wish list also includes a coronavirus vaccine, a healing of the wounds of division in our country and, of course, health and happiness for my family, friends and community.

Hillel Goldberg:

My prayer during this time of loss, struggle and uncertainty is that we do not lose faith in the power of prayer.

Jill Altman:

Dear Readers, in this extraordinary Year of the Pandemic, I offer the following wishes for you for 5781:

May all your Zoom meetings be uninterrupted, clear, and secure.

May you and your family and all your acquaintances stay healthy and keep others healthy.

May you experience the reality of a human touch.

May you find a High Holiday service that caters to your unique needs, whether online or in-person.

May you always find Lysol, disinfectant, wipes, and toilet paper when you need them.

May your grandchildren experience your hugs in person.

May you go the right way down the one-way shopping aisles.

May your neighbors stay aware of the reality of six feet away.

May you not inhale your mask.

May you get outside in the fresh air as much as possible.

May you see the smile on a stranger’s face.

May you experience and perform a kindness every day.

May your children not remember this year in the future.

May all your favorite small businesses experience a refuah shelemah, a full recovery.

May we understand the importance of community.

May we see a vaccine for COVID-19, speedily and in our time.

May you be inscribed for a good year.

Le-shana tova tikatevu!

Lori Aron:

I am hoping that for this coming year, 5781, we will all be healthy. With the COVID virus going around the world with as many deaths as we have had in Denver alone it is not a wonder something like this would spread so fast. I hope the vaccine will be made so that we will all be able to walk around without a mask covering our face, and not having to be so careful to go anywhere.

I pray for continued improving relations between Israel and other countries.

I am thankful for my family and friends, and I hope we all have a healthy year — the entire community.

Andrea Jacobs:

A few years ago, I read a story in our paper that began, “He could see everything around him — except the future.” How true, for all of us.

Despite predictive scientific models, no one anticipated that a pandemic would strike in our lifetime.

But here it is, rattling at our darkened doorstep. I mourn for what was, what might have been, and will never be again.

Still, the days continue. We love, pray, laugh, speculate, learn and aspire. Each breath feels fuller; twilights hang around a little longer.

Never have I felt more alive.

My temple and friends sustain me, in word, deed and hope. When this is all over, I will thank you face-to-face.

I usually close my prayers with another writer’s genius.  This New Year, I offer two lines by the poet Dylan Thomas:

“Time held me green and dying, Though I sang in my chains like the sea.”

May our hearts sing out in joy, alone or together, as we welcome 5781.

Amy Lederman:

This new year we are limited in our ability to physically come together. But while we can’t go out, we can travel inward. Into our hearts, minds and souls — to truly reflect on what is important to us and how we can change the things in our lives with which we feel dissatisfied or unfulfilled.

May we use this holiday to create space in our lives for more compassion, awareness and dedication to the values we hold dear. May we find it in our hearts to forgive and ask for forgiveness from those whom we have wronged.

Le-shana tova tikatevu. May you be healthy, happy loved and blessed!

Shmuel Reichman:

The birth of a new year is a time of reflection and resolution, when hope and inspiration fill the air. We dream about what this upcoming year holds in store for us, how we can make the rest of our life the best of our life. We all have ideas, ambitions and aspirations that we yearn to bring to fruition, and the new year gives us “permission” to revisit these goals and breathe new life into them. For a brief moment, everything is crystal clear, we see our purpose and our path with vivid clarity.

However, there is an underlying frustration that accompanies this time period as well. If we reflect honestly, we often realize that our new year’s resolutions are awfully similar to those of last year, and the year before, and the year before . . .

We have brief moments of inspiration, but they soon fade into oblivion, only to be resuscitated for a few more days the next year in the hopes that somehow this year might be different.

There is another option, a way actually to make this year different. By truly understanding this time of year and fully tapping into its powerful themes, we can turn what was previously fleeting inspiration into lasting, eternal change.

Genuine teshuvah is not just about self-transformation, it’s about self-expression, returning to your true and higher self. There are three stages in the process of genuine teshuvah:

The first is individual teshuvah, where we return to our higher selves, our true selves.

The second stage goes beyond the limited self, turning the focus from individual to community. At root, all of Klal Yisrael (the Jewish people) is one, an interconnected self. Each of our individual neshamos (souls) is part of a bigger whole, like individual cells that make up a single human body.

The third stage of teshuvah is returning to our absolute root and source, to the Source of all sources, to Hashem Himself. The Nefesh ha-Chaim refers to Hashem as the “Neshama shel neshamos,” the Soul of all souls. Hashem is the root of existence, the absolute root of all our souls. Our entire journey through life is about sourcing our existence back to Hashem — this is the ultimate teshuvah.

May we be inspired to fully actualize all three forms of teshuvah this Rosh Hashana and seal ourselves in the book of life, the book of true existence.

Lucy Sullivan:

Be conscious of what you do. Be conscious of every day that is given to you, because that day is never, ever going to come back.

Copyright © 2020 by the Intermountain Jewish News




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