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View the Rabbi's 2006/5767 High Holiday Sermons

Summer was everything I wanted it to be—and then some. Family, friends and fun in the sun. But, there was a fly or several in the ointment. In the cleverly entertaining movie A Prairie Home Companion radio personality Garrison Keillor mocks his native Minnesotans’ penchant for suffering. “When things are going too well, they cannot help but feel, ‘This too will pass.’”

So it seems to be for us Jews. Anti-Semitism in America seemed all but a memory. Israel was enjoying tourists galore from synagogue and Federation trips to Birthrite twenty-somethings safely exploring Eretz Yisrael from sea to shining sea, from the Mediterranean to the Kineret, from the Dead Sea to the Red Sea.

Tzuros, unfortunately, has a way of emerging when least expected. The shmutz hit the fan when Hamas crossed over to Israel to kill one Israeli soldier and kidnap another. Not to be outdone Hezbullah, located in Southern Lebanon but sponsored by Iran and Syria, crossed Israel’s northern border to kill 8 IDF while kidnapping two. It didn’t take long for matters to escalate and before long Israeli missiles were humbling Hezbullah, including regrettable collateral damage. Meanwhile, Hezbullah was raining katusha rockets on Northern Israel. 

Here in the US a deranged Muslim Pakistani~American went on a shooting spree in the Seattle Jewish Federation building executing Pam Waechter, a Jew-by-choice who was the Federation’s annual campaign director, as well as being active in the Reform movement.

Further down the Pacific Coast Mel Gibson that erstwhile Hollywood bad-boy demonstrated that his “passion” is both alcohol and anti-Semitism. Now, trying to salvage his career, he is saying, “Mea culpa, forgive me Jews, for I have sinned.” 

In the movie An Inconvenient Truth Al Gore apprises us that Global Warming is not a bubbe mayseh. Recent summers are seeing record heat. How we welcome the change of seasons. And with the approaching autumn, we yearn for cooler heads to prevail on the world scene.

The Jewish year 5767 commences the evening of Sept. 22^nd. With hope in the future, we pray that inscribed in the Book of Life will be:

• A secure Israel where Jewish, Muslim, Christian and Druze citizens needn’t sleep in bomb shelters, but could flourish without fear,
• A stabilizing Iraq where Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds will figure out a way to live together rather than engage in uncivil war,
• And an enveloping shalom where swords will be beaten into plowshares and funds for nuclear weapons could be channeled into rebuilding the fractured communities of our world.

A new year brings new faces and new opportunities here at Temple Emanu-El.

Already we are looking forward to

• More appearances of our Friday Night Live temple band at services,
• A delicious Progressive Dinner Fun-raiser,
• And a collaborative interfaith service, study session and Habitat for Humanity build.

5767, bring it on!

Leshanah tovah tiketevu,

Rabbi Aaron Rosenberg