As I write this message to you, preparing for Yom Kippur, I hear the clock ticking away the last moments before you and I convene as one in Shul. The ticking reminds me of the eventual passage of time; inexorably we move into the future but we are born out of the past. This day takes us back to our earlier memories of Yom Kippur.
As a child I used to play with my mother's special Yom Tov watch with a decorative clasp. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are marked by those memories. Some of us may have played with a relative’s tallis, twirling its tzitzit while others might have carefully examined a mother’s bracelet or necklace or run fingers up and down a scarf.
Yom Kippur is a time for establishing connections with family. If you have a cherished heirloom that connects you to a loved one perhaps a watch, a bracelet, some jewelry or a scarf, bring that with you during the services. Or perhaps your family did not attend services but you might bring a photo, a shawl, a necktie, a ring or bracelet or handkerchief as a remembrance of someone important in your life. By so doing you connect yourself with your roots and you establish your roots as part of our community. Your bringing your loved ones into shul adds depth to our service and our community.
Yom Kippur is a time for reaching into the past as we step forward into the future. Even as we step into the future we remember that there are people in our own community who are hungry. Please remember to bring a bag of grocery items to be donated to the Mobile Bay Area Food Bank. Our collection is puny at this point. It is my hope that as a Shul we will step up to the plate and feed more than a few families. As we turn inward during our worship and our Torah study may we contribute to the health of others; sealing each other and ourselves for a good and sweet year.
G’mar chatimah tovah (To be completely sealed for goodness),
Rabbi Steve Silberman
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