As the sun nears the horizon — before dinner, this erev Shabbat! — we’ll end 5783 together, and move forward as a community into the new year with prayer, music, fellowship, reflection, and celebration. Beautiful offerings from our choir complement our introduction to the holiday. We’ll share a moment acknowledging our losses and additions over the past year; hear the familiar melodic strains of the first ma’ariv service of the new year; and take a deep dive into humanity and cosmology, meant to inform the meta-questions of each human’s life — tonight, how to celebrate and actualize our near-infinite value and potential, while balanced with consciousness of our infinitesimal place in the Godly grand scheme of things. Let’s enter the great door of the New Year together, each of us asking (with Marge Piercy, machzor p. 291), “What I have done and undone, What I must let go with the waning days and what I must take in.” Shanah tovah!
The musaf service of Rosh haShana contains three big themes: Malchuyot/The Sovereignty of “God”; Zichronot/Memory and Remembering; Shofrot/Redemption: A Vision for Self-Improvement. Rabbi Sid has framed provocative questions on each theme that will be shared with the entire community which are meant to accompany you through the 10 days of Repentance, culminating in Yom Kippur. He will frame the questions at the outset of musaf and three congregants will offer initial responses, one on each theme, to begin your 10 days of introspection. The “think tank” will begin at approximately 11am and will be dramatically highlighted by shofar blowing.
Below are the handouts that will accompany this part of the service:
On the second day of Rosh HaShana, it has long been our Adat Shalom custom to embrace a more traditional approach, with fuller liturgy, more communal singing, a complete Torah reading and shofar service. R. Rachel will be joined by Cheryl Hurwitz and Beth Sperber Richie along with our choir to share this joyful day of davening and community. R. Rachel’s d’var Torah, “What The Sacrifice of Isaac Can Teach Us About Mental Health” will explore how we can read this ancient ‘text of terror’ can help us face some of our contemporary challenges.
On the second day, we welcome Adat Shalom participants who’ve had a death in their family as well as those who’ve welcomed new loved ones (by birth, by adoption, by marriage) for special aliyot and for a chance to share their life cycle transitions with the community, to receive comfort, to honor the memory of loved ones and also to celebrate new arrivals and to affirm life itself.
Much has been written about the decline of religion in America. Is it true? Does it really matter? How should Jews relate or respond to this supposed decline? Rabbi Sid will address these issues in this sermon. The sermon will frame some of the issues that Rabbi Sid will address in much greater depth in a 3-part adult education course in January entitled, “Why Religion Died, and How to Fix It”. As always, congregants are invited to participate in a Talk-Back with Rabbi Sid on his Kol Nidre sermon during the break on Yom Kippur afternoon.
Traditionally the fullest service of the year, with prayers and melodies that pluck our heart-strings, and petitions and insights that goad and guide us forward in the sacred work of tshuvah. Among its highlights: The Unetaneh Tokef (“This day is awesome and full of dread … who shall live and who shall die … Tshuvah u’Tefillah u’Tzedakah, Repentance, Prayer, and Righteousness”). Mekoreinu Eloheinu, i.e. Avinu Malkeinu. Torah readings that’ll really get your goat (Lev. 16), and inspire us to “Choose Life” (Deut. 29-30), with aliyot celebrating our community’s amazing cast of volunteers. Isaiah’s activist haftarah (ch. 57-58), chanted and framed by our remarkable teens, followed by a hopeful Israeli song we really must sing together this year. And in the “Musaf” additional service, Martyrology, the “Great Aleinu”, and the Avodah. All this, inside of three hours 😉
In the sermon, and across our morning together, we’ll ask ourselves critical questions for this Day of Atonement, and for every day. Are we on track toward the contented full lives we wish to live, and toward the lives of service that tradition and others expect from us? What stands in our way — and what mix of evolution (gradualism) and revolution (radical retooling) should we employ in overcoming those obstacles? How does the Psalmist’s request for a Lev Chadash and Lev Tahor, a new and pure heart, reverberate for us today? How do we currently show up in the world; and how can and should we show up, in the days and seasons ahead? Let’s challenge each other toward ever-deeper repentance and introspection, and toward real sustained change.
Everyone is invited to return to Adat Shalom at 6:45pm for Havdalah and Final Shofar Blast at 7PM.
If you’d like to update or create a new listing in our Virtual Yizkor Book for. 5784, please click here. All entries that were included in last year’s book will be carried through to this year. If you don’t have changes to make, you don’t need to do anything. The last day to make changes is Friday, September 15.
We ask that if you are planning on joining us for services on the first day of Rosh Hashana, Kol Nidre and Yom Kippur Morning, that you please register here for “tickets.” We are not issuing paper tickets but we do want to make sure that we have seating for everyone who needs. If you have any special needs (including parking close to the building), please indicate that on the ticket form.
https://adatshalom.breezechms.com/form/HighHolidayTix5784
If you wish to bring non-members to join you for the holidays, please use this form:
https://adatshalom.breezechms.com/form/HighHolidayTix578432
Be a Good Neighbor! There is parking in the Adat Shalom Parking Lot, at Carderock Elementary School, and the surrounding neighborhood.. Additional parking is also available at the Carderock Springs Pool and Tennis Club, 8200 Hamilton Spring Court. It’s between a 5- and 10-minute walk to Adat Shalom. If you are able to make that walk, please consider parking at the Club to allow folks who need to park closer to Adat Shalom to do so. Please be a good neighbor when you park please mind the signs, and stay clear of driveways, fire hydrants and lawns! And GO SLOW! This is a busy neighborhood with people walking, riding bikes, etc.
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