“An Elegy of Ourselves,” Rabbi Elaine Zecher’s Shabbat Awakenings

October 11, 2024 | 9 Tishrei 5785

Shabbat Shalom and L’shanah Tovah!

Welcome to Shabbat Awakenings as we make our way into Shabbat and Yom Kippur.

Tonight we begin to write our own obituary. To write our own eulogy may have the potential for a chilling effect. It is not as macabre as you might think. The purpose has great meaning. Though an obituary or a eulogy happens because someone has died, what is shared is how they lived. That is the blessing of memory.

On this day, too, our focus is about life. We gather on this most sacred of days to consider our past in the present moment in order to determine our future. As Ibn Pakuda said, “our days are like scrolls, write on them what you want to be remembered.”

What we want to be remembered is how we are remembered.

What are the adjectives used to describe us?

What acts of kindness did we offer?

Who did we help?

Were there challenges we overcame?

How did our mistakes transform our understanding of ourselves? Of others?

This is not about writing a resume which contains descriptions of our success. Rather, what is written is that which goes into the book of life. Those are the ones spoken about in eulogies and obituaries. Those contain the meaning of our lives, the depth of relationships, the impact of our actions. David Brooks spoke of the contrast between resume virtues and eulogy virtues in his book (and former congregational read) The Path to Character. He based the concept on Rabbi Joseph Soleveitchik’s, of blessed memory, description of Adam from the creation stories in his book, The Lonely Man of Faith. Through the two stories of creation, we meet two different Adams. The second one draws our attention to our purpose. I quote Brooks here to describe Adam II:

Adam II wants…to sacrifice self in the service of others, to live in obedience to some transcendent truth, to have a cohesive inner soul that honors creation and one’s own possibilities.

To imbue the experience of Yom Kippur with meaning and significance, we are provided with the chance to compose an elegy of ourselves. Whether it takes form on paper or in the honest confrontation in our minds, our reflections matter how we perceive ourselves. This action sets in motion how we emerge out of the depths of Yom Kippur and rise toward the goodness that we each possess.

May your efforts this Yom Kippur reap more beauty in your soul, the best expression of yourself, and the fullness in the reality of your life.

Shabbat Shalom and G’mar Hatimah Tovah.

שבת שלום וגמר חתימה טובה

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This weekend we observe Shabbat and Yom Kippur

Friday, October 11: Qabbalat Shabbat and Erev Yom Kippur (Kol Nidre)
4:30 p.m. Young Family Shabbat & Kol Nidre Service. Onsite and online.
5:45 p.m. Community-Wide Shabbat and Kol Nidre Service (Early). Onsite and online.
6:00 p.m. Family Shabbat and Kol Nidre Service. Onsite and online.
7:00 p.m. Riverway Project Shabbat and Kol Nidre Service. Onsite and online.
8:15 p.m. Community-Wide Shabbat and Kol Nidre service (Late). Onsite and online.

Saturday, October 12: Shabbat and Yom Kippur
9:00 a.m. Community-Wide Shabbat and Yom Kippur Service (Early). Onsite and online.
9:00 a.m. Family Shabbat and Yom Kippur Service. Onsite and online.
9:15 a.m. Young Family Shabbat and Yom Kippur Service. Onsite and online.
11:30 a.m. Community-Wide Shabbat and Yom Kippur Service (Late). Onsite and online.
2:00 p.m. (new time!) Stay in the Day (onsite only sessions): Meditative Spaces, Teen Gathering, and Gathering with the REDI team.
2:00 p.m. (new time!) Stay in the Day (mixed presence sessions): Poetry as Prayer and Ask the Clergy. Onsite and online.
3:45 p.m. Shabbat and Yom Kippur Afternoon and Avodah Service, Yizkor, Neilah, Havdalah. Onsite and online.
8:00 p.m. Lay-led Havdalah and Connection. Online. Stop by, catch up from the week and say goodbye to Shabbat together.

All links to Yom Kippur services will be emailed on Friday and Saturday morning.

Rabbi Elaine Zecher