Shalom magazine - The Atlantic Jewish Council

abbi’s CorNer
continued from page 57
God willing we will all see this new year
as a year where we become the people
that we should. This is not about ideas,
religion, practices, services, customs
A
new year is approaching.
We will soon gather to hear
the call of the shofar as well
as to fast on Yom Kippur. We live
in a world brimming with choices
and possibilities. There is so much
opportunity in today’s world. And,
yet, we are still burdened with the
responsibility of making good choices.
Sometimes when our existence is
comfortable we can make a choice to
ignore or disassociate ourselves with
fellow congregants and members of
our community. After all, we have
what we need to live. Therefore, we
can just pick and choose completely.
However, we also live in lonely times.
The notion of honest, selfless service
to the community has definitely lost
some popularity. The days when
family members typically lived in one
city, separated by two or three blocks,
are long gone. Even families are often
so spread apart that despite all the
comforts there is an undercurrent
of loneliness. Furthermore, it is
often said, that the trouble with the
eastern world is that no one ever
forgets where they come from and
in the western world no one ever
A New Year’s Resolution
by Rabbi Mendel Feldman, Chabad Lubavitch of the Maritimes
On Rosh Hashanah G-d
determines what our next year
is going to be like. What the
year holds for us, life or the opposite,
health or the opposite, peace of mind
and tranquility, prosperity?
Our Sages tell us the exact amount of our
earnings for each year is determined on
or clothes. This is about becoming a
real and pure person, a good person,
a giving person, a compassionate and
happy person. God willing we will all
become human beings together.
Rosh Hashanah
by Rabbi Yagod, Congregation Tiferes Israel, Moncton
remembers.
A generation
and it’s unique
customs can
easily be
forgotten.
We as Jews are
an international
mix because we
have lived in
most countries in
this world at some time in our history.
Yet, the house of Israel is one. When
we come together, everyone brings a
little from their former host country.
And, so, we possess both the power
of remembering and of forgetting. We
have a highly developed communal
structure and yet are, at the same
time, highly individualistic. Even the
prayers we say have some differences,
such as with Ashkenazi and Sephardi
customs. The upcoming holidays
of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur
have something to teach us in this
regard. The shofar, an integral part
of the High Holidays, is considered a
form of prayer. What is so fascinating
about this is the fact that the shofar is
a simple sound and, without regard to
Rosh Hashanah,
we cannot earn
one dollar more
than the amount
ordained. If we are
deserving we will
earn the amount
determined by G-d
Page 58 Tishre 5771 - Vol 35 No. 2
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which community you belong to, the
sounds and order is pretty much the
same wherever you are (each shofar
has a nuance of difference, but they
are essentially the same). This is a
universal oneness at the core of the
prayers we offer on Rosh Hashanah.
The same holds true for Yom Kippur.
While the prayers might differ slightly,
we all fast the same way at the same
time around the world. This is another
universal thread running through the
House of Israel on the most sacred
day of the year. The laws of fasting are
identical in all of the various groups
of Israel . And, so, the message (the
first and most important overriding
message) is that at the beginning of the
year we are to observe-to feel and to
internalize-our essential oneness. We
are to connect with our very core and
keep the clear direction intact.
May Hashem help that we will find
a year for drawing closer together,
connecting with those we have enjoyed
a close relationship in the past. If in the
coming year we can each find just one
relationship to repair or revive, then we
will have absorbed the true meaning of
the High Holidays.
on Rosh Hashanah.
On Rosh Hashanah we receive life for the
next full year, let us reflect on what our
wishes are for the upcoming year, what
are we going to pray for.
When we come to G-d and ask for our
needs and wishes, we need to think in Gd’s
terms, what is it that He needs from us