Parashat HaShavua: NITZAVIM~VAYEILECH / SELICHOT IS THIS SATURDAY NIGHT
These two portions, Nitzavim and Vayeilech, are both very brief, barely more than a chapter each. They are often paired as we anticipate the Yamim Nora’im, the Days of Awe. With Nitzavim we, the People Israel, stand (N-Tz-V) before the Eternal to conclude the Brit, the Covenant. Though we stand as a community, the individuals within the community are also identified, not by name, but by status: the men, their wives and children, the elders and leaders of the community, and the manual laborers. We as a community, and as individuals, all bear responsibility not only for our own behavior, but also for the conduct of the community. Standing there at the Jordan, Moses tells the people that this Brit is not only with them, but also with their descendants for all time - with us. In Vayeilech, Moses is about to die at 120, and, as the biblical idiom expresses it, be "gathered to his ancestors." As the inheritors of the Brit, we become links in an unbreakable chain of our people's history and destiny.
Now, as we head into the Yamim Nora’im next week, we will stand before God, both as individuals and as a community, judging our personal behavior this past year, and owning up to our communal failures. Our charge during this season is to engage in the process of teshuvah - repentance - making amends with those we have wronged or hurt, and asking divine forgiveness as well. Selichot is a brief service on the Saturday night before Rosh Hashanah. (If there are fewer than 3 days between Saturday and Rosh Hashanah, Selichot must be pushed to the previous week.) The word itself means forgiveness. (S-L-Ch = forgive). Though brief, the service is calming and settling. By introducing some of the conceptual and musical themes of the approaching Holy Days, it focuses us on the seriousness with which we ought to be approaching this season. While we will spend the coming days engaged in serious introspection, we will remember as well that we do not exist as solitary souls in the world, but that we are charged with creating a healthier society in relationship with others, both as individuals and as groups. Selichot concludes with a long blast of the Shofar, awakening us to the hope and potential of our lives as Jews.
THIS WEEKEND
We will welcome Student Cantor Lauren Phillips and Temple Musician Shinae Kim.
Friday, September 3, 6:30 PM: Kabbalat Shabbat
Saturday, September 4, 10:30 AM: Shabbat Morning Service
SELICHOT
8:00 PM: Dessert Reception, Film & Conversation:
AMERICAN STORIES, JEWISH LIVES: Personal stories and questions of Jewish identity.
9:45 PM: Havdalah
10:00 PM: Service of Selichot
HIGH HOLY DAY SCHEDULE
ROSH HASHANAH
Wednesday, September 8
8:00 PM - Evening Service
Thursday, September 9
9:00 AM - Services for Children and their Families (Tots: 4th floor; Grades 1-7: 3rd floor)
10:00 AM - Morning Service in the Sanctuary
Please join us in the lobby after the service for Kiddush.
YOM KIPPUR
Friday, September 17
8:00 PM - Kol Nidre, Sanctuary
Monday, September 18
9:00 AM - Services for Children and their Families (Tots: 4th floor; Grades 1-7: Social Hall )
10:00 AM - Morning Service, Sanctuary
1:00 PM - Prayers and Meditations
1:30 PM - Social Action Forum: The "Tea Party" and its Implications
3:00 PM - Afternoon Service
5:00 PM - Yizkor; Ne’ilah, Havdalah
Please join us after Havdalah in the lobby for a light Break--Fast
THE FESTIVAL OF SUKKOT
Sunday, September 19
9:00 AM - 1:00 PM - Brotherhood will construct our Sukkah, and our Religious School will decorate.
Wednesday, September 22
6:45 PM - Fruit & Cheese Reception
7:30 PM - Festival Evening Service
Thursday, September 23
10:30 AM - Festival Morning Service
Friday, September 24 – Fourth Friday Shabbat Chol HaMo’ed
7:00 PM – Dinner
8:00 PM – Shabbat Service
9:00 PM – Comedy with Lenny Shiller
Sunday, September 26
9:00 AM - 1:00 PM - Union Temple Open House
See our KinderKef program in action; celebrate in our Sukkah;
meet one-on-one with Rabbi Goodman; music; bagels, coffee, ice cream
THE FESTIVAL OF SHEMINI ATZERET-SIMCHAT TORAH
Wednesday, September 29
5:30 PM - KinderKef Consecration
6:00 PM - Festival Pot Luck Dinner
7:30 PM - Festival Evening Service
Consecration and Hakafot of Torahs
Thursday, September 30
10:30 AM - Festival Morning Service; Yizkor
SHABBAT MORNING HEVRE: Saturday, September 25, 9:00 AM Our Shabbat Study Hevre for Adults reconvenes. This year we will study the New Testament from a Jewish perspective with the help of Professor Michael J. Cook’s MODERN JEWS ENGAGE THE NEW TESTAMENT. Please contact the temple office regarding texts.