Road Map to 5784

Road Map to 5784 | High Holy Days 2023

Congregation Beth Yeshurun

The High Holy Days are a special time that give us the opportunity for personal reflection and spiritual growth. With this weekly email series, Roadmap to 5784, we bring you video teachings from your clergy as well as resources to help you explore the themes of the High Holy Days. Look for an email from your clergy every Friday, beginning with the month of Elul through Simchat Torah. May this be a season of growth, renewal, and reflection for you. Shana Tovah!

Shemini Atzeret | Simchat Torah

"...the end of Shemini Atzeret and the beginning of Simchat Torah. We are celebrating the beginning of Torah. We are celebrating rain and Torah, the two things that sustain our lives."

Click here to watch

A Prayer for Geshem is More Than Just Asking for Rain

While the author of this article on the geshem (rain) prayer that we say on Shemini Atzeret is from Los Angeles, we can easily swap 'Houston' for 'Los Angeles' while reading this and it works equally well.

Article by journalist Erin Ben-Moshe from The Jewish Journal

On Shemini Atzeret, we not only celebrate the eighth day following Sukkot, and remember our loved ones during yahrzeit, we also pray for rain. Rain— for those who have not seen it in months or even years— is water that falls from the sky in copious amounts. It quenches our thirst, hydrates our agriculture and cools us off on sweltering hot days

Los Angeles and its residents might not be as familiar with the concept of rain, but we are no strangers to the heatwaves that hit us daily. After experiencing (and surviving) my first summer living in the valley, I wondered how anyone could bear to live like this. I’d like to thank my A/C for being there in my time of need.

The dry, intense heat was nice to my frizzy curls, but not kind to my demeanor. I found myself more agitated by my friends; short-tempered to random strangers and even snapped at those I loved. I wondered where my bubbly midwestern personality went. Then it dawned on me: I was angry because I was hot and hadn’t seen or felt a cool rain in months.

Brian Lickel, a social psychologist at the University of Massachusetts, once said that when people are hot they tend to get cranky.

“It makes people more prone to anger,” he said. “It makes people more frustrated, and it makes decision making more impulsive. And that can lead to altercations that escalate to more extreme levels of aggression.”

Though it seems obvious, when temperatures climb, and rain is nowhere in sight, we tend to become “hot-headed.” Rain, or lack of it, has an impact on us.

My heat-driven anger made me think of Spike Lee’s 1989 film, “Do the Right Thing.” It’s set during one of the hottest days of the year where heat is used to turn the anger up to an ultimate high. Fights break out, gunshots are fired and chaos fills the screen, all because social tensions were met with rising temperatures. Lee isn’t the first person to use this cinematic trope but he did make a lasting impression with it.

Heated arguments can not only turn ugly faster but stay with a person forever.

It’s why this holiday aligns so nicely with the High Holy Days. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur allow us to start fresh with a clean slate, help us forgive and ask for forgiveness. Sukkot lets us enjoy the harvest and the outdoors by gathering with family and friends.

Shemini Atzeret lets us pray for the rain that will tend to the earth and help us when we will need the most: spiritually and literally.

Growing up, my Bubbie always told me that we needed the rain whenever we got it.

“Look, it’s feeding the plants, it makes them feel good,” she would say while offering me another piece of Mandel bread.

She loves the rain because it floods (no pun intended) her home with color. I think she liked the rain because it gave her a break from watering her large and beautiful backyard garden.

Rain is able to cool us off so we can think more clearly. It’s a wet, heavy blanket that falls and hits us right on the head to make us work through our current emotions.

It can nourish us while lending the strength to move forward in the new year.
We ask God for rain where rain is not seen. Rain isn’t seen where there is tension. Rain is not always seen on the days we forget our 5779 resolutions.
This year we will be angry, hurt and want to hold a grudge. It’s unavoidable because we’re imperfect human beings.

It’s why we need to listen to my Bubbie and enjoy the rain when it comes — and pray for more of it everywhere.

Of course, here in Los Angeles, we might only get an inch of rain while many around the world will get hit with disastrous amounts. This year while asking for raindrops, we should let Shemini Atzeret remind us to cool off when we get too hot.

When we feel like yelling, causing a scene, or about to do things we will regret, take a deep breath. Stay present. Imagine a cold front with rain clouds sweeping in to bring our inner temperature down, granting us to resolve the conflict.

(This weekend)… when many go to shul they will say or hear a prayer for geshem (rain in Hebrew). The importance of this prayer is not just to rejuvenate the world, it’s to symbolically rejuvenate us.

Upcoming Shemini Atzeret & Simchat Torah Services and Programs

Services this weekend:
Shemini Atzeret - Saturday, October 7
Our services for Shemini Atzeret are at our usual Shabbat times, but also include Yizkor.

J.B. Greenfield Chapel: 8:30am
Main Sanctuary in Freedman Levit: 9:30am
Museum Minyan in Reiches Hall: 9:30am

Erev Simchat Torah - Saturday, October 7
All three of our minyanim will have services Saturday evening

J.B. Greenfield Chapel: 6:30pm
Museum Minyal in Reiches Hall: 6:45pm
Main Sanctuary:
- Join us at 7:00 pm for light bites and cocktails in the Kaplan Museum. We will unroll one of our Torahs (you'll be surprised how long it is!) and you'll be able to take a self-guided tour through our Museum and learn about some of the special pieces in our collection.
- Then at 7:30p we will head to the Barg Sanctuary for our Simchat Torah service. Congregants of all ages can participate with our clergy in the hakafot. Stay until the end for one of our favorite Beth Yeshurun traditions, the candy hakafah finale.
- **Please bring 100 pieces of KOSHER candy to share**

Simchat Torah - Sunday, October 8
The three minyanim will combine in the J.B. Greenfield Chapel for services at 8:30am on the morning of Simchat Torah.

Thank you for joining us on the Road to 5784!
Wishing everyone a happy and healthy new year!

Ready to kick off the program year? Go to our website calendar where you can find out more information and regsiter for all of our upcoming programs:
bethyeshurun.org/calendar

Congregation Beth Yeshurun
4525 Beechnut Street
Houston, TX 77096

Road Map to 5784 | High Holy Days 2023

Congregation Beth Yeshurun

The High Holy Days are a special time that give us the opportunity for personal reflection and spiritual growth. With this weekly email series, Roadmap to 5784, we bring you video teachings from your clergy as well as resources to help you explore the themes of the High Holy Days. Look for an email from your clergy every Friday, beginning with the month of Elul through Simchat Torah. May this be a season of growth, renewal, and reflection for you. Shana Tovah!

Sukkot

"We are all familiar with the custom of inviting guests to our Passover Seder: “let all who are hungry, come and eat!” we say as we begin the meal. And most of us do, in fact, invite several guests to our home to enjoy the multi-course extravaganza served on the first two nights of Passover. Many of us also set aside an empty chair, or at least a cup of wine, for the distinguished guest of the evening: the Prophet Elijah. Less well known is the custom of inviting spiritual guests into our sukkah, called Ushpizin. Even the word sounds strange. It’s an Aramaic word, but one that actually comes from the Latin, more familiar word: hospes, which means “guest” and from which we get words like: hospital and hospitality. (hospes – ushpizin – there is a certain similarity …)"
Click to watch....

Seven Reasons for Sukkah Sitting

Excerpts from Rabbi David Golinkin's article in myjewishlearning.com.

The holiday of Sukkot has been blessed with many beautiful laws and customs: the recitation of Hallel, Ushpizin (welcoming our ancestors as honored guests), reading the book of Kohelet [Ecclesiastes], and, of course, blessing and waving the Arba’ah Minim — the four species. Yet, needless to say, the most basic mitzvah is that of dwelling in a sukkah. But why do we sit in the sukkah?

The Torah itself gives two reasons, one agricultural and one historical.

1) Thanksgiving for the Harvest
The agricultural reasons are described in two places in the Torah.

Exodus 23:16: “…and the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in the results of your work from the field.”
Deuteronomy 16: 13, 15: “After the ingathering from your threshing floor and your vat, you shall hold the Feast of Booths for seven days…You shall hold a festival…in the place that the Lord will choose, for the Lord your God will bless all your crops and all your undertakings, and you shall have nothing but joy.”

Thus, according to these verses, Sukkot is a holiday of thanksgiving for the harvest.

2) Historical Link to Ancestors, God
The historical reason is found in the book of Leviticus (23:42-43): "You shall live in booths seven days; all citizens in Israel shall live in booths. In order that future generations may know that I made the Israelite people live in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt…"

Thus, according to Leviticus, we sit in the sukkah in order to retain a historical link with our ancestors and to remember all that God did for us when we left Egypt.

These are the simple reasons given by the Torah for observing this holiday, but Jews are never satisfied with the simple reason for anything! A few verses in the Bible were frequently expounded upon by later Jewish philosophers and rabbis. Sukkot is no exception.

3) Remembering the “Bad Old Days”
Philo was a Hellenistic-Jewish philosopher who lived in Alexandria in the first century C.E. He writes: "Another reason may be, that it should remind us of the long wanderings of our forefathers in the depths of the desert, when at every halting-place they spent many a year in tents. And indeed it is well in wealth to remember your poverty, in distinction your insignificance, in high offices your position as a commoner, in peace your dangers in war, on land the storms on sea, in cities the life of loneliness. For there is no pleasure greater than in high prosperity to call to mind old misfortunes. But besides giving pleasure, it is a considerable help in the practice of virtue."

Philo says two things: He says that it’s a pleasure for a prosperous person to remember the “bad old days.” But he goes one step further; he says that sitting in the sukkah reminds us how far we have come and leads us to praise and thank God for all the kindness He has bestowed upon us.

4) A Lesson in Humility
The Rashbam, R. Shemuel Ben Meir, lived in France in the 12th century. He was one of Rashi‘s brilliant grandsons and is known for his Talmud and Bible commentaries. In his commentary to the verse from Leviticus quoted above (23:43), he gives still another reason for sitting in the sukkah: "Why do I command you to do this?… Do not say in your hearts, 'My own power and the might of my own hand have won this wealth for me. Remember that it is the Lord your God who gives you the power to get wealth' (Deuteronomy 8:17-18). Therefore, the people leave houses filled with good at the harvest season and they dwell in sukkot as a reminder that they had no property in the desert homes to inhabit. This is why God designated Sukkot at the harvest season, so that a person’s heart should not grow haughty because of houses filled with everything good, lest they say: 'Our hands made all of this wealth for us.' "

In simple English, the Rashbam is saying: The sukkah is a lesson in humility; it comes to prevent a swelled head. God commanded us to sit in the sukkah precisely at the harvest season when we are congratulating ourselves for our successful harvest and our fancy homes. The humble sukkah reminds us: Everything you eat and everything you own comes from God.

5) Increasing Our Faith
Rabbi Yitzhak Aboab lived in Spain in the 15th century. In his classic book of Jewish ethics, Menorat Hamaor, he gives still another explanation for sitting in the sukkah: "When the Sages said in the Tractate of Sukkah (fol. 2a): ‘Go out from your permanent dwellings and live in a temporary dwelling,’ they meant that the commandment to dwell in the sukkah teaches us that a man must not put his trust in the size or strength or conveniences of his house, even though it be filled with the best of everything; nor should he rely upon the help of any man, even though he be the lord of the land. But let him put his trust in Him whose word called the universe into being, for He alone is mighty and faithful, and He does not retract what He promises."

This explanation is the subtlest of all we have seen thus far. R. Yitzhak Aboab thinks that the main point of living in the sukkah for seven days is to increase our faith in God. When we live in a sturdy house, we are protected from the elements; rain and cold and heat do not harm us. As a result, we begin to have faith in our homes, not in God.

Likewise, we tend to place all of our trust in men, especially influential rulers and leaders. By living in a flimsy sukkah for seven days, exposed once again to the elements, we realize that ultimately we must put our trust in God who rules over our houses, the elements, and all human rulers.

6) Universal Peace
Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch was the leader of neo-Orthodoxy in Germany in the 19th century. In his book Horeb, he says that the sukkah is a symbol of universal peace and brotherhood, as we recite in the evening service on Shabbat and festivals: “ufeross aleinu sukkat shelomekha"–“spread over us Your sukkah of peace.”

The term sukkah is used in this prayer to symbolize peace and brotherhood, which shall be based not on economic and political interests, but on a joint belief in one God.

7) Remembering the Less Fortunate
The last reason for sitting in the sukkah is my own, although I’m sure someone has said it before. By sitting in a flimsy sukkah, exposed to sun and wind (and in some places, rain and snow!), we are reminded of those less fortunate than ourselves. Precisely at harvest time when we thank God for the bounty he has given us, we must remember to share it with the poor and the hungry.

And if you should ask me, what is the real reason for dwelling in the sukkah for seven days, I would immediately answer with the Talmudic phrase “Both these and those are the words of the living God.” Every one of these explanations can speak to us, but, “lo hamidrash hu ha’ikar ela ha’ma’se"–“more important than expounding the Torah, is observing it.” While sitting in the sukkah, every Jew will find his or her own religious, national, or personal reason for observing this beautiful mitzvah.

Upcoming Sukkot Services & Programs

Sensory Sensitive Sukkot Brunch

The Inclusion Committee of Congregation Beth Yeshurun invites the community to join us for our very first Sensory Sensitive Sukkot Brunch. We will enjoy bagels, blintzes, fruit, and desserts. This fully inclusive event is designed for all ages and abilities, with their families, caregivers, friends, and allies. Shake the lulav & etrog and fulfill the mitzvah of dining in the sukkah! Register HERE.
Sunday, October 1 | 11:00am | Beth Yeshurun Sukkah

Mexukkah! Celebration in the Sukkah
Congregants of all ages, celebrate Sukkot in the Beth Yeshurun Sukkah! Shake the lulav and etrog and enjoy a fajita dinner and activities for everyone! This event is full and registration is closed!
Sunday, October 1st | 5:30pm | Beth Yeshurun Sukkah

Open Sukkah!
Bring your own meal to enjoy in the Beth Yeshurun Sukkah. No formal program, but we will provide drinks and cookies. The sukkah will be open for you to celebrate the mitzvah!
Monday, October 2nd | 6:00pm - 8:00pm | Beth Yeshurun Sukkah

Sports Bar in the Sukkah
Young Professionals! Welcome to our Sports Bar in the Sukkah! Join us in the Beth Yeshurun Sukkah for pub food, drinks and games, along with some sports on TV. Register HERE by Tuesday, October 3rd.
Thursday, October 5 | 7:30 pm | Beth Yeshurun Sukkah

For a full listing of services during Sukkot, go to our Sukkot Resources Page. Here you can also find a downloadable sheet with the Sukkot Blessings for eating in the sukkah as well as shaking the lulav and etrog. There is even a video of Rabbi Morgen demonstrating!

Next Week
Simchat Torah with Rabbi Sarah Fort

Questions about High Holy Days?
Everything you need to know is on our website!
bethyeshurun.org/hhd

Congregation Beth Yeshurun
4525 Beechnut Street
Houston, TX 77096

Road Map to 5784 | High Holy Days 2023

Congregation Beth Yeshurun

The High Holy Days are a special time that give us the opportunity for personal reflection and spiritual growth. With this weekly email series, Roadmap to 5784, we bring you video teachings from your clergy as well as resources to help you explore the themes of the High Holy Days. Look for an email from your clergy every Friday, beginning with the month of Elul through Simchat Torah. May this be a season of growth, renewal, and reflection for you. Shana Tovah!

Yom Kippur

"This year I feel really, really, really aware of the fact that I don't really willing walk into thinking about what I've done in the past year. It makes me feel vulnerable and uncomfortable and it's not something that I necessarily want to do...This is the year that I realized no matter how I feel, once I hear some of the melodies of Rosh Hashanah... it breaks a dam in my brain that allows me to be OK with feeling uncomfortable and vulnerable."
Click to watch Cantor Goldman's full video....

Why Do We Read Jonah on Yom Kippur?

From ExploringJudaism.com, by Rabbi Alan Berkowitz

Have you ever worked hard to succeed at something but failed? Have you ever worked hard TO fail?

Jonah is a fascinating character because he tried very hard to fail at his job, and yet, he was the most successful prophet ever. The Book of Jonah is short and to the point, while offering us imperfect human beings important and relatable lessons.

A Quick Summary of the Jonah Story
God tells Jonah to go to Ninevah, a metropolis in the ancient world that was filled with sinners. He is to tell them to embrace teshuvah/repentance or face Divine punishment.

Jonah is unsettled by this – who wouldn’t be?

He received direct communication from God and is tasked with ‘throwing shade’ on an entire city. A very rattled Jonah runs away and boards a ship heading in the opposite direction. God rocks the boat with a severe storm to get Jonah’s attention.

Because Jonah doesn’t want the sailors to suffer on his account, he has them toss him overboard. This is where the big fish– some say a whale – swallows him and eventually deposits him back on shore. God calls to Jonah a second time and he now heads to Ninevah to proclaim his message of repentance.

And in a twist that no one sees coming, it works! 120,000 Ninevahites embrace teshuvah. They repent.

Jonah is the most successful prophet ever, having succeeded to a degree far greater than any other Biblical Prophet. Surely Jonah must be ecstatic. He is not.

In fact, he is despondent as he sits in the hot desert bemoaning that no punishment was rained down upon Ninevah. God, ever the Teacher, causes a gourd plant to grow tall and provide shade to Jonah in the desert.

And when God causes the plant to die off, Jonah is doubly upset and mourns the loss of the plant. Here is where God delivers the great lesson to Jonah. “You didn’t do anything to create this plant, and still you are upset at its loss.

Shouldn’t I who created 120,000 Ninevahites care as much or more about their salvation?”

Three Take-Aways From the Book of Jonah
The lessons we learn from Jonah also explain why we read this story on Yom Kippur.

1. Teshuvah Matters.
Being able to admit to ourselves (and to those we wronged) that we missed the mark is important. It shows character and integrity. It makes us and our world better.

Jonah avoided a difficult and uncomfortable task; and sometimes, we do too. He grew into his responsibility and did the right thing. We, too, struggle and hopefully grow.

Seeing Jonah’s growth – his inner struggles and his successes – can inspire us to take responsibility in big and little ways. Yom Kippur is a day to reflect, rebalance, and recommit to changed behaviors.

2. It’s Never Too Late to Do The Right Thing.
God gave Jonah many chances. God and life give us many chances and we should give ourselves the same. No matter how long it takes to accept our failings, there is always another chance to do so.

On Yom Kippur, when we reflect on our character and behavior, the Book of Jonah reminds us there is always the opportunity to change course.

3. Keep Your Priorities Straight.
Jonah cared deeply, selfishly about the gourd plant. The book’s brilliant ending teaches us that people matter. First, last, always. Jonah would rather die than allow for Ninevah’s teshuvah. They sinned and he wants them punished.

That is very human. How often are we unmoved when someone expresses regret and apologizes?

Sometimes we also insist on punishment rather than apology, punitive measures instead of forgiveness. Yom Kippur reminds us that humanity is made better when we allow for teshuvah in others and ourselves; when we allow others to apologize and when we ourselves are willing to apologize to others.

Yom Kippur is a day to reflect on the impermanence of life and the great preciousness of life. People matter. First, last, always.

So Why Do We Read the Book of Jonah?
Jonah and the Ninevahites took teshuvah seriously, while God gave them the space to do so. Yom Kippur gives us the space and time to take our own teshuvah seriously, to consider the ways in which we can grow, and how that growth can help us to act in ways that support others and support ourselves.

May each of us be successful in achieving meaningful and productive teshuvah.

Upcoming Services & Programs

KEVER AVOT/CEMETERY SERVICES

Allen Parkway 10:00a
Post Oak 11:00a
Shearith Israel (Wharton) 10:00a

KOL NIDRE: Sunday, September 24

Family Program 6:00p | Stein Hall
Barg Sanctuary Early Service 6:00p | Sermon by Rabbi Brian Strauss
J.B. Greenfield Chapel 6:45p
Museum Minyan 6:45
Barg Sanctuary Late Service 8:30p | Sermon by Rabbi Brian Strauss

YOM KIPPUR: Monday, September 25
Barg Sanctuary

Shacharit and Torah Service 9:30a | Sermon by Rabbi Brian Strauss
Yizkor 12:00p
Musaf Service and Holocaust Speaker 12:45p
Jews by Choice Speakers 2:30p
Teen-Led Mincha 4:15p | Sermon by Rabbi Sarah Fort
Neilah 6:15p

Freedman Levit Sanctuary

Preschool Service 9:30a
Grade School Service 10:30a
Community Yizkor 3:00p

J.B. Greenfield Chapel

Morning Service 9:00a
Mindfuless Program 3:30p
MIncha 5:30p
Neilah 6:45p

Museum Minyan

Morning Service 9:30a
Study Session 5:00p
Mincha 5:50p
Neilah 6:45p

Final Blast of the Shofar 7:40p

Next Week
Sukkot with Rabbi Steven Morgen

Questions about High Holy Days?
Everything you need to know is on our website!
bethyeshurun.org/hhd

Congregation Beth Yeshurun
4525 Beechnut Street
Houston, TX 77096

Road Map to 5784 | High Holy Days 2023

Congregation Beth Yeshurun

The High Holy Days are a special time that give us the opportunity for personal reflection and spiritual growth. With this weekly email series, Roadmap to 5784, we bring you video teachings from your clergy as well as resources to help you explore the themes of the High Holy Days. Look for an email from your clergy every Friday, beginning with the month of Elul through Simchat Torah. May this be a season of growth, renewal, and reflection for you. Shana Tovah!

Rosh Hashanah

"Rosh Hashanah reminds me what it means to be a Jew because it reminds of my childhood, growing up in my small conservative synagogue, being with my family, seeing old friends, enjoying time together as a community."

Click to watch Rabbi Strauss....

What Rosh Hashanah Says to Us

There is no better teacher than Rabbi Jonathan Sacks to remind us of the themes of Rosh Hashanah. In this article, he also suggests some questions we might ask ourselves to personalize the messages of the High Holy Days.

Adapted from the introduction to the Koren Rosh Hashanah Machzor with commentary and translation by Rabbi Sacks:

Rosh Hashanah, the anniversary of the creation of humanity, invites us to live and feel the human condition in graphic ways. Here are 10 messages from Rosh Hashanah that speak directly to our lives today.

1. Life is Short
However much life expectancy has risen, we will not, in one lifetime, be able to achieve everything we might wish to achieve. This life is all we have. How shall we use it well? We know that we will not finish the task, but neither are we free to stand aside from it.

Reflect: What will you try to achieve today after reflecting on this?

2. Life is a Gift from God
Life itself, each day, every breath we take, is the gift of God. Life is not something we may take for granted. If we do, we will fail to celebrate it. Judaism has relentlessly sought God in the here-and-now of life on earth. Yes, we believe in life after death, but it is in life before death that we truly find human greatness.

Reflect: How does understanding this change the way you are going to live?

3. We are Free
Judaism is the religion of the free human being freely responding to the God of freedom. The very fact that we can do teshuvah, that we can act differently tomorrow than we did yesterday, tells us we are free. Philosophers have found this idea difficult. So have scientists. But Judaism insists on it, and our ancestors proved it by defying every law of history, surviving against the odds, refusing to accept defeat.

Reflect: Where do we find this concept reflected in the prayers of Rosh Hashanah?

4. Life is Meaningful
We are not mere accidents of matter, generated by a universe that came into being for no reason and will one day, for no reason, cease to be. We are here because a loving God brought the universe, and life, and us, into existence. The historian Paul Johnson once wrote: “No people has ever insisted more firmly than the Jews that history has a purpose and humanity a destiny.” This is one of the truths of Rosh Hashanah.

Reflect: Do you have a sense of the meaning of your life?

5. Life is Not Easy
Judaism does not see the world through rose-tinted lenses. The sufferings of our ancestors haunt our prayers. The world we live in is not the world as it ought to be. But we are not bereft of hope because we are not alone. God is always there, “close to all who call on Him in truth” (Tehillim 145:18). He may hide His face, but He is there. He may be silent, but He is listening to us, hearing us and healing us in ways we may not understand at the time but which become clear in retrospect.

Reflect: Does this message from Rosh Hashanah resonate with you? Can you feel God’s closeness in times of difficulty?

6. Life is Still Sweet
Life may be hard, but it can still be sweet, the way the challah and the apple are on Rosh Hashanah when we dip them in honey. To be a Jew is to live for simple things. To be a Jew is to give, whether in the form of tzedakah or gemilut chasadim (acts of loving-kindness). It is to learn and never stop seeking, to pray and never stop thanking, to do teshuvah and never stop growing. In this lies the secret of joy. Life is sweet when touched by the Divine.

Reflect:
Where is the sweetness in your life?

7. Our Life is a Work of Art
Our life is the single greatest work of art we will ever make. God too longs for us to create and thereby become His partner in the work of renewal. That is what teshuvah is, an act of making ourselves anew. On Rosh Hashanah we step back from our life like an artist stepping back from their canvas, seeing what needs changing for the painting to be complete.

Reflect: If you were going to create an expression of your life using any medium (e.g. visual art, poetry, prose, music, etc.) how would you do it?

8. We Are What We Are Because of Those Who Came Before Us
Our lives are not disconnected particles. We are each a letter in God’s Book of Life. But single letters, though they are the vehicles of meaning, have no meaning when they stand alone. To have meaning they must be joined to other letters to make words, sentences, paragraphs, a story, and to be a Jew is to be part of the strangest, oldest, most unexpected and counterintuitive story there has ever been. We are heirs to our ancestors’ greatness.

Reflect: Think of all the ways your life has been enriched by your parents, grandparents, and great grandparents (and beyond).

9. Judaism Asks Great Things of Us and by Doing So Makes Us Great.
We walk as tall as the ideals for which we live, and those of the Torah are very high indeed. Time and again Jews did things thought impossible. They battled against might in the name of right. They fought against slavery. They showed that it was possible to be a nation without a land, to have influence without power, to be branded the world’s pariahs yet not lose self-respect. They believed with unshakeable conviction that they would one day return to their land, and though the hope seemed absurd, it happened. Judaism sets the bar high, and though we may fall short time and again, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur allow us to begin anew, forgiven, cleansed, undaunted, ready for the next challenge, the next year.

Reflect: What do you think Judaism is asking of you in your life?

10. We are Dust of the Earth but within us is the Breath of God
And finally comes the sound of the shofar, piercing our defences, a wordless cry in a religion of words, a sound produced by breath as if to tell us that that is all life is – a mere breath – yet breath is nothing less than the spirit of God within us: “Then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being” (Bereishit 2:7).

Reflect: Close your eyes and hear the shofar. What is it saying to you? What do you want it to say to God on your behalf?

Read the full article at rabbisacks.org.

Upcoming Services & Programs

We look forward to seeing everyone in the coming weeks! Join us first this weekend for Rosh Hashanah:

EREV ROSH HASHANAH: Friday, September 15

Family Program | 6:00p | Stein Hall
Barg Sanctuary 6:00p | Sermon by Rabbi Sarah Fort
J.B. Greenfield Chapel 6:00p
Museum Minyan 6:00p

1ST DAY ROSH HASHANAH: Saturday, September 16

Barg Sanctuary 8:30a | Sermon by Rabbi Brian Strauss
J.B. Greenfield Chapel 8:30a
Museum Minyan 9:00a
Preschool Service 9:30a | Freedman Levit Sanctuary
Grade School Service 10:30a | Freedman Levit Sanctuary
Sensory Sensitive Service 5:00p | Freedman Levit Sanctuary

2ND NIGHT ROSH HASHANAH: Saturday, September 16

J.B. Greenfield Chapel Mincha/Ma'ariv 7:00p

2ND DAY ROSH HASHANAH: Sunday, September 17

Barg Sanctuary 8:30a | First Shofar at about 10:00a | Sermon by Rabbi Steven Morgen
J.B. Greenfield Chapel 8:30a
Museum Minyan 9:00a
Tashlich 6:00p | Meet at Administrative Parking Lot
J.B. Greenfield Chapel Mincha/Ma'ariv 7:15p

Next Week
Yom Kippur with Cantor Rachel Goldman

Questions about High Holy Days?
Everything you need to know is on our website!
bethyeshurun.org/hhd

Congregation Beth Yeshurun
4525 Beechnut Street
Houston, TX 77096

Road Map to 5784 | High Holy Days 2023

Congregation Beth Yeshurun

The High Holy Days are a special time that give us the opportunity for personal reflection and spiritual growth. With this weekly email series, Roadmap to 5784, we bring you video teachings from your clergy as well as resources to help you explore the themes of the High Holy Days. Look for an email from your clergy every Friday, beginning with the month of Elul through Simchat Torah. May this be a season of growth, renewal, and reflection for you. Shana Tovah!

Preparing for High Holy Days: Selichot

"We don't jump into things. We don't just start running a marathon, you got to stretch first. You got to get ready.... The season of repentance is a long thing...You can't do a marathon like that without stretching first. Which is why we have Selichot Prayers."

Click here to watch Rabbi Fort's full message.

After I'm Sorry, the Real Work Begins

Excerpts from Rabbi Rebecca Einstein Schoor's article at myjewishlearning.com

"I'm sorry.”

Just two words. Two, little words. And yet, they have been identified by a certain songwriter, as the hardest words.

When we were kids, our parents taught us that that these two words were like a magic elixir. You stepped on your sister’s foot? Say you’re sorry. You ate the last cookie without permission? Say you’re sorry. You broke Mom’s vase while playing ball in the house? Say you’re sorry. Not so hard, right?

But it turns out that saying “I’m sorry” isn’t the same as seeking forgiveness.

One day, in the very early days of my rabbinate, a congregant and her husband came to talk to me. It was clear that they were very upset and, it turned out, I was the cause. The woman’s father had recently died and I had not reached out to her. There was no excuse for my lack of attention to her. They were justifiably hurt, and they were very angry.

They weren’t lashing out; they simply wanted the opportunity to express their pain. And I sat there and listened. I just listened.

I thanked them for coming to me and for making me aware of what I had done. I made no excuses. I offered no justifications. I simply asked them for their forgiveness. I acknowledged that they might not be open to forgiving me yet. And I promised to work to rebuild their trust in me as their rabbi and be worthy of their forgiveness.

It was hard. It was so hard. But it was the only way to repair the breach.

Seeking forgiveness from another person demands that we turn inward, determine which of our behaviors were hurtful, and strategize how we might alter them. Once we have asked for forgiveness from the person we wronged, we must forgive ourselves. Such personal scrutiny is known as a cheshbon hanefesh.

The apology expert, medieval Jewish philosopher and Torah scholar Maimonides, gave clear directions on how to make a heartfelt apology. He instructs us to verbally confess our mistake and ask for forgiveness (Mishneh Torah 1:1).

Contemporary conflict management experts say that the next step is expressing empathy. Show you understand why this was hurtful to them. Sincerity, empathy, and understanding are key to resolving conflicts and issues.

Another important step in the process is to offer to find a path that resolves the problem for both parties. You may not be empowered to resolve the issue the way the hurt individual wants, but you must try to the best of your ability to fix it now and for the future.

According to Maimonides, the process of asking for forgiveness doesn’t end with making a heartfelt apology. The next step requires a resolution. After expressing sincere remorse, one must resolve not to make the same mistake again. (Mishneh Torah 2:2).

Furthermore, according to Maimonides, we must do everything in our power to “right the wrong,” to appease the person who has been hurt (Mishneh Torah 2:9). Asking the person who we have hurt what we can do to ease the pain we caused is an essential part of this process. It’s uncomfortable to ask this but shows sincerity on our part.

Finally, Maimonides provides us with the ultimate teshuvah (repentance) litmus test: Act differently if the same situation happens again (Mishneh Torah 2:1). This final step is the definition of true teshuvah: When we are faced with the identical situation a second time and make the right choice, we know that we have truly repented for that sin.

May we come to understand the roots of our wrongdoing and the pain it has caused, find the words to reflect the genuine regret in our soul, and resolve to emerge from the experience as the person we strive to be.

Upcoming Programs

We will have many opportunities for you to join us leading up to the High Holy days!

Shofar
We continue to blow the shofar every morning, except Shabbat, in the J.B. Greenfield Chapel. Join in person or via livestream this week at 8:00am on Sunday and then 6:45am Monday through Friday. You can see the service on our homepage: bethyeshurun.org.

Selichot
Saturday, September 9th, join us for Selichot! Our evening program we begin at 8:45 pm with a dessert reception in Stein Hall. Then our clergy will host a panel discussion on "Tough Questions about the High Holy Days." Our panel, moderated by Jerrad Bloome, includes Rabbi Brian Strauss, Rabbi Steven Morgen, Rabbi Sarah Fort, and Rabbi Ranon Teller from Congregation Brith Shalom. At 10:00pm, we move to the Barg Sanctuary for our beautiful Selichot service, where we welcome our High Holy Day choir for the first time and change the Torah mantles to their High Holy Day whites. This program is free, but please register here so we have desserts for everyone.

Private Time at the Ark

On Sunday, Spetember 10th, take the next step to prepare for the High Holy Days by spending a few private minutes with our clergy before the open Ark in the Freedman Levit Sanctuary. Each individual or family will be on the bimah with just a clergy member, who will offer a special prayer for you to say together before the Ark. What better way to get in the right mindset to begin the High Holy Day season! Register HERE for a time slot between 1:00pm and 3:00pm.

Next Week
Rosh Hashanah with Rabbi Brian Strauss

Questions about High Holy Days?
Everything you need to know is on our website!
bethyeshurun.org/hhd

Congregation Beth Yeshurun
4525 Beechnut Street
Houston, TX 77096

Road Map to 5784 | High Holy Days 2023

Congregation Beth Yeshurun

The High Holy Days are a special time that give us the opportunity for personal reflection and spiritual growth. With this weekly email series, Roadmap to 5784, we bring you video teachings from your clergy as well as resources to help you explore the themes of the High Holy Days. Look for an email from your clergy every Friday, beginning with the month of Elul through Simchat Torah. May this be a season of growth, renewal, and reflection for you. Shana Tovah!

Preparing for High Holy Days: Teshuvah

"Everett Worthington, who is a psychologist who studies forgiveness, has a handy acronym he uses to help people make all the meaningful steps that are required to seek forgiveness from someone we have hurt. The acronym is CONFESS, and for each letter he has an element for seeking forgiveness."

Click here to watch.

Last Week's Question

Last week we asked: What is something you want to do this year that you’ve never done before? It can be something small or big - it’s all growth! In her video, Cantor Goldman said she'd like to make challah for the first time! Some of you look forward to tackling a physical goal like a marathon or triathlon or skiing for the first time. Others want to learn a language, host a family holiday, quit a job, start a business, and buy a house. The new year is the perfect time to set a goal to try something new!

5 Myths About Teshuvah

Excerpts from Rabbi Kerry Chaplin's article on ExploringJudaism.com.

1. T’shuvah is saying “I’m sorry.”
T’shuvah is more than an apology. T’shuvah can include an apology. But words alone do not make t’shuvah. The last and arguably the most important piece of t’shuvah: changing your behavior. T’shuvah requires responsible action. When making t’shuvah, ask yourself: how can I change my actions to do better next time?

2. T’shuvah is about “fixing” my mistakes.
T’shuvah requires action, as described in the answer above. But it doesn’t start there. T’shuvah starts with honesty. If I’m not honest with myself about my part in what happened, I can’t know what the next right actions are. Without honesty, I may take action, but that action will be unskillful and may do more harm than good.

This kind of honesty can be intimidating and overwhelming. No wonder we’d like to skip over it and get straight to the action steps! I highly recommend a close friend, holy community, or mental or spiritual health professional to help you get honest with yourself.

3. T’shuvah is something we do only during the High Holy Days.
T’shuvah is such a helpful tool during the High Holy Days. It gives us a way to look at our past actions and ask: Where did I hit the mark this year? Where did I miss the mark? And to make a plan for the coming year. It sounds so simple! But if you’ve tried it, you know it’s not.

T’shuvah is not intended to be a once-per-year experience. Like anything, it requires practice to become skillful. How did I hit the mark today? How did I miss the mark? What can I do better tomorrow? If I practice these questions every day, then when the High Holy Days come, I already know where to put my energy so that I can stand before God on Yom Kippur and be ready for a renewed year. And if you haven’t tried daily t’shuvah yet, the High Holy Days are an ideal time to adopt t’shuvah not only for the holidays, but as a way of life.

4. Someone else has to do t’shuvah before I can let go of what they did to me.
If someone I care about hurts me, it can feel like they have to do t’shuvah with me so that I can let go of any resentment I might be carrying. And yes, if they do t’shuvah it might help me feel better ab out what happened.

But as you and I both know, none of us can control another person’s actions. When someone isn’t ready to do t’shuvah, what do we do? Rather than expecting someone else to do t’shuvah with you so you can move on, you can make t’shuvah with yourself: How is holding onto this resentment harming me and possibly the people around me? How can this resentment teach me to care for myself? When I learn to care for myself, I do t’shuvah with myself. When I do t’shuvah with myself, I learn to care for myself.

5. T’shuvah is something I have to plan.
Sometimes, an opportunity to do t’shuvah with yourself or someone else can be planned. And sometimes, it shows up without any planning at all. There are times when, totally out of the blue, someone will call us on or confront us about our mistakes. For most of us, our first response is defensiveness: oh but you did this and that’s why I did that, or no, I didn’t. What if, instead, we put down the knife of our defensiveness and say, maybe I did do that and maybe I can do better.

Read Rabbi Chaplin's full article in ExploringJudaism.com.

Question For You!

There is a lot of good advice here for how improve the way we do teshuva, not only for the High Holy Days, but every day. Which piece of advice do you think will be most impactful for you?

Reply to this email with your answer and we will report back (anonymously) next week with our goals for next year!

Upcoming Programs

We will have many opportunities for you to join us leading up to the High Holy days!

Shofar
We continue to blow the shofar every morning, except Shabbat, in the J.B. Greenfield Chapel. Join in person or via livestream this week at 8:00am on Sunday and Monday and then 7:00am Tuesday through Friday. You can see the service on our homepage: bethyeshurun.org.

Selichot
Saturday, September 9th we have 2 programs where you can join us for Selichot:

Young families, join Beth Yeshurun and BYDS at 5:30pm for a deli dinner in the sukkah, chag-friendly crafts, and a caramel apple dessert bar. Register HERE by September 7!
For our evening program we begin at 8:45 pm with a dessert reception in Stein Hall. Then our clergy will host a panel discussion on "Tough Questions about the High Holy Days." Our panel, moderated by Jerrad Bloome, includes Rabbi Brian Strauss, Rabbi Steven Morgen, Rabbi Sarah Fort, and Rabbi Ranon Teller from Congregation Brith Shalom. At 10:00 pm, we move to the Barg Sanctuary for our beautiful Selichot service, where we welcome our High Holy Day choir for the first time and change the Torah mantles to their High Holy Day whites.

Private Time at the Ark

On Sunday, Spetember 10th, take the next step to prepare for the High Holy Days by spending a few private minutes with our clergy before the open Ark in the Freedman Levit Sanctuary. Each individual or family will be on the bimah with just a clergy member, who will offer a special prayer for you to say together before the Ark. What better way to get in the right mindset to begin the High Holy Day season! Register HERE for a time slot between 1:00pm and 3:00pm.

Next Week
Selichot with Rabbi Sarah Fort

Questions about High Holy Days?
Everything you need to know is on our website!
bethyeshurun.org/hhd

Congregation Beth Yeshurun
4525 Beechnut Street
Houston, TX 77096

Road Map to 5784 | High Holy Days 2023

Congregation Beth Yeshurun

The High Holy Days are a special time that give us the opportunity for personal reflection and spiritual growth. With this weekly email series, Roadmap to 5784, we bring you video teachings from your clergy as well as resources to help you explore the themes of the High Holy Days. Look for an email from your clergy every Friday, beginning with the month of Elul through Simchat Torah. May this be a season of growth, renewal, and reflection for you. Shana Tovah!

Rosh Chodesh Elul | Preparing for High Holy Days: Personal Growth

"It is Elul, the month leading up to Rosh Hashanah, and we've already been spending this month dedicated to a lot more personal growth, taking account of the things we might want to fix in the upcoming year, and how we want to grow ourselves even more."

Click here to watch.

Last Week's Question

Last week we asked: What is something that you accomplished this past year that you want to build on this coming year?

Some of your answers:

Learned how to navigate technology
Built my confidence in a new year living alone
Attended services more often and looking forward to hearing the shofar each morning this month
Wrote a memoir and now looking for an agent or publisher
Exercised more often and more regularly
Started a running program and slowly building it up
Improved and expanded my diet
Said Modeh Ani and Shema every day
Said Thank You to God every day
Spent less time on Social Media
Traveled to a new country and looking forward to more travel in the coming year
Celebrated a milestone anniversary

Yasher koach to all for your accomplishments, big and small, this past year!

Last week we looked back on the previous year, this week we begin to look forward. What are some strategies to help up grow and improve in the new year?

5 Ways to Jumpstart Your Personal Growth

Excerpts from Rabbi Nachamia Coopersmith's article on Aish.com:

This is the best time of year to shake things up!

1. Strengthen Your Free Will Muscles
When you live by habit, you’re sleepwalking, going through the motions, and letting your free will muscles atrophy. The most important thing you can do to jumpstart your spiritual growth is to stop being a zombie and strengthen your free will muscles by making active choices.

That's why every morning during the month of Elul the shofar is blown. It’s your daily reminder to wake up! Break your routine, wrestle with your lethargy, go to battle with your laziness, negativity, and repeat cycles of giving up.  How?

Pick one clearly defined act that you can commit to…something that requires a real effort (but manageable) and will lift you out of the dross of your habituated life. Each mini victory is significant. You’ll feel empowered, confident, unstuck. It can show you that with hard work, change is possible, and give you the initial momentum you need to move further.

2. Put More Focus on Your Most Important Relationships
Interpersonal relationships are the primary training ground for spiritual growth. How you treat others is the most concrete way to excel in giving and become more like God, the Ultimate Giver. It’s easy to take for granted your most important relationships – after all, they’re always there.  Until they aren’t.

This month, put them at the top of your priority list. Spend more quality – and quantity – time, be extra considerate, affectionate, and attentive.

3. Waste Less Time
The plethora of streaming platforms and social media feeds generate a tsunami of distraction and, let’s face it, causes us to waste oodles of time. If you want to show up on Rosh Hashanah and plead your case for another year of life, you need to demonstrate that you value your time and are serious about using it meaningfully.  Where can you cut back on killing time?

4. Do More Jewish
Take on doing one additional spiritual practice that you find meaningful. It may be reading an inspiring book, taking a weekly online class about a Jewish subject, or having a family Shabbat dinner filled with good food, meaningful conversation and song. Think about something that resonates with you, and make sure it’s not too daunting.

5. Have a Heart-to-Heart with God
Even if you’re not the crunchy-granola spiritual type or a Hasid in the making, consider giving this a shot. The Jewish concept of God – an Infinite, Eternal, All-Encompassing Being Who has no form – is very abstract, and it's easy to relegate this transcendent Being to the Heavens while you go about your life on earth.

Work on making God tangible, right here, right now. Open up your heart and talk to Him, share your feelings, your fears, your anger, whatever is on your mind or weighing down your heart. It doesn’t have to be in a synagogue, or with a prayer book. God is everywhere, aware, listening; just find some quiet alone time and confide in Him. And keep at it. You may be surprised to see how having those heart-to-heart chats makes you feel connected to Him.

Read the complete article at Aish.com.

Question For You!

What is something you want to do this year that you’ve never done before? It can be something small (make challah for the first time) or big (jump out of a plane) - it’s all growth!

Reply to this email with your answer and we will report back (anonymously) next week with our goals for next year!

Upcoming Programs

We will have many opportunities for you to join us leading up to the High Holy days!

Challah
Our Sisterhood hosts its annual Challah Bake on Wednesday, August 30th at 6:00pm. Master your challah skills and make the traditional round challah for Rosh Hashanah this year! Register here.

Shofar
We continue to blow the shofar every morning, except Shabbat, in the J.B. Greenfield Chapel. Join in person or via livestream this week at 8:00am on Sunday and 7:00am Monday through Friday. You can see the service on our homepage: bethyeshurun.org.

Next Week
Teshuvah | Repentance | Return with Rabbi Steven Morgen

Questions about High Holy Days?
Everything you need to know is on our website!
bethyeshurun.org/hhd

Congregation Beth Yeshurun
4525 Beechnut Street
Houston, TX 77096

Road Map to 5784 | High Holy Days 2023

Congregation Beth Yeshurun

The High Holy Days are a special time that give us the opportunity for personal reflection and spiritual growth. With this weekly email series, Roadmap to 5784, we bring you video teachings from your clergy as well as resources to help you explore the themes of the High Holy Days. Look for an email from your clergy every Friday, beginning with the month of Elul through Simchat Torah. May this be a season of growth, renewal, and reflection for you. Shana Tovah!

Rosh Chodesh Elul | Preparing for High Holy Days: Cheshbon Hanefesh

"Today is a very important day in the Jewish year, not only, of course, as we get ready for Shabbat, but it's Rosh Chodesh Elul...Our tradition says to us today, 'Stop now and get ready. It's coming. Are you ready?'"

Click here to watch Rabbi Strauss' about getting ready for the High Holy Days.

What is Cheshbon Nefesh?

Excerpts from Rabbi Ruth Adar's article from Coffee Shop Rabbi:

Cheshbon hanefesh is usually translated, “the accounting of the soul.” We do cheshbon nefesh every year during the month of Elul, the month leading up to the High Holy Days, because without taking inventory, how can we know what we need to change?

…Perhaps when we talk about the month of Elul as a time for cheshbon nefesh, we can expand a bit … and ask, “What does my life add up to right now?”
In what ways have I made the world better? In what ways have I made it worse?
How do I affect the lives of others? Are their lives easier or harder because of my behavior?

Cheshbon hanefesh is not for beating ourselves up. Jewish tradition ascribes to each human being an infinite, unmeasurable worth. There is no such thing as a “worthless” human being in Judaism. This is not about our worth as individuals; it is about the worth of our behavior as individuals. What are we doing with our lives?

Cheshbon hanefesh is the essential prelude to meaningful change. If we approach the process humbly and sincerely, it can provide us with a map for more worthy living.

Read Rabbi Ruth Adar's full article here.

Living Without Regrets

Excerpts from another view on taking this "accounting" from Rabbi Jacob Blumenthal, CEO of the Rabbinical Assembly and USCJ:

The hardest thing about life is that it only gets lived in one direction: Forward.

Similarly, these holidays are a time when we ask ourselves deep questions. To quote from our Yom Kippur liturgy: “What are we? What is our life? Our goodness? Our righteousness? Our achievement? Our power? Our victories?”

It is an invitation not only towards humility, examining our past choices, and healthy self-doubt, but about questioning all of our life choices – from this past year, and even before. It demands self-reflection and correction, but can also paralyze us with regret.

While introspection is healthy, too much regret can discourage us from embracing both our unchangeable past and our openness to future choices.

These holidays should provide a moment for us to look up from where we are standing and to examine our lives not with regret but with resolve.

When we have regrets about earlier choices, that recognition of our fallibility should inspire kindness towards others – and towards ourselves. When we regret the roads we did not take, it can inspire us to be open to the many opportunities in front of us in the year to come, and to lean into new choices and possibilities with renewed resolve to do good and live with full joy and intention.

Read Rabbi Jacob Blumenthal's full article in ExploringJudaism.com.

Question For You!

Taking an "accounting of the soul" not only challenges us to improve ourselves, but also encourages us to celebrate our successes. What is something that you accomplished this past year that you want to build on this coming year?

Reply to this email with your answer and we will report back (anonymously) next week with our successes!

Upcoming Programs

We will have many opportunities for you to join us leading up to the High Holy days!

Challah
Our Sisterhood hosts its annual Challah Bake on Wednesday, August 30th at 6:00pm. Master your challah skills and make the traditional round challah for Rosh Hashanah this year! Register here to join.

Shofar
Beginning today, Rosh Chodesh Elul, we will blow the shofar every morning, except Shabbat, in the J.B. Greenfield Chapel. Join in person or via livestream this week at 8:00am on Sunday and 7:00am Monday through Friday. You can see the service on our homepage: bethyeshurun.org.

Next Week
Preparing for High Holy Days: Looking Ahead

Questions about High Holy Days?
Everything you need to know is on our website!
bethyeshurun.org/hhd

Congregation Beth Yeshurun
4525 Beechnut Street
Houston, TX 77096

Road Map to 5784

Road Map to 5784

Road Map to 5784 | High Holy Days 2023

Road Map to 5784 | High Holy Days 2023

Road Map to 5784 | High Holy Days 2023

Road Map to 5784 | High Holy Days 2023

Road Map to 5784 | High Holy Days 2023

Road Map to 5784 | High Holy Days 2023

Road Map to 5784 | High Holy Days 2023

Road Map to 5784 | High Holy Days 2023

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