“Are you ready? Yes, I’m ready.” Remember these song lyrics from the mid-1960’s? In the context of Barbara Mason’s song they referred to a relationship but at this time of year we can apply them to other things that affect our Temple Beth Abraham community. When I last wrote a post, we were getting ready to start the month of Elul. This is the month preceding Rosh Hashanah and traditionally a time of introspection. We take stock of ourselves, our lives, and our relationships. We know that the High Holydays are approaching and that it’s the time when our liturgy tells us that we will be judged for the coming year. While our fate is determined by our actions of the past year, we also learn, in an unusual display of cognitive dissonance, that we can modify our inscription for the coming year: “Repentance, Prayer, and Tzedakah avert the severe decree”. So we can each ask whether we are ready for the High Holydays which will begin next week. Are our homes ready? Our relationships? Ms. Mason’s song was also about love and at this time of year we can take the time to look at what and who we love and recall why. If we think that too much of our time is spent thinking about “stuff” and not enough about the people that are important to us, we have the chance to change that. Let’s take this opportunity to find the true meanings in our lives and create a fresh start for 5774.
Am I ready? Well…almost. As I work to get TBA ready, let me take this opportunity to extend wishes from Anita, myself, and our family for a New Year filled with Health, Happiness, Joy, and Peace to all of you and your families.
L’Shana Tova,
Stuart
