What do you mean it's already August?!

Sorry for the delay; knee-deep in sermon writing (and that's going real swell, thanks for asking!). I'm hoping to post some Q&A I've been doing for CBE's online newsletter, the Beth Emeth News (BEN), but in the meantime, I wanted to put another question out there for you to generate some feedback and discussion:

I'm on the poetry committee for the new Reform Movement Mahzor (High Holiday prayerbook). How did I get on this? Well, at a meeting at the CCAR conference in San Francisco, I heard about some of the editorial ideas, and, frankly, didn't like what I heard. And then I started complaining with some colleagues. And then I realized that I was sounding like 'those people' (as in, "I don't want to be like 'those people', rabbi, but..."). I wasn't offering to help, I wasn't trying to be a part of the solution, I was just being a kvetch.

So I volunteered. I wrote my thesis on piyyutim and have tried my hand at liturgical poetry (among other genres) so why not? And to my surprise, they let me in (I keep waiting for the editors to realize their mistake, that they meant to grab Oren Hayon or something).

So now I'm going through the Birnbaum prayerbook and my old notes, as well as books like Weinberg's Jewish Hymnography. It's great fun and wonderful to be studying again. But it does lead me to ask a question, before I go too far down the piyyut rabbit hole:

What is it that you want in a High Holiday worship experience? What does your ideal Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur look like? Where does it take place? What is sung? What is read? How else do you want to experience it? What does God 'look' like on those days; how do you talk to God, and how does God speak back? I know what my answers are, but they're 'tainted', in that I'm so influenced by the tradition and my experiences as a service leader it's sometimes hard for me to remember what it's like to sit in the pews. So hearing your answers will be helpful (and for you as well I hope!).

Now back to sermon writing etc. Will be posting those as well, but not until we get a lot closer. It's not even Elul yet, after all!

Shana Tova!

OK: the cues are run through, I've proofread my sermons (and will probably miss some typos), and am otherwise ready for these High Holidays.

Rosh Hashanah in a new congregation is very exciting and daunting. For many folks this will be my first time meeting them. It will be different for all of us, and I hope a positive experience. It's a wonderful way to start the new year, but also a lot of responsibility. I've gotten some really terrific feedback in my first couple of months, and I hope this allows us to continue the conversations as we move forward this year.

I'm blessed that I'll get to have my whole family together for the holidays this year, for the first time since I was in High School. At the same time, I'll be missing friends I've made over the years who are celebrating at other communities.

May this year be a good, a healthy and a sweet New Year for all of us; one that realizes its promise and potential.

On a related note: I'll be on The Rabbi Speaks again this Sunday at 9am (ish). Click the link for the live stream the day of. A little sermon on Teshuvah (though less timely than it could have been) for the second day of the holiday (or the day after, if that's your thing).

Shana tova!