Dear Friends, This Is Real and You Are Completely Unprepared.
A fitting tagline for 2020, right?
It captures our experience of the pandemic. Of suddenly staying at home for months. Of supporting our children with remote learning. Of supporting our parents from a distance.
It articulates our reaction to new stresses, fears and isolation – and then the power going out!
It also leaves a small but vital opening for gratitude, insight and joy.
Originally, Rabbi Alan Lew penned This Is Real and You Are Completely Unprepared as the title for his guide to the High Holy Days, which I return to every year and am keeping especially close this year with all we’re navigating and needing.
This year we can’t mark the Jewish New Year in our most classic ways: with hundreds of people packed in each seating of services, with friends wishing one another a sweet new year sealed with a hug and a kiss, and with extended family all around one table.
We will miss the comfort of these traditions, AND…if we’re open to it, we can see this year as an invitation to not only try something new but also feel something new during these days of awe.
At Sanctuary, we’re excited about the possibilities before us.
As we plan different paths through the High Holy Day season, some are quiet and contemplative. Some are set in nature. Some are loud (tekiah)! But all draw on Sanctuary’s core principles: - Building community through small, intimate cohorts.
- Empowering individuals and families to bring Jewish life into their homes.
- Placing Jewish wisdom in dialogue with modern questions, so that we might live more fully as humans and create a better world.
In the boxes below, please find the list of offerings with titles linked to more details. You don’t need to commit right now, but it would be very helpful to know who is interested in doing what as we finalize plans and manage group sizes. You can reply directly to this email or fill out this super quick form.
With all the stress and uncertainty that surround the month of September, the High Holy Days are truly here to hold us, support us, and move us forward with intention.
Sending love and strength,
Rabbi Bethie Miller |
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