Welcome
Come celebrate the High Holy Days with Congregation Tehillah, under the insightful spiritual leadership of Rabbi LINDA Shriner-Cahn along with Chazzan Sariel Beckenstein and musical direction by Jerry Fishman.
At Congregation Tehillah, we search for meaningful and just expressions of our Judaism in today’s world. We invite you to come as you are, bringing your unique story. We are a Jewish community where music, learning and spirituality come together. We are committed to an environment in which all are welcome wherever they or their families find themselves on their Jewish journey, inclusive of any age, race, orientation, gender identity, ability, and economic status.
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We are proud to have had Rabbi Linda's words included in this High Holiday supplement. May you find comfort among the words of my colleagues and friends, as each comes from their own place of pain and hope as we go forward into the new year.
Here is the link:
Elliot Shriner-Cahn blowing shofar at the Y Sunday Market
in preparation for Rosh Hashanah
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Rabbi Linda's Weekly Message | September 27, 2024 24 Elul 5784 PARASHAT NITZAVIM-VAYELICH |
This Torah portion tells us we have a choice. In a section that rings in my heart and in my soul, we are told ““I have called heaven and earth today as witnesses against you. I have set life and death before you, blessing and curse. Choose life, so that you and your descendants may live to love your God.” (Deuteronomy 30:19-20)
What does it mean to choose life? As we prepare for the Yamim Noraim (Days of Awe), and think of our liturgy, it does not seem to indicate that whether we live or die is our choice. Where does our choice lie?
This past Sunday, about 15 of us visited the Invisible Worlds exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History. The exhibit engendered a sense of awe in the way it explored the inter-connectedness of our universe. It served as a reminder that, much like the natural world, we too are connected to one another. In the natural world, things seem to connect that promote change almost accidentally, whether that change is positive or negative in the long run. The same is true for humans; we do not know, nor can we always predict, how our actions will impact ourselves and others in the long run. Where then does our choice lie?
Mitzvah of the Week
We live in a moment when it feels like it is difficult to make a difference in the world. Fortunately, living in a democracy means that each of us can make a difference by voting. Americans vote more in national elections, but voter turnout is still smaller than in most democracies. Voting, whether in national elections or local ones, makes a difference. If you're looking for how you can make a difference, show up and VOTE.
It is really a rather simple two-step process.
Step 1: See if you are registered to vote.
Go to VOTEAMERICA. The website has an array of nonpartisan tools and resources for voters in all 50 states and DC - everything you need to register to vote, cast your ballot, and make sure it's counted.
Step 2: When you have checked your own status, take some time to encourage those around you to do the same.
Sometimes we forget that voting is a privilege and that the right to vote was not originally extended to all. Remember, a woman’s right to vote was finally ratified a little over a hundred years ago in 1920 with the 19th Amendment. And although African American men were first given the right to vote in 1870, they were rapidly disenfranchised in the years following Reconstruction. Those rights were finally restored in 1965 with the Voting Rights Act, but continue to be assailed today.
It is easy to forget the importance of each and every vote.
I urge you to do your part and go to the polls for early voting or on Election Day.
| Oseh shalom bimromav, hu ya'aseh shalom aleinu ve'al kol Israel, ve'imru, Amen. |
| May the One who makes peace in the heavens, make peace for us all and all the people of Israel. |
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