My Dear Beth Israel Family,
Tonight our CBI Family will gather in Beth Israel, our spiritual Home, to mark the beginning of the New Year. During this sacred time, I hope each of you will join me on a journey of exploration, introspection, and transformation. This year in particular, through the themes of my drashot, I hope we will embark on a journey of personal and communal growth, as we focus our thoughts and efforts on further cultivating certain middot, deot, ve’emunot (personality traits, religious disposition, and beliefs) and recommitting ourselves to mitzvot that give concrete expression to these internal states.
On the First Day of Rosh HaShanah, “On Redemption Now,” will focus on deepening our belief in, and expanding our role in bringing, the coming of the Messianic Era. This drasha is dedicated to the memory of the late Lubavitcher Rebbe zt”l, who left the world 20 years ago.
On the Second Day of Rosh HaShanah, “On Sacrifice,” will invite each of us to cultivate a disposition of sacrifice in our religious practice and our inter-personal relations. This drasha is dedicated to the memory of two young IDF lone-soldiers, Sean Carmeli, age 21, and Max Steinberg, age 24. Both Sean and Max were born in the United States and both died defending a homeland that was not their place of birth.
On Kol Nidrei Night, “On Closure,” will hopefully challenge us to use Yom Kippur as an opportunity to both reach emotional closure about difficult issues, and to let go of problematic relationships and misguided behaviors. I am dedicating this drasha to the memory of my ‘adopted’ uncle, Harel Weisman, whose life was cut too short, and whose death left an open wound for his family and close friends.
Finally, on Yom Kippur Day, “On Fear and Awe,” will focus on the need to channel our worldly fears into Divine awe, transforming an internally debilitating state into a mobilizing, constructive force. This Yizkor drash is an opportunity for each of us to reflect on the lives of the people we love and who are no longer with us in this world.
In the middle of this journey, on Shabbat Shuvah, we will pause to learn about the Shemita year which begins this Rosh Hashanah. In “On Shemita and Teshuvah,” I will invite us to reflect on the spiritual outlook that is borne out of this ‘year of release.’
We have gone through a very difficult summer and our hearts are very much in the East (though we are in the West). At this time in particular, I pray that the New Year will bring us closer to each other, closer to the Messianic Era, and closer to G-d.
At this time, I also wanted to thank each of you for making Beth Israel a Sacred Family. Our community’s vibrancy is a reflection of each of your commitments, your engagement, and your participation. Each of us is a sacred link that makes us, as a collective, possible.
May the Holy One bless our homes, Beth Israel as our Sacred Home, and Israel, as our people’s Home. May G-d’s blessing of peace reign in this world.
R. Yonatan Cohen