Days are scrolls; write on them what you want to be remembered – Bahya Ibn Pakuda, a scholar and mystic in 11th century Spain who wrote a book, ‘Duties of the Heart.’
During this period through our Days of Awe, but particularly these ten days of tshuvah, we are invited to create a chesbon hanefesh, an accounting of our souls. it is a spectacular piece of agency that reminds us we also have choice in how we will be, how we react and how we act. We will have time to respond to this invitation in our Shiur on Yom Kippur.
I’m reminded of this in our small exchanges as well as in the big intentions we set for ourselves, and not least in how we negotiate our Jewish lives.
Monday was the anniversary of that devastating Shabbat, October 7th. Some of us attended the vigil in Hyde Park on Sunday. I listened to the radio for much of the day. A most respected colleague was speaking and our own Karen Werth, from Nottingham Liberal Synagogue, talked so eloquently about how to be in the face of unimaginable brutality and fear here in the UK and reminded us to choose hope and connectedness.
On Monday evening, we shared a service with Crouch End Chavurah and Southgate Progressive Synagogue. Over 125 crammed into the space we had created with dimmed lights and one yahrzeit candle that held so much grief and so many memories. It was a strong moment for all who attended. Marian Fixler shared a haiku after:
We gather to mourn
Witnessing our grief and pain
The space to just feel.
We acknowledged the line from Ecclesiastes, that there is a time for everything under the sun. Monday was a time to mourn and bear witness to the particular atrocities of that day and the repercussions that flowed from it – the death and mourning and not least the families still waiting painfully for their loved ones to come home. We spoke of the 101 hostages still there as well as those murdered and still not home for burial. We talked of the soldiers on active duty. We acknowledged the extraordinary acts of bravery from individuals that day. We remembered the loyalty and courage of the Bedouin community in the South, who responded by helping and saving several. But what really spoke to was the grief we all felt.
A midrash recalls that Just as when a single walnut is taken from the pile, all of them collapse and roll onto one another, the same is true of the Jewish people: if one of them is stricken, all of them feel it. Phillipa Carr, one of our members, works for JAMI and wanted to share these extraordinary videos as we all navigate talking about the 7th October, about the conflict and our reactions. Do take advantage of these for you, your children, for school, work and a myriad of occasions. Click here to access.
I wish you Gmar Chatimah Tovah – and truly, may we all find and recognise ourselves ‘written in the Book of Life,’ feeling open and ready for our Yom Kippur services. We will be back at Shaarei Tzedek (there is easy parking within 5/10 minutes of the synagogue). Our services will run all day and the shiur discussion will be a quiet spot for chevruta-partner and small group learning. I hope it will be a strong and meaningful day for us all. We need it. Especially now.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rebecca
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