18/19 September 2026

I have just dropped my youngest, Rafael, at university. There is something deeply nostalgic about acknowledging an end of an era: no more rushed breakfasts before school, or dropping off at the tube, because there is now no time for walking; no more worrying about school night dinners. Of course I was that mother. Change, as I spoke about a great deal over Rosh Hashanah, is both hard and good, as we all know. I spent 24 hours in Glasgow and it didn’t rain once, which is a feat for the city, certainly whenever I have visited it.

These ten days before Yom Kippur are for deep reflection whenever you get the chance – and of course for tashlich, that beautiful ritual of letting go of past baggage by symbolically throwing crumbs or stones into water. The ritual is amazingly powerful. I always recommend it.

Meanwhile, the last Musar midday of our summer study was Courage. I remember last Yom Kippur when we were made aware of the attack on Heaton Park synagogue. I imagine there is deep fear for this year and I understand it. Please know how vigilant our plans are and even more so as we welcome Matt Jukes, Deputy Commissioner for the Met, to the morning service. Times are worrying, I understand that, and for some, it’s a leap of courage to choose to gather together. I am grateful to you.

The Torah portion for Shabbat Shuvah also marks an ending: the life of Moses. Sent up to Mount Nebo to die, he remained vigorous to his final day. At one hundred and twenty years old, “his eyes were undimmed and his strength unabated,” (Deut. 34:7). Rabbi Jonathan Sacks noted that the first phrase explains the second. Why did Moses keep his strength? Because his eyes were undimmed, meaning he never lost the ideals of his youth. This idea resonates: we can carry our hopes, dreams, and desires forward, even as we grow older and change.

There will always be endings but there are ways to make sense of them. I intend to learn from this too.

Shabbat Shalom,
Rebecca