August 2017 - "See you in September"

    As I write this article, the High Holidays are more than 2 months away, but I have been thinking about them and preparing for awhile already.  And so, the song, “See you in September” comes to mind.
 
    On these holidays we will be confessing our sins, and asking for forgiveness, as we sing and pray together.  As part of our actual preparation for the High Holidays, and to widen our knowledge about Judaism, we have invited a colleague and friend of mine from New York City, Rabbi Judith Edelstein, to visit BSJC on September 8/9.  She is an expert in the Mussar movement, which teaches us to examine the importance of interpersonal behavior and how to live more deeply ethical lives attuned to the divine.  If this sounds new to you, don’t worry, Rabbi Edelstein is used to teaching this to students on all levels, and she will enlighten us.  How open should we be?  How much of our private lives should we share?  Mussar  is the practice of accounting of the soul, and how we may reconcile these and other questions.
 
    More information will be coming to you describing this topic and the Shabbat services in which Rabbi Edelstein will be teaching us. She is a delightful person and an excellent facilitator for a subject she knows well, and I encourage you to mark your calendars and plan to attend Shabbat evening and morning services on September 8 and 9. Our Shabbat experience will consist primarily of education and learning, so that we may immerse ourselves in this fascinating topic and prepare ourselves for the holidays.   

 I hope to see you soon, and certainly to “See You in September.”

L’hitra’ot , until next time.