From Cantor Joshua Kowitz Friday, September 25, 2020
Dear CBO Family,
The fourth verse of Parshat Haazinu states, “The Rock!-perfect is his work, for all his paths are justice; a God of faith without iniquity, righteous and fair is he.” This verse is recited with many others during the burial ceremony during a funeral. In this prayer, God is compared to a rock that is unchanging throughout time, the prayer is known as Tziduk Hadin and deals with the theme of understanding God’s judgments as well as our own prayers for those who are living. It is strange to think of a Rock as perfect. What does this really mean? Perfect in this sense refers to the idea of faith that is inside of all of us, with it we trust in God’s will. We may not understand or like the actions God causes to happen but throughout everything even as our faith is tested it remains intact.
This can be difficult especially in the times we find ourselves in. Life is filled with ups and downs, there is good fortune, failure, happiness, sadness, joy and loss. All of those pieces of life form this “harmonious whole.” It can be difficult to see how all these pieces go together and why they are put in our lives. That is beyond our understanding as human beings. Yet when we put them all together they form this rock that holds us together. No one knows why things happen the way they do in this world or why we were put on this earth.
I have always thought that while my lifespan may be a blip in the history of time; I should make the time that I am here count by loving others, showing kindness, walking towards God by doing acts of charity and loving my neighbor as myself. As we are in this period of the ten days of repentance I ask that if I have wronged any of you I ask for your forgiveness and am deeply sorry.
As I work on myself this New Year I encourage each of you reading this to explore what you want to get out of this New Year and how you can help others as well as yourself to be better people. All of us have that faith inside of us that is strong and hard like a rock. While it may get chipped every so often it is able to weather any storm. I know if we join our rocks together we can get through this.
Ark Visitation During the Neillah Service We will be having our Neillah service outside this year (no tickets required) and while prayers are being recited outdoors, we will allow brief ark visitations (1 minute) in a socially distant manner.
MINYAN REQUESTS
For Friday, September 25th & September 26th
Stephen Singer has Yahrzeit for his mother, Ruth Singer.
Mitchell Gaines has Yahrzeit for his brother, Scott Gaines
CELEBRATIONS AND GRATITUDE A Special Happy Birthday to Rabbi Bernstein and Michele Glodzik. Thank you to Phil Horowitz and his son, Russell for donating the challah to the synagogue.
We wish everyone a Healthy and Safe Fast!
Congregation Beth Ohr 2550 South Centre Avenue Bellmore NY 11710 (516) 781-3072 officestaff@cbohr.org
Affiliated with United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism