Baruch HaShleimut/Blessed Holy Completion
Giving us this time of Beyn Adam LaChavereh
To remember our obligations to each other:
During Elul we apologize for our sins against people
Then on Yom Kippur we beat our chest for our sins against God.
The former is personal, the latter more cosmic
But the cosmic affects us deeply
And the personal ripples into the universe.
Insult your cousin on Thanksgiving or
Dig oil wells in the Alaskan wilderness, these are
Different in scale but similar in intent, and
Both break connection to the One-ness.
So this year instead of sin
Let’s speak of responsibility to each other
And our connections to all life.
The hurts and horrors we impose on people
Hurt and horrify God
And anything that breaks the Holy Wholeness
Alienates us from our history,
The world as it really is and
The world as it might become.
To do teshuvah is to return to our true selves as
We review our neglected obligations of kindness and service.
Blessing all who are in pain and who cause pain,
Invoking compassion for ourselves and others,
We acknowledge our mistakes and apologize, and
Vow to make reparations and never do them again.
Thus teshuvah turns our doubts
About our capacity for change
Into possibilities for hope.
Blessed Holy Wholeness,
Together this sacred community declares,
Hinenu! We are here!
Where all hands are needed
And doubt can be an act of faith.
May this world know all our voices
On our holy days
In our holy conversations as we call out,
We shall do and we shall hear.
Amen
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