This Week I Needed to Connect

11/3/12

This week I needed to connect:

To the world

To my community

To Brooklyn

To New Jersey

To Breezy Point

To my family

To the power grid

To Facebook

To the local news

To Mayor Bloomberg

To Governor Cuomo
To Chris Christie and Barack Obama

To good-deed-doers

To my rabbi

To my cantor

To the volunteers

To those in need

To the MTA transit workers

To the  NYC police

To the NYC Fire Department
To freezing friends

To prayer

To politics

To Jon Stewart

To tragedy

To grief

To loss

To stupidity
To my solar phone charger

To randomness

To truth

To Shabbat

To my cats

To my sofa

To candy

To children dressed as ladybugs and elephants and gumball dispensers
To my block

To my landlord

To music

To anguish

To heroism

To despair

To foolishness

To hope

To God

This week I needed to connect.

And I did.

Blessed One-ness,  when we most need connection,  it is there.

Amen

Kesher V'Gesher, A Prayer for Rosh HaShanah

We cross a scary, narrow bridge,
It has an awesome span.
From Tisha B'Av to Simchat Torah and back again.

It’s not a simple stroll across this bridge,
Revealing truth with each step.
How do we get across intact?

Tread gingerly, alone,
Exposed before our friends and family and yes, the Infinite.
But most of all, to ourselves.

We know what we have done. We do.

So what helps us across that bridge?

Our music, the poetry, the liturgy;
The wise words, the sharing, the rhythm of the rituals and conversations with God.
Tefillah.

Our gathering, these clergy and prayer leaders, this community,
Social justice and acts of loving kindness,
Tzedakah.

Our self-awareness, honesty, regret, humility, atonement,
Our forgiveness, grief, redemption and joy,
Teshuvah.

The same stuff every year but shockingly different each time.
This is Kesher, our connection to truth and hope.
This is Gesher, our bridge across these Days of Awe.

Kesher v'Gesher
Connect. Cross the bridge.
From Tisha B’Av to Simkhat Torah:

From Regret to Celebration
From Celebration to Teshuva
From Teshuva to Sweetness
From Sweetness to Atonement
From Atonement to Awe
From Awe to Abundance
From Abundance to Torah

Blessed One-ness, Breath of Everything, we are not alone on this journey.
Walk with us as we cross each bridge to a new year and yet another beginning.
Amen.