Sunday, September 23, 2007

Call to Silence and Opening Meditation

Opening Music - Cyd Baron

Return again, return again, return to the land of your Soul (2X)
Return to who you are, return to what you are,
Return to where you are born and reborn and reborn.

Hashiveynu, hashiveynu, Adonai eilecha, v'nashuvah, v'nashuva.
Chadeish, chadeish yameinu k'kedem.

(Help us to return to You, O God; then truly shall we return. Renew
our days as in the past.)

Readings

"T'shuvah" means repentance, but it also means return The month of Elul and Days of Awe-the days between Rosh Hashana (the beginning of the new year) and Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), are also referred to as the season of t'shuvah. We look inward to see where we have missed the mark and need to improve. While Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are times of both judgment and change, the entire month of Elul serves as a safe space to restore ourselves and use the process of "tshuvah" to embark upon a new beginning.

The notion that repentance supersedes sacrifice, or punishment for sin, is prevalent in both prophetic and rabbinic literature. We are encouraged to engage in moral return every day. The great Jewish teacher Maimonides (1135-1204) articulated this in his famous "Four Steps of T'shuvah" to guide us in this process:

1) Admitting: First we admit we have made a mistake.
2) Verbalizing: "This is what I did." For this most crucial part of t'shuvah, according to Maimonides, we narrate the action done and articulate why it was wrong.
3) Regretting: "I am embarrassed by my actions," or understanding how the action harmed another individual. We imagine ourselves suffering from the effects of our actions to generate an active, internal desire NOT to do it again.
4) Resolving: "I will stop," the internal decision NOT to repeat the action. The plan or fundamental change to keep us from recommitting the offense.

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Rabbi David Wolpe (Sinai Temple, Los Angeles) writes:

"Each year as Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur approach, we are reminded that sin creates distance. Distance creates factions. So we proclaim the unity of God, but the fractures in our community and in our own souls widen. Thus, the first tablets [of the commandments] were broken by sin, but on Yom Kippur Moses returned with the second tablets, all of one piece. T'shuva, repentance, had created wholeness again.

We create distance when we are afraid, and even more when we are ashamed. Just as sin is a pushing away, love is a drawing close. To believe in God's love is to have faith in the ultimate oneness of the world. For if everything is ultimately one, then all distance, all separation, is temporary. E. M. Forster's famous admonition, 'only connect' is made here into the law of the universe, into God's law: Draw close to Me, and you will be healed.

May this year help us find our way back to each other and back to God."

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O, Hope of Israel:
In our weakness, give us strength.
In our blindness, be our guide.
When we falter, hold our hand.
Make consistent our impulse for good; let us know the joy of walking in Your ways.

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Kol Nidrei (All Vows)

"Kol Nidrei" is the prayer of people not free to make their own decisions, people forced to say what they do not mean. In repeating this prayer, we identify with the agony of our forebears who had to say "yes" when they meant "no". "Kol Nidrei" is also a confession: we are all transgressors, all exiled from the Highest we know, all in need of the healing of forgiveness and reconciliation. For what we have done, for what we may yet do, we ask pardon; for rash words, broken pledges, insincere assurances, and foolish promises, may we find forgiveness.
For transgressions against God, the Day of Atonement atones, but for transgressions of one human being against another, the Day of Atonement does not atone until they have made peace with one another.

(prayer is sung)
Kol nidrei v'esarei v'charamei vkonamei, v'chinuyei, v'kinusei, u-sh'vuot.
Dindarna U'd'isht'va'na, U'd'acharimna, v'di'a'sarna v'di'asrna. al nafshatana.
Mi-yom kippurim zeh, ad yom kippurim ha-ba, aleinu l'tovah.
Kol-hon icharatna v'hon. Kol-hon y'hon sharan. Sh'vikin, sh'vitin, v'teylin um'vutalin.
La shirin, la shirin, la shirin, v'la kayamin.
Nidrana, nidrana lanid'rey. V'esarana, la esarey. U'sh'vuatana la sh'vuot.
(let all our vows and oaths, all the promises we make and the obligations we incur to You, O God, between this Yom Kippur and the next, be null and void should we, after honest effort, find ourselves unable to fulfill them. Then may we be absolved of them.)

CONFESSION OF SIN (to be read together as a community)

Now may it be Your will, O God of all generations, to forgive all our sins, to pardon all our wrongdoings, and to blot out all our transgressions:
The sin we have committed against You under duress or by choice,
The sin we have committed against You consciously or unconsciously,
And the sin we have committed against You openly or secretly.
The sin we have committed against You in our thoughts,
The sin we have committed against You with our words,
And the sin we have committed against You by the abuse of power.
For all these, O God of mercy, forgive us, pardon us, grant us atonement!
The sin we have committed against You by hardening our hearts,
The sin we have committed against You by profaning Your name,
And the sin we have committed against You by disrespect for parents & teachers.
The sin we have committed against You by speaking slander,
The sin we have committed against You by dishonesty in our work,
And the sin we have committed against You by hurting others in any way.
For all these, O God of mercy, forgive us, pardon us, grant us atonement.

(song)
Eloheynu veylohey avoteynu: Tavo l'fanecha t'filateynu.
V'al titalam mitchinateynu. She-eyn anachnu azeyfanim uk'shey oref,
Lomar l'fanecha Adonai eloheynu veylohey avoteynu, tsadikim anachnu, v'lo chatanu,
Aval, aval, anachnu chatanu. Chatanu, avinu, pashanu.

(Our God, God of our mothers and fathers, grant that our prayers may reach You. Do not be deaf to our pleas, for we are not so arrogant and stiff-necked as to say before You, Adonai our God and God of all ages, we are perfect and have not sinned; rather do we confess: we have gone astray, we have sinned, we have transgressed.)

A Reading from the Gospel of Mary (Lelour Translation, The Magdalene Mystique)

Peter said to him: "Since you have become the interpreter of the elements and the events of the world, tell us: What is the sin of the world?" The Teacher answered: This is no sin. It is you who make sin exist, when you act according to the habits of your corrupted nature; this is where sin lies. This is why the Good has come into your midst.cats together with the elements of your nature so as to reunite it with its roots."

Then he continued: "This is why you become sick, and why you die: it is the result of your actions; what you do takes you further away. Those who have ears, let them hear."

"Attachment to matter gives rise to passion against nature. Thus trouble arises in the whole body; This is why I tell you "Be in harmony. . ." If you are out of balance, take inspiration from manifestations of your true nature. Those who have ears, let them hear."

Call to Conversation

Two short prayers by Rebbe Nachman of Breslov (1772-1810) in fo"The Gentle Weapon: Prayers r everyday and not everyday moments."

There must be a way I can regain decency and virture.
There must be a way I can recapture the purity and perfection of my soul.
God, lead me there; don't turn me away. Open Your hands and welcome me back.
God of wonders, You've given me the most wonderful of all gifts-the gift of free will.
May my will never deviate from Your Holy will.
Guide me always, so that all the choices I make are good ones-
choices that are in harmony with Your will, as long as I live.

Closing Music

(Jewish tradition teaches that, on the days between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur (the Days of Awe), God writes in the Book of Life the names of those who will live and prosper in the coming year. However, the Book is not yet sealed, and during this time, true repentance can cause a name to be added. At the end of Yom Kippur, with the final blast of the shofar, the Book is sealed. Jews everywhere-even those for whom this is only a tale, wish each other "Shana tova tikateyvu" [May you be written for a good year] and "G'mar chatima tova" [May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year}.)

refrain: May you be sealed for a good year, for a sweet year, for a healthy year.
May you be written in the Book of Life. G'mar chatima tova.

1) A holy day, a solemn day. A day to set aside.
On Yom Hakipurim from our sins we will not hide.

2) We make amends to others for the wrongs that we have done.
Then we ask God for forgiveness. Yes, we face the Holy One.

3) When day turns into night, the final shofar blast we hear.
As the Book of Life is closed, we say, "In Jerusalem next year."


We ask for your comments/thoughts to continue our conversation. Thank you.