Newspapers / The Charlotte Jewish News … / Sept. 1, 2015, edition 1 / Page 34
Part of The Charlotte Jewish News (Charlotte, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
The Charlotte Jewish News - September 2015 - Page 34 i t ^ Why Are These Services Different Than All Others? Happy New Year from Bill & Patty Gorelick By Rabbi Michael Shields, Tem ple Kol Tikvah The High Holy Days, Yamim Noraim, the Ten Days of Awe are most eertainly different than all of the other days of the year. The worship shared has a heightened sense of urgeney. The prayers and readings emphasize the speeifie themes of the season. Man of the melodies ehange and are often more eantorial in nature. These ehanges are very appropriate in that they serve the saered atmos phere and worship that we are hoping to aehieve. However, not all ehanges are good. A story: When I was a rabbinieal intern in rabbinieal sehool, a eongrega- tion member eame to me and said, “Rabbi, I just love how Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur serv- iees are like going to the theater. We all get to dress up, fight for the Happy New Year Bob & Anne Yudell best parking spots and fight through the throngs of people fil ing in to serviees. Then we get to listen to beautiful melodies and appreeiate the artful poetry of the prayers and the beautiful ehoreog- raphy of the Torah serviee.” She had transformed the High Holy Days into a theater produe- tion. The rabbi, eantor, and Torah readers were the aetors, the eon- gregation members were the audi- enee and the elergy’s robes, tallitot, and even the Torah were props. Unlike regular Shabbat serviees where the rabbi is a hum ble faeilitator and everyone wor ships together, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur had turned into a speetator sport. The true audienee was forgotten. God was forgotten. For many, the High Holy Days are an ordeal or a burden, simply something one must do. Every worshipper is an aetor in a Divine produetion, or if you’re a sports fan, a player in the big game. What is done on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur as well as every day ean ehange one’s life and ehange the world. Sometimes the Yamim Noraim, the High Holy Days, are different in a negative way. We lose our sense of obligation and partieipa- tion and relinquish our religious responsibility and possibility to our rabbis and eantors. These High Holy Days, the sound of the Shofar ehallenges us to hearken to our best selves. In order to do this, we must be will ing to show up to the big game. A eolleague shared this aneedote eomparing football to the High Holy Days: “Football is a sport in whieh twenty-two physieally fit men run around on a field while ninety thousand people who need exereise wateh them. High Holy Day serviees are a sport in whieh hundreds of people who are not sure how to daven wateh a few people who do.” In Jewish tradition, the words “da lifnei mi atta omed, ” (“know before whom you stand”) are erit- ieally important to the High Holy Days. The prayer leaders do not stand before you and perform the liturgy. We all stand before God. Every time we get distraeted, every time we have a nasty thought, every time we show up late or leave early, we should re mind ourselves, “da lifnei mi atta omed. ” A wagon driver was onee tak ing a rabbi from town to town. They eame upon an orehard and the driver said, “I’ll elimb up a tree and get some apples for luneh.” As soon as the driver was up in the tree, the rabbi yelled: “He’s watehing! He’s watehing!” Nearly falling out of the tree, the driver seurried down and ran off, fearful that the farmer would eateh him. The rabbi took the reins and eontinued on. A while later, the rabbi eaught up with the wagon driver. “Rabbi, why did you yell, ‘He’s watehing!’? The farmer was nowhere to be found.” The Rabbi said, “I wasn’t talking about the farmer. I said, (pointing upward) God’s watehing!” I hope that we don’t just “enjoy” these High Holy Days. Instead, I hope we all ean laasok b ’divrei Torah (engage meaningfully in Torah). May we earry the lessons of the Yamim Noraim into our lives and eontinue to pray both with our mouths and our feet, our prayers and our deeds. May the High Holy Days beeome infused into the every day. Shanah Tovah U’metukah! ^ SAVE THE DATE! ra presented by I SUNDAY. OCTOBER II The Outrageous Sophie Tucker • 1 pm A rags to riches story of an kontc superstar who ruled the worlds of vaudeville, Broadway, radio, television, and Hollywood from 1906 until her death in 1966. Producers Susan and Lloyd Eckerare scheduled to appearand will do a Q&A with the audience after the film. SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18 The Farewell Party • 1pm A unique, compassionate and unlikely funny story of a group of friends at a Jerusalem retirement home who decide to help theirterminally ill friend and then suddenly find their assistance in great demand, SUNDAY. NOVEMBER 1 Look at Us Now, Motherl • 1 pm An unflinching look at the complex bond between Mildred Kirschenbaum and her daughter, Gayle. Told through biting humor and raw honesty, this is an intimate story about family dysfunctionsand forgiveness. Mildred and Gayle Kirschenbaum are scheduled to appearand talk about their relationship following the film. $10 per ticket or .$25 per Series Pass movies/$30 value) Tickets On Sale WOW at c h a r I otteje w i shf i I m. CO rri Knight Foundation ^ L i I CuUurc For Ali. I Tl-tt : '.iN i.i-V u;; FOUNpATION All movies will be screening at BegalBallantyneVillageStadium Theaters ■ J43I5 Bdhntyne Village Way, Cijailotte, 1^(28277
The Charlotte Jewish News (Charlotte, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Sept. 1, 2015, edition 1
34
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75