Happy holidays! Please consult your synagogue for exact service times and locations. Meanwhile, enjoy these words of High Holy Day inspiration from Rabbi David N. Young of Congregation B’nai Tzedek in Fountain Valley
A congregant told me that he was asked about T’shuvah (repentance) by his granddaughter. He was thinking about how to explain it to her when he cut himself shaving. He got a little blood on his shirt, and though his wife told him about it, he decided to leave it for later. Sure enough, by the end of the day he had let the stain slip his mind, and try as he might to remove the stain, it faded but left a permanent mark on his collar. It was then that he realized how he could explain it to her.
Just like the stain on his collar, if we make a mistake in life we should take care of it right away, lest it leave a stain that will be with us forever. Yet like the words of Isaiah that we read on Yom Kippur:
Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson, they shall be like [new] wool.
(Isa. 1:18)
We are reminded that we can cleanse ourselves, no matter how stain-soaked we have become. At the same time, the sooner we deal with our “stains,” the easier it is to get out the scarlet and crimson on our souls.
(Inspired by Marcos Fintz)
Tishri 5774 High Holy Day Schedule
Wednesday, September 4
Erev Rosh Hashanah
Thursday, September 5
Rosh Hashanah
Friday, September 6
Second Day of Rosh Hashanah
Saturday, September 7
Shabbat Shuvah
Friday, September 13
Erev Yom Kippur/Kol Nidre
Saturday, September 14
Yom Kippur/Yizkor
Wednesday, September 18
Erev Sukkot
Thursday, September 19
Sukkot
Friday, September 20
Second Day of Sukkot
Wednesday, September 25
Hoshanah Rabbah
Thursday, September 26
Shemini Atzeret/Yizkor
Friday, September 27
Simchat Torah