Rabbi Arnold M. Goodman's 2021 Rosh Hashanah Message

ANTICIPATING 5782

Yom Kippur 5781 concluded with the traditional sounding of the shofar and the congregation’s response, L’shana haba’ah b’Yerushalayim (the coming year in Jerusalem). For close to two millennia of Jewish exile and dispersion, the return to Jerusalem heralded the arrival of the Messianic age. Wherever our people resided and regardless of their social, economic and political situations, the sounding of the shofar and the accompanying prayer were an affirmation of hope, that the coming year would be one of blessings of health, prosperity, family solidarity and peace.

Last year the pandemic demanded a myriad of accommodations that impacted upon both the content and venue of our services. I suspect that the vast majority of Jews in non-Orthodox congregations remained at home and participated in Zoom services. Congregations that did convene in their facilities limited the number of worshipers, required masks, and followed restrictions dictated by health authorities. Suffice to say, the shofar sounded with the traditional prayer that the coming year be one in which we are liberated from the pandemic, and we could gather as a congregation, as was our want in days gone by.

Sadly, the pandemic and its variants continue to bedevil us. This year attendance at services in synagogues will be limited in number and are required to conform to the directives and instructions of health authorities. Often services will be conducted in tents set up on synagogue property or elsewhere. In some instances, congregations will gather in other facilities. When there is no other option, Zoom services will continue to be provided, as well as for any who prefer to worship individually, or in family gatherings, in front of a television set or screen.

Human beings are amazingly adaptable and imaginative, which are strengths that characterize lay and professional synagogue leaders. High Holiday services will be inspirational and our prayers, private and public, will beseech the Almighty for peace, not only within our borders, but throughout the world; for material wellbeing, and above all, for good health. We will pray for strength when we are sadly confronted with life’s trials and vicissitudes often triggered by natural disasters of fire, hurricanes, and earthquakes.

Wherever we gather to worship, may we be enriched and inspired by the holy texts that are embedded in our liturgy, and by the inspirational teachings from our pulpits. May 5782 be the year blessed with an ending of the pandemic and a return to normalcy. May it be a year in which our fondest hopes for health, success, personal fulfillment, and shalom within our borders, and throughout the world are realized.

Rabbi Arnold M. Goodman was the senior rabbi of Ahavath Achim Synagogoue (1982-2002), and now resides in Jerusalem.