Rabbi Lauren Henderson's Rosh Hashanah Message for 2024

The other day, I was home with our 18-month-old son, Rafi, when it started to rain. I took him out onto the front steps to watch the rain coming down, first in a light mist and then in heavier sheets, water coursing down the street in front of us. We were covered by the roof over our heads, so we could watch the storm around us grow in intensity without feeling threatened. I taught him the word “thunder,” and every time he’d hear a crash, he’d point to the sky and say “gunder!!” Safe under our shelter, we waited out the storm, and even marveled at its beauty and power.

I imagine that for many of us, this past year has felt like one storm after another. We may have had the experience of both wanting to run toward the storm’s intensity while also wanting to find shelter from the deluge.

There’s a psalm that we say daily throughout the High Holiday season from Rosh Hodesh Elul through Sukkot, Psalm 27, and within it are a variety of types of shelters where we might go to seek comfort and protection in times of chaos: Habit shel Elohim hashem (the house of G-d), Miklat zmani shel Hasukkah (the sacred palace or temple), Sukkahh (the temporary outdoor shelter of a sukkah), Ohel (a tent), Gavoha al haselah (high up on a rock), and Baderch sh hanhnu nosim (along the path that we’re traveling). I’m struck by the multitude and diversity of these shelters – some offer more protection than others. When you’re out on a camping trip, for instance, you may only have a tent or the cleft of a rock to protect you when conditions get stormy. This psalm invites each of us to imagine the places in our own lives that have offered us shelter from storms, literal and metaphorical, and also invites us to build those shelters within and around ourselves that will help us stay grounded and connected when it all becomes too much.

As we approach the High Holidays this year, we’re inviting you to come seek shelter with us at Or Hadash. Here, resting in the loving embrace of community, song, prayer and the sharing of Torah, we can find our footing and our connection to one another and what matters most in our lives.

Rabbi Lauren Henderson is the spiritual leader of Congregation Or Hadash in Sandy Springs.