The Temple Clergy Team’s 2021 Rosh Hashanah Message

The story of the Jewish people has always been one of resilience. Throughout our history we have found ourselves in cycles of destruction and loss, followed by rebuilding and growth. Each time, we rebuild with the faith that we emerge stronger as a community as we go forward, while remembering where we’ve been.

COVID-19 is a difficult chapter in our story – the stories of loss and harm, destruction of what we once took for granted, and unprecedented challenges for people around the world. We have been forced to make numerous changes as a Jewish community and learn new ways of celebrating life cycles and holidays, as well as find creative ways to gather and connect.

And this challenge is also our opportunity. Every Rosh Hashanah, we envision the Book of Life opened and prepare to write the next chapter of our lives. We pray that this year we continue to write a story of adaptability, creativity, and resilience. In the year ahead, we pray for successful widespread vaccinations that allow all ages to safely come together. We hope we will continue to innovate in the ways we worship and gather, using technology to strengthen our community and enhance our experiences of Judaism.

We look forward to still celebrating joyous moments and comforting one another in difficult times, … for all that changes, our commitment to one another and to our Jewish community around the world remains unchanged. While we are still not where we hoped to be in terms of safely gathering, we still come to this moment in time bound together as one Jewish community preparing to begin a new year. May it be a healthy New Year for us all.

The Temple Clergy Team (Rabbi Peter Berg, Rabbi Loren Filson Lapidus, Rabbi Sam Kaye, Cantor Deborah Hartman, Rabbi Steven Rau, and Rabbi Lydia Medwin) The Temple is a Reform Jewish congregation in midtown Atlanta (www.the-temple.org).