Parshat Haazinu; Deuteronomy 32:1-32:52: By Rabbi Denise L. Eger

This week’s Torah portion, Haazinu, is the second to last in the regular cycle of reading in the Torah is read this week. This Shabbat is also known as Shabbat Teshuvah—the Sabbath of Repentance. The name taken in part from its place during the Ten Days of Awe as well as the Haftarah portion from the prophet Hosea which begins with the phrase Shuva Yisrael –Return Israel to Adonai your God because you have fallen because of your sin. (Hosea 14:2). Hosea’s timely message of repentance echoes the many prayers and piyyutim that we have encountered during Rosh Hashanah and will certainly be the central theme of Yom Kippur—our Day of Atonement.

Our Torah portion is a Moses’ grand poem, a final statement to the people Israel before his death on Mt. Nebo. Moses tries to remind the people that even though they have at times broken their covenant, that the people of Israel must be reminded of God’s enduring love and hope in them. Even when they fail, God the Rock is just. Even when the Children of Israel forget and go astray, God will remember. God’s majesty and grandeur are to be guarded and sanctified by the People Israel.

The timely message of Haazinu resounds during this season of Repentance. The Shofar service of Rosh Hashanah focused on celebrating the grandeur of God’s creation and God’s majesty. The sovereignty of God –Malchuyot was one of the sections of the Shofar service. The second section of the shofar service Zichronot—remembrances can be heard in Haazinu as well. Moses tells the Children of Israel to “Remember the days of old” (32:7). This generation that will enter the Promised Land is not the generation that left Egypt. They must recall the ancient stories and the promise of the covenant just as we in our day must recall and link ourselves to that same essential history.

This Torah portion also reminds us to turn away from the idolatry that surrounds us and tempts us. It reminds us to go back to the basics of our way of life which includes at its core upholding our covenant with God. Indeed this is the central message of this High Holy Day Season. We must shed the sin and error that has pulled us away from our covenant and alienated us from our people. Ultimately God will accept in love our offerings and as it says in verse 36, For Adonai will vindicate the people! God will defend us and take us back in love.

During these 10 Days of Repentance when we are in touch with the parts of ourselves that brought us shame and guilt. It is good to know that God will with open arms take us back when our repentance is sincere. God will take us back in love and compassion if we glorify God’s holy Name and assert God’s sovereignty over us. We willingly and lovingly pledge ourselves to be part of this grand covenant. Thus as the gates of Heaven close at the end of Yom Kippur we indeed can be healed, forgiven and cleansed to a new year of life with our people and our God!

Rosh Hashanah 5767 by Rabbi Denise L. Eger

This Shabbat is also Rosh Hashanah, our new year. We deviate from our regular cycle of readings on the holidays to read special portions. Perhaps the highlight though of Rosh Hashanah is the sounding of the Shofar, the ram’s horn. Of course the ram plays an important role in the reading for the second day of Rosh Hashanah. We read the Akeda, the story of the binding of Isaac from Genesis 22. The ram that is caught in the thicket is offered as a sacrifice to God instead of Isaac. Thus the shofar, the ram’s horn is woven into the reading.

The Torah teaches us that this day is known as Yom Terurah, the Day of Blowing of the shofar. We sound the blasts on Rosh Hashanah to awaken our spirits to the season. We sound them to remind us of our tasks to repent and turn our lives around—making teshuvah to God and to our fellow human beings. We sound the Shofar to gather the people together to worship and celebrate the New Year and our peoplehood. The mitzvah of the shofar is in the hearing of its 100 notes. Thus we must listen carefully for its call to each and everyone of us.

In Conservative and Orthodox synagogues the shofar will not sound on the first day of Rosh Hashanah this year as it falls on Shabbat. The shofar is not blown on the Sabbath day, not because sounding the instrument is bad but for fear that the shofar will be carried in public thus violating one of the special laws about defiling the Sabbath. (Rosh Hashanah 29b) Carrying items in public is seen as a work violation of the Sabbath day.

But in our synagogue, and in most Reform synagogues, when we drive to Temple, the shofar indeed will be sounded. Our approach is much like that of Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai who helped to reformulate Judaism after the destruction of the Temple in the year 70. There were arguments about whether the shofar should be sounded outside the Temple since there was a special place on the ancient temple grounds from where the shofar should be sounded. In fact, archaeologists have found the engraved stones that marked the very spot!

But Rabbi Yochanan ruled that the shofar indeed should be sounded. He understood that following the destruction of the Temple—the center of our people’s life, the people needed to hear in actuality the sounds of the shofar calling to them and to God. When the temple’s destruction was such a real and recent painful memory, the sounds of the shofar brought comfort, order, and hope.

For us today, the shofar helps us jog our memory. It calls us to be one with the Jewish people and with God. It calls us out of our complacency to rouse our spirits to connect and keep the flame of our faith alive. In a world of chaos the sounds of the shofar, and the order of its blasts-tekiah shvarim tekiah, tekiah teruah tekiah...helps us to bring order to our lives and to our souls in this New Year.

We wish you a sweet and happy New Year and may the sounds of the shofar lift you closer to God and to our people!

Parshat Nitzavim/Vayelech; Deueteronomy 29:9 -31:30 By Rabbi Denise L. Eger

We can tell that the New Year will soon be upon us. Parshat Nitzavim is always read on the Shabbat before the New Year. Nitzavim which we Reform Jews will read again on Yom Kippur morning reminds us that we as a community will soon stand before God to confess our sins and to receive in love the forgiveness that God has to offer us.

The text of our Torah portion reminds us that we are a part of the covenant and that we shall re-affirm our commitment and covenantal duties. In many ways the Season of Renewal represented by Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot and Simchat Torah help us to renew and reinvigorate our own commitment to this covenant. We must first heal our relationship with God and fellow community members, we must accept forgiveness and we must forgive others. With Sukkot and Simchat Torah we re-connect with the bounty of the land given to us by God and the bounty of Torah also given to us by God. By the end of this holiday season—though tired—we are uniquely reminded and refreshed that our standing in the world and in the covenant is renewed and indeed strengthened.

Parshat Nitzavim reminds us that this isn’t too hard to do. In fact, it is incumbent upon all of us no matter our station in life. From those who work with their hands to those who are officials of the community. All must go through this process and must stand before God in his or her own way.

Especially after the weeks since we observed Tisha B’av –the ninth of Av, our haftarah readings have specifically given voice to the tear in the relationship between God and Israel and indeed in the last few weeks have gone on to voice the sense rebuilding the relationship between Israel and God. This Torah portion then just as we are to enter the sacred High Holy Day season is one more reminder of the important work we must do to secure our covenantal relationship and the consequences of turning away from God and community.

We must take heed from Moses words to Joshua in Parshat Vaylech—“Be Strong and Resolute” he says ( 31:7). It is good advice for all of us as we enter the High Holy Days of Repentance and Renewal. Let us be strong and resolute in our teshuva and in our reaffirmation of our covenant with God. For just as Moses tells Joshua, we, too, must be reminded that “God will be with you.”

Rosh Hashanah reminds us that God is with us. God walks with us on our journey of repentance and renewal. God grants us a new year of life. And as it says in Nitzavim—“(And when) you return to Adonai your God … I Adonai your God will restore your fortunes and take you back in love.”(Deut. 30:2-3).

That is the message of this season a renewal of our love relationship with the Divine.

May the New Year bring you and yours love and health and joy.

Poast Sabatical Return; By Rabbi Denise L. Eger

It is so good to be home with all of you. I want to begin tonight with a todah rabbah. First and foremost thank you to all of you for the opportunity to be on sabbatical. Our tradition recognizes that we all need a time out to renew and refresh. The Shmittah year—the sabbatical year described in our Torah, is a sabbatical for the land to replenish the minerals and vitamins that nourish our food. For those of us in teaching and helping professions a sabbatical helps us to replenish the spiritual and educational inspiration that help to nourish our minds and souls. For me this sabbatical was overdue but very energizing and renewing. So thank you to our Temple community for this opportunity to grow and to learn, to study and connect with our Tradition, my family, the Land of Israel and God.

Thank you too goes to the rabbis and rabbinic students and lay people who helped to keep our temple programming rich and varied. To Rabbis Zach Shapiro and JB Sachs Rosen, to rabbinic Student Dean Shapiro, Cantorial Soloist Ron Galperin, Dr. Peter Kraus, our Ritual Committee chaired by Gary Wilson and its members, and our Torah study group and in particular Sam Fibish, Diane Saltzberg and Jane Drucker, to our social Action committee and chairs, to our HIV Group leaders, and to our amazing Board of Trustees who kept the home fires burning thank you.
To our wonderful staff, Nick Benko, Dara Pettinato, Suzanna Peters, Arturo Flores, and Cassie Kirschbaum our new religious school principal of course to our Executive Director Lee Werbel who handled all kinds of inquiries and issues during the summer months all the while preparing for the fall . Their attention to the day to day allowed me to truly have a break from the phone calls, and hundreds of emails and inquiries that I get daily.
And most of all to our amazing Cantor, my friend and colleague Mark Saltzman—who led this congregation with such inspiration, dignity and talent. You anchored our shul with your sacred spirituality. And you brought wisdom here on a daily basis. Thank you for all you do and for allowing me this opportunity to leave knowing our temple was in your sacred care.
As you know I spent most of the summer in Israel. Many of you expressed your worry and concern for my safety and I appreciate your love and care. It was an amazing time to be in Israel and truth is I wouldn’t have wanted to be any where else. For I could see with my own eyes, listen with my own ears to the real issues that were unfolding rather than the bias that so clearly came your way in the world media. The view we got from Lebanon and the Northern parts of Israel was a very different view indeed. I will have more to say about this during High Holy Days but for now suffice it to say, you did not get the full picture of what was happening on the ground. No one –no one expected this war. Even Nasarallah the head of the Hezbollah recently stated that if he knew Israel would have responded in such a way he would have never ordered the capture of the soldiers. -- Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev
"We did not think, even one percent, that the capture (of the two soldiers) would lead to a war at this time and of this magnitude," said Nasrallah. "You ask me, if I had known on July 11... that the operation would lead to such a war, would I do it? I say no, absolutely not." (Sunday, August 27, 2006, Lebanese news station NTV)
But prior to July 12 when Hizbollah crossed the border killed 8 Israeli soldiers and captured Goldwasser and Regev, Israel was full of people and tourists.
I attended two seminars the Shalom Hartman Rabbinic Seminar and the Hebrew Union College Alumni Seminar. At the Hartman Institute 120 rabbis from all over the world and every denomination gathered to learn, and study Jewish texts. I studied with conservative rabbis from Canada and the Orthodox Hillel Rabbi from Oberlin College, with a woman rabbi born in the Netherlands but serving a pulpit in Germany, to Israeli Reform rabbis and many friends and colleagues from all over the U.S.
Our topic of study was looking at the concept of “Standing Before God”. What does it mean in Jewish tradition to stand in the presence of God? We studied Maimonides, and Liturgy, Kabbalaistic texts, and Midrash. We looked at Abraham as a model of standing in God’s presence and also how the Jews of the Enlightment era grappled with this concept.
At Hebrew Union College in Jerusalem, a smaller group of alumni studied with the faculty the concept of Jewish denominationalism throughout our history. We looked at the ideas of the 12 tribes, and the Pharisees and Saducees and Zealots and even took a walking tour of the ultra Orthodox neighborhoods where one sect after another live next to each other but never worship together or study together.
During my sabbatical I had time to sit in the pews and pray rather than lead worship. I visited synagogues in Israel and here in Los Angeles seeking out and experiencing what is happening in the Jewish world beyond 1200 N. La Brea.
I thought about who we were as a community here at Kol Ami as we enter our 15th year and what might our future look like into the next 15 years.
I took time to be a more present member of my own family. Rabbinic life isn’t easy. And many days and nights I am away from my own dear ones. The sad irony that as someone who does so much to support the concept of the importance of the Jewish value of Mishpacha—the importance of the Jewish value of family, my own family often suffers when I am gone from them night after night, weekend after weekend. Having the time to bond as a family is critical to my spiritual well being.
So with family nearby, study with colleagues, living and breathing the sweet night air of Jerusalem and Israel, a bit of travel, a lot of reading and time for prayer and yes, even a little time for fun—the first half of my sabbatical comes to a close.
But with the New Year soon upon us all of us have a time to take a mini-sabbatical. These days of the final month of Elul are a time for study and reflection, meditation and prayer. In these days prior to Rosh Hashanah our tradition teaches us that we our take some time out to plumb the inner parts of our being and rectify, renew, and return to the Ground of our Being.
Even as the summer come to a close, the Jew must take some serious moments to look within and take stock of who we are and who we’ve become in this last year. But more importantly we are to be honest when who and what we’ve become may not be all that we can. We need to confront where we have missed the mark, where indeed we have erred, and perhaps caused harm to our self or others. We need to examine closely our own inner life and how it affects our outer actions.
And just like a sabbatical that renews and uplifts the holidays and their melodies, the sound of the Shofar calling to us, the nearness of friends and family, the sweetness of the apples and honey, provide an chance for changing the patterns of the past and helping us overcome the deficits that have crept into our way of being. Rosh Hashanah helps us purge the impurities from our way of life.
I want to invite you to begin a mini sabbatical in this holy season—a sabbatical of healing for your soul, cleansing for your spirit. Join us for Selichot which is Saturday Sept. 16 we will eat schmooze, study, purify our lives and pray and sing and create a sacred respite that will kick-off your High Holy Days.
So if you haven’t had a sabbatical, or a chance to take stock of your own life –a Jewish opportunity awaits you in this sacred season. Open this New Year with the blessing and harmony and wholeness that is a sabbatical for the soul—a new year of celebration with your Kol Ami community.
I am glad to be home with you. And I look forward to starting of this sacred season and the New Year with an opportunity to study and renew and refresh.
Shabbat Shalom.

Parshat Ki Tavo; Deuteronomy 26:1 –29:8 By Rabbi Denise L. Eger

Here at the end of the Book of Deuteronomy we are reminded once again of the obligation to set aside a tenth of the produce of the field as a tithe to feed the orphan, the widow, and the stranger. Mentioned earlier in Deuteronomy (14:22-29) the tithe although an annual gift was given to the sanctuary. But every third year the tithe was not sent to the sanctuary but remained locally and given to the Levites and the poor. The Levites, you’ll recall, were given no land of their own in the Promised Land. They had to depend upon the other tribes for sustenance just as the Children of Israel depended upon the Levites and the Cohanim for spiritual sustenance in the performance of their duties in the Temple or earlier in the Tent of Meeting.

There is a different system of tithing mentioned in Numbers.

But the reminder of tithing in this week’s portion is reminder of this special obligation to give the tithe at home in the third year.

There are always many requests for tzedakah. There are national concerns and local ones. There are emergency appeals for Israel and neighborhood needs. Our Torah portion reminds us that along with national obligations we also have local obligations. We cannot forget those in our midst. The Torah had a system for taking care of both the national and the local issues. Today we need to be mindful that our tzedakah and our charity giving must also reach those at home as well the national scene.

As we enter the season of Repentance, we are reminded that tzedakah is one of the three main pathways to teshuvah. Take some time to review how you give your tzedakah and where you give your tzedakah. Take some time to make sure you are addressing both the local and national and even perhaps international needs. And make sure that your giving is done with a spiritual mindset that our Torah does indeed teach us—that we are doing God’s work with our giving. We are God’s messengers that help to heal the world and repair the damage. Our gifts of tzedakah repair the tears in the fabric of society and also the tears in the fabric of our own souls!