As we enter these Days of Awe, we hope that these readings and excerpts from Sha’ar HaShamayim, our Stephen Wise Temple machzor, will deepen your worship and High Holy Days experience.
We are gathered here on the eve of a New Year to reaffirm our ties to one another and our place in the eternal arc of history.
On this day, we dare to dream of a bright future for ourselves, our families, and our world.
On this day, we dare to challenge the world as it is and imagine the world that can yet be.
On this day we affirm that our actions matter. Each small step forward brings us closer to realizing our vision of a world redeemed.
Help us to open our hearts to one another, to those who suffer and need our strength, to those who seek and need our guidance, and to those who crave the presence of our community.
Help us open our minds to one another, to those who come from different places, to those who hold divergent beliefs, to those whose lives and choices do not mirror our own so that we may gain wisdom.
May all who enter know that our arms are open with love and acceptance: that all who are well-intentioned, compassionate of spirit, and kind of heart have a place among us.
May each of us enter the world and the year ahead renewed and determined to embody the change we wish to see.
May we be blessed with peace, with good health, and most importantly, with hope.
— Rabbi Ron Stern