Though we often dread the soul searching that accompanies our preparations for Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur during this month of Elul, we must also remember that the New Year represents an incredible opportunity to thoughtfully write the next chapter of our lives.
This past Sunday, our CYE students and their families explored this opportunity at our Opening Day, creating vision boards to imagine the year ahead–the lives they hope to lead, the goals they wish to achieve, and the people they plan to become. Paired with Israeli dance and activities that revealed the power of community to help them in their journey, they began to sketch their dreams, as well as a plan toward realizing them.
There are countless obstacles to earnestly envisioning the lives we wish to lead in the coming year. The grief and anguish we feel as a People following the weekend’s news from Israel focuses our gaze squarely upon the tragedy of the present. And our lament deserves all the time and space we may afford.
But the grief we feel need not extinguish our hopes and dreams. Rather, it should inspire them, helping us to envision how we can strive for something better–for ourselves and for our People.
— Rabbi Josh Knobel