Earlier this week, we gathered as a community—both in person and online—to offer our heartfelt prayers at the dawn of the new year. One of the most powerful and haunting prayers of this season is Unetaneh Tokef, which confronts us with a difficult truth: this year will bring suffering, illness, and loss. Painful as it is to acknowledge, some among us will not live to see the end of 5786. In facing this reality, we affirm the truth of our shared human condition.
And yet, at the very end of this prayer, there is hope. We remind ourselves that through heartfelt prayer, through sincere repentance, and through acts of righteous giving, we can soften the decree. That doesn’t mean we will avoid pain or escape death. But it does mean that whatever comes our way can be made more bearable and more meaningful.
I know this to be true in my own life, and I trust many of you do as well. We have seen how community sustains us, how faith reassures us, how teshuva can heal what was broken, and how righteous giving can literally save lives.
So in this sacred time between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, let us take the work seriously. Let us carve out moments for reflection. Let us apologize sincerely to those we have wronged—and to God—for the ways we have fallen short. And let us give generously, to our beloved Wise community, and to organizations that bring healing and hope to our world.
The work is before us.
The reward is a life of greater meaning, connection, and peace.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Yoshi