Rabbi Jess: Reflecting on the High Holidays
In The Lord of the Rings trilogy, there is a magical mirror device that the great elf Galadriel shows the protagonist Frodo. “What will I see?” he asks, as he is invited to peer inside. “Even the wisest cannot tell”, she responds, “for the mirror shows many things. Things that were, things that are, and some things... that have not yet come to pass.” I’ve been musing that our High Holiday liturgy is meant to be a magic mirror.
Our prayer books contain three sections which Rabbi Ruth Gan Kagan has suggested represents these three time constructs.
We open with Malchuot, -Sovereignty, or as Galadriel puts it, “things that are”. This section declares the majesty of creation and our creator, and represents the holiness of this present moment.
The Zichronot section, Remembrance, is the “things that were”, we are invited to look backwards into our collective histories, and by extension, examine our past selves.
Our final section is Shofarot, which describes the multiple shofar blasts we are commanded to sound and to hear as an integral part of our high holiday experience. This invokes our futures - “things that have not yet come to pass.” It is our wake up call to action, and helps to articulate our sorrows and respond to the cries of those around us. To repair the hurts and make more beautiful choices in the year ahead.
We can all relate to the pull of having to operate on these three planes simultaneously. Our minds flit between “what is, what was, and what will be” constantly! This year, what will preoccupy your mind and how will you allow these Days of Awe to serve you as you reflect on where you stand?
The call to Remember may especially speak to the parents in the room who can reflect back on how their college days went, if they indeed had the opportunity to attend higher education. What were their formative moments, what lessons do they still recall today? How did their connection to Hillel (if they were lucky enough to have a Hillel) help them find community and strengthen their Jewish connection?
I encourage our current students to lean into the present, as represented by the Sovereignty section, and not worry TOO much about their futures. Instead, I hope y'all ask yourselves: Am I making the most of my current college experiences? Are my classes engaging and helping me grow? Am I making friends who accept me for my authentic self? Am I fully taking advantage of my fabulous Hillel building, complete with staff, snacks, and resources that help me celebrate my Judaism in a warm, loving, space? :-)
And finally, the shofar blasts may resonate most strongly with our donors, our ministering angels who respond to the calls for support, and ensure that our future is secure, and full of opportunities for our blossoming emerging adults. They hold the vision for what could be, and help us build a better world.
As the New Year 5784 begins, I bless that we all see and be shown what we need to reflect upon in our magic mirrors…
