In one of my favorite cartoons a speaker at the front of a crowded room asks, “Who wants change?” Every hand in the audience shoots up. In the next frame the speaker asks, “Who wants to change?” All the hands go down and everyone in the audience sheepishly looks down at their feet. In the third frame the speaker asks, “Who wants to lead the change?” The audience has left the room. Change is hard and we have certainly had no shortage of change in our lives in the last 6 months. Whether the change is something that we want like a job promotion or a new house, or something which we don’t want like not being able to go out to our favorite restaurant with friends or having our children home with us 7 days a week, adjusting to change is challenging. When change is abrupt and alters our lives in fundamental ways, as we have experienced with this pandemic, it is exhausting at best and devastating at worst.
But even when the change is something we are happy about, something that we want, there is always some loss. All change, good or bad, includes giving up something. Getting a new job might be a big improvement in a lot of ways, but there certainly would be some things about the old job that you would miss. Maybe it would be some of the people you worked with or the place you had lunch at around the corner. Change always comes with loss, and it is very important to recognize that loss and mourn it. We live in a society which tends to skip that part of adjusting to change, which is not healthy or productive. It is only after we deal with the loss that we can start to move forward into the new reality.
The new reality might be something we are forced to cope with, like Covid-19, or it might be something wonderful that we are very excited about. At those times change is very energizing and brings on great creativity. It opens us up to new possibilities. I would definitely say that my arrival as the rabbi at Hebrew Tabernacle goes in this category. This has been a very exciting time as there is so much energy in the congregation, creativity and an openness to new possibilities and a bright future. Meeting so many of you has only added to the excitement (even if it is on Zoom and not in person yet) and I look forward to meeting anyone whom I have not met yet. It is clear how deeply all of you care about the congregation and its future.
Things will change, they will be different in certain ways. They have to be. I am a different rabbi and we are living, like it or not, in a very different world right now. Sometimes there will be changes at the congregation that will be hard. There will be losses for people as we try new things. What I ask of all of you is the following:
- It’s okay to feel a loss and to say so. Please let me know if you are feeling sad about something that has changed. All feelings are legitimate.
- Try to keep an open mind and try new things. We all connect to Judaism in different ways. What might not be appealing to you, might be appealing to someone else. Or try it, you might be surprised.
- We are going to use the mindset of “experimentation” for this whole year. All the new things we try are going to be experiments. They might work and they might not work. Nothing is written in stone (except the 10 Commandments!! – Couldn’t resist).
- Know that I always want to hear from you. No opinion or idea is unimportant. You can email me any time. If someone doesn’t use email, you may call the HT office (212 568-8304) and leave a message for me to call you back.
Change is hard but it is also full of possibility….just like the new year. At this time of year, Jews do t’shuvah which can be translated as repentance or turning, but it can also be translated as change. On Rosh Hashanah, the new year, t’shuvah is about taking time to examine our lives, reflect on who we are and who we want to be. It is taking time to look back on the past year (and it has been quite a year), mourn the losses, reflect on what we have learned and to think about all the wonderful possibilities in the year ahead. I hope we will do this together, as I am so honored to be your rabbi and to explore the possibility and future of Hebrew Tabernacle Congregation with all of you in this new year. Shanah Tovah!
Hebrew School 
