Rosh HaShannah 5770

This week we come together to celebrate both Rosh HaShannah and Shabbat as we fully immerse in the practice of Teshuvah – a process of returning and turning, of self-examination and re-connecting with our Divine center.

But, sometimes we might feel blocked and not know even where or how to start. Teshuvah can seem like just another meaningless word, one with no relevance to our own lives. When we see others immersed in communal prayer, dancing and singing, our own sense of inadequacy can be magnified and we might be tempted to give up.

Rebbe Nahman of Breslov has advice for us. He reminds us that we each have a place of divinity inside, what he calls the nekudah tovah, the point of essential goodness, our holy, never-besmirched soul-place. It is impossible, he continues, that we have not done at least one good thing this year and we must dig deeply to find and recognize it – the smile, the helping hand, the selfless act. The first point is always the hardest to find – trust that the next will flow more easily. For Rebbe Nahman, this acknowledgement cannot help but to bring us to the beginning of joy and, thus, to teshuvah, to a reconnection with our soul’s essence.

In community, we are able to help each other to find and see these places of wholeness. Together we raise up these points of goodness to create the niggun of our collective soul, the melody we will, with help of Heaven, sing and dance together during the coming Days of Awe.

I so look forward to sharing this time with you all.

With soul-blessing and heart-wisdom,
Rabbi Saraleya


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