Rabbi Cooper's Letters

September 9, 2020 /20 Elul 5780

Dear Friends,

What makes a place holy?

When one visits Israel and tours the area of the Kotel / Western Wall, the guide will invariably identify the place in the Rabbinic Tunnels as they are called, which is closest to the location of the Holy of Holies, the inner most sanctum of what was the ancient Temple.  There, the High Priest would enter and receive expiation for himself, his family, and for the Jewish People.  This is considered by many as the holiest place in the world for Jews. But what was it that made that place so holy?

Holiness is not created by using materials qualitatively different from other materials.  Holiness is not built into a building.  Rather, holiness is created by what occurs in that space.  Holiness comes from us. Through our actions, it is our responsibility to bring holiness into this world.

The “Kotel” is holy because, for thousands of years, since the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, Jews from all over the world, in every age, have prayed toward that spot, and visited that spot first when arriving in Israel.   The Kotel, over time, has become a symbol for all of Jerusalem, the only remaining vestige of the Second Temple.  That small area has seen all of Jewish History pass by, not to mention Christian and Moslem history as well. All that has happened there has brought holiness to the Kotel.  

As we prepare for the High Holidays, we know things will be quite different from the Holidays we have celebrated  in the past.  Among the most striking change is that our service will be broadcasted from the Sanctuary via Zoom.  And, among our challenges will be to work together to bring holiness to our services and to your homes. 

Creating Holy and Sacred Space

It is certainly the case that one can pray wherever one is located.  Yet, choosing the right space is indispensable. When we choose the right space, we can transform and elevate that place from ordinary to special, from mundane to holy.  Choose a place in which you would like to create your sacred space for our services. These suggestions may help to facilitate that transformation:

1. A Place to Sit:  Choose a place where you can arrange for everyone to sit.  Bring the correct number of chairs to your space and make the space (preserving social distancing, when needed) as comfortable as you can.  Choose, as well, a place which you and your family can transform into an appropriate place for you to recite the prayers.
2. Use a Machzor/High Holiday Prayer Book:  Whether you think you know all the prayers by heart, or, as a non-Hebrew speaker, you are convinced that you won’t be able to follow our services, use a book.  Our machzor contains elegant translations, numerous passages which are transliterated and, in the margins of nearly every page, interpretive passages, explanation and inspirational words.  You can borrow or purchase a machzor from the synagogue if you do not have your own.  (Please let our office know if you are coming by, and how many you would like to borrow.  We can then have them ready  for you when you arrive).  
3. Dress in a way appropriate for the Holidays:  What you wear should not be chosen to impress others or to meet the requirements of a dress code.  What you choose to wear reflects how you feel about the service and the prayers. For parents, your children will respond differently to you and to our services if they know you are taking the service seriously.  One way to demonstrate that is to dress in a way that is appropriate for a sacred space.
4. Participate:  Although all microphones will be muted, sing with us, read with us, and follow along for the entire, or majority, of the service. To encourage you to join in, we have reduced the length of services significantly.  We abbreviate because we know that it is difficult to sit and watch a computer screen for long stretches of time.  We also want to make our request to stay with us more manageable for you.  We expect to begin our Rosh HaShanah services at 8:15 am and conclude by 11:00am. 

This year, the High Holidays present us with a variety of new situations, challenges, and opportunities.  The Cantor and I have planned our services to utilize the best aspects of new technology.  As always, our hope is that you will appreciate our services and feel inspired, uplifted, and motivated to respond.  But, unlike years gone by, we will need to become each other’s partners in creating the proper environment for our prayers to reach, not just your home but your hearts.  With your help, we can and will create a beautiful and unique service. 

As I see it, for services to be meaningful requires more than holy words and time-honored tunes.  High Holiday services must be held in a holy place.  It will be your job to designate that space and orchestrate that participation.  It will be each family’s mission to create the necessary, sacred space.  Ultimately, what we do in that sacred space, how we act, sing and/or pray, brings holiness to our homes and to our lives.

May this be a year of health, healing and holiness for us, for the Jewish People and for the entire world.

I look forward to seeing you over the Holidays:  L’Shana Tova!

Rabbi Neil Cooper

PS Reminder:  Please remember to create your short 1- 2 minute videos for us to intersperse into the service so that you will see and hear them on the TV monitors. Create that video on a topic of your choosing: 

What have you learned from COVID / What have you been able to do that has made a difference?              Share your thoughts on a prayer or on a topical issue relating to Jews and/or Israel.

Also, let us know if you would like to read, from the comfort of your home, a part of the service/English reading during the holidays.