As I See It

It's spiritual preparation time as we enter the seemingly much too short last month before the High Holidays. Traditionally, there are two sets of actions for congregants to get them "in the mood," so to speak.

One action is to read the entire book of Psalms, beginning on August 11 this year. If you keep to that schedule (more or less), since there are 150 Psalms, you'll be able to read through the book of Psalms twice before Rosh Hashanah. When I have done this in the past, I have discovered that it is better to read Psalm 119 with its 176 verses by itself, and on some of the other days to read more of the short Psalms than the assigned ten. The amazing thing I've found about the Psalms is that every single emotion a person could possibly have is located somewhere within the book. I've found it to be a very centering experience, during those years when I was able to indulge myself.

The other action is to work on figuring out from whom you might request forgiveness and for what. (The days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are for going around and asking everyone you know to forgive you for the things you did that you haven't got a clue about.) This work helps prepare you for the High Holidays by placing you firmly on the path to Teshuvah (repentance). There are stages to repentance--first to admit to yourself that you messed up in a specific matter, second to acknowledge to the other person involved what you did and to apologize (Maimonides from the 1400s was big on witnessed apologies, I think there are too many reality shows for public apologies to be as meaningful today), asking for their forgiveness. Please note that they are not required to forgive you, and that you do not need to try more than three times. The third stage is fixing what you did. This means there are some actions (like gossip) for which complete repentance is not possible, although you can continue to work on the fourth stage even if accomplishing the other stages is impossible. The fourth stage is avoiding a repetition of the action. Once you have gotten to the fourth stage, you remain there forever.

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ABSOLUTELY FINAL REMINDER!

POETRY! ADULT EDUCATION! SHOFAR BLOWERS!

HIGH HOLIDAY PACKETS!

ALL ARE DUE THIS MONTH!

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Jewish Family Services with offices in Fresno has oversight of this area, and has been involved in helping out some of our congregants. At some point in the near future, there will be an opportunity for congregants to hear what the Director, Mary Schiling, has to say.

Rabbi Larry's New Office Hours

Based on the drop-in record, increased regular appointments, visiting requirements and other community events, I am reducing my drop-in hours to Thursday morning only.