The Shabbat between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is called Shabbat Shuvah, or the Sabbath of Repentance and Return. The theme is obvious but this year the timing is significant. Ordinarily, we focus our thoughts only on a spiritual return to God and Torah. This year, residents in the Gulf Coast region are making a literal return to work and home.

            This past week during Rosh Hashanah, I heard that many of you were without electricity and other essential services for up to two weeks. I didn’t hear that anyone was still without, and I hope that is truly the case. But, the dislocation from the routine we have come to know has set us all back. Schools days need to be reclaimed. Work places are being repaired. I know that some work places were destroyed. Homes have power again, but yards are still full of debris and freezers are just being replenished. The real costs are extraordinary.

            Healing takes time. And, healing comes in many forms. Between the High Holydays, I urge you to take the time you need to examine yourself, personally. Ask yourself, “Do I feel secure in my house, again?” “Does a member of my family need help after the storm?” “Do I have questions about God’s presence in the storm and in the aftermath?” Take a moment to consider these questions and others. Perhaps you’ll discover that you’re making progress on your way to a full return to life as it should be. But, if you want to talk about possible answers to these questions or ways to feel more secure, let me make the following suggestions:

1) Come to Beth Israel and sit in the Wolff-Toomim Meditation Garden. It’s a quiet and peaceful place to read a book, or close your eyes, and calm yourself;

2) Come to the Gordon Chapel this Friday night at 5:30pm. I will be there to share conversation and prayers with you before we enter the sanctuary together for Shabbat services;

3) Call us at Beth Israel for a personal conversation with one of the rabbis or cantor. And, if not with us, then with Jewish Family Service.

            During worship services, after we return the Torah to the Ark, we recite, “Hashiveinu Adonai Eilekha, v’nashuva, chadeish yameinu k’kedem.” Help us to return to You, God, then truly shall we return; Renew our days as in the past. During the Ten Days of Repentance, between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, we strive to return to God through prayer, repentance and tzedakah. This year, we also strive to renew our days as in the recent past. Although the prayer alludes to a time of Eden, it may also help us focus on days before Ike. Like Eden, our days were quieter once, if only because they were familiar and routine. After Ike, someone said to me that she wished her days would be less interesting. As signs of Ike’s path through Houston are slowly cleaned up, let’s look for strength in God’s presence, in mitzvot, and in choosing our way again in the New Year.

            Then let’s wish that you and I may be sealed in the Book of Life for a good year, “G’mar Chatimah Tovah.”

            From my desk to yours, Shabbat Shalom.

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