By Maurice Krystal
Monday, September 21 I knew today would be a slower pace after two days of celebrating Rosh Hashanah and visiting people and worrying about keeping the proper social distancing. For the first time in my lifetime I spent the High Holidays at home; watching a computer screen. I didn’t think I would enjoy the services, but after a while I relaxed and got drawn in. It is true that a movie isn’t the same as a live performance in a theatre, but both have their strengths and weaknesses if you surrender to the space. I enjoyed it and was thankful that my community cared enough to protect our health. I woke up this morning at 5:00 am, which has been typical the last four or five months. My sleep pattern has changed and my dreams are more disturbing. I have become a light sleeper. I am lucky to be able to look out my living room window and see Meadowbrook Golf Course. At 5:30 the dew covered grass sparkles in the first hint of light. I drink my coffee and watch our local groundhog digging in the sand trap for something. It may be the same one that devoured our kale. Sheila was upset and plugged all the holes that the animal burrowed through, but I don’t like kale and I can’t get mad at an animal that is trying to survive. I suspect in the early morning I am my most mellow. Live and let live. The birds are chirping and a cloud of white seagulls drift onto the fareway. Nature is intoxicating, but then I turn on the news and hear Donald Trump wants a quick replacement for Ruth Bader Ginsburg. I shouldn’t listen to the news!
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By Anonymous I would like to say that I have spiritual meaning to all the things I have experienced through this pandemic. But that would be a lie. I have tried to keep it all in perspective, and have definitely been able to that, most of the time. However, there have been times, many, over the last 7 months, that I have completely lost all faith in the system, in humanity, in everything. I suppose if I had been at work all this time, and keep my mind occupied with that, I wouldn’t have felt so overwhelmed by everything in the news; horrible displays of systemic racism, politicians who are liars and cheaters and full of themselves and full of s**t, social and medical systems that let “the people” down, and various other less potent issues. I’m not typically one to dwell on the negative, and every day I go for my quiet walk with my dog and find one thing that brings me joy. I try REALLY REALLY hard to focus on the positive, to find the perspective to acknowledge that I have it better than most. I have my health, I have my family, I have a home, I have food, I have heat, I have the community and I have my dog! Clearly I am of two minds – which is I guess how I keep on going. There’s all that negativity, and then there’s all that I’m grateful and thankful for. Hopefully one will calm the other and bring about some peace. By Ila Novak
I have been a member of Dorshei Emet for a couple of years now, but never realized that I was part of a community until this pandemic. I have gotten to know new people and to know better people I was already acquainted with. Between zoom services and lectures, Oria's dance parties, and the scrumptious Shabbat dinners delivered to me by volunteers from the shul, I never felt alone or isolated. Other institutions I belonged to closed suddenly and without warning and took either weeks or months to reach out to members. Dorshei did not miss a beat. The programs and services started right away. I will always be grateful for the connection and caring that I have experienced at Dorshei Emet in these difficult times. By Judy Berger From the very beginning of the pandemic, I thought the planet was taking a much needed pause. We all had to stop in our tracks and think about the direction we were travelling on. The skies began to clear and animals were populating places that were previously alien to them. I had hope that people and governments were going to try to save the planet by rethinking the way we live. Now I think that I was dreaming in Technicolor. Watching the covid numbers rise, I believe we are just interested in pursuing our own happiness. I feel sorrow for our future. By Kitty Hoffman As we rest in the 10 days of the Yamim Noraim, these words I wrote just after Pesach, as we were entering the time of pandemic, still resonate. The reality of impermanence, death, ancestral memory. And endurance. https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/we-were-made-for-this-time/ . By Irv Perlman Entering Rosh Hashanah, a time of hope, a time of renewal and a time of reflection. RBG has gone and today we strongly feel her presence. Her leaving has brought a new reality to this election. I am confident that this will help defeat Trump and likely take the Senate out of GOP hands. I do know that Republican, as Democrat, does not mean all in each party think the same. We have many similarities and I will as part of my return and renewal will not be drawn into hate. Disagreement on some or many things but not hate. Our services today were online. They were different than those in the past. I missed sense of being together and was grateful that we found a way to carry on. This morning when we opened our door we found a bag with two apples in it and a note wishing us a Happy New Year. It was from nod-in-the-hall neighbors. It felt amazing and gives me hope. The neighbors are not Jewish. The thought was wonderful and the action is a lesson to me on how we must face our common destiny. We are as alone as we make ourselves. A Happy New Year to all. Addendum: I went out of the apartments for the first time in over two weeks for a walk. Upon my return I noticed a small Mezuzah on this neighbors door. I was stunned and knocked on the door. A young woman came to the door. I told her who I was and thanked her for her thoughtful gesture. She explained that her mother was Jewish and she knew very little about Judaism. I wished her a Shana Tova Umetuka. She told me she remembered her mother saying that. I told her it was traditional to hear the shofar on RH. She told me she had never seen one. I went and got mine and sounded it for her. Lessons: Be more observant. Beware of fitting events into your wishes. People remain good. |
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