Sha'ar Hashamayim
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שער השמים Sha’ar HaShamayim A Machzor for the Days of Awe שחרית לראש השנה Rosh Hashanah Morning Service DEDICATED BY The Kurtin-Steinberg Family Eve, Michael, Beth, Sam, Lev, Drew, Jesse, Liam, and Micah The Fink Family Cathy, Steve, Jeremy, Marni, Fredi, Alex, Viktor, and Shepard שער השמים A Machzor for the Days of Awe 63 SHOFAR SERVICE In Loving Memory of an Incredible ָ נֽ א כֹ ִ י֖ ְ י ָי ֶה-ֱא ֑ 1י רֶ֧שֲׁא 1יִ֛תאֵצוֹה ץֶרֶ֥אֵמ םִיַ֖רְצִמ Husband, Father, and Papa — בִּ מ ֵ תי֣ דָבֲﬠ ִ ׃םיֽ Arnold (“Arne”) J. Schwartz His memory is an amazing Blessing ֽלֹא־ ִי ְה ֶי֥ה־ ְל 1֛ ֱא- ִ ֥הים ֲא ֵחִ ֖רים Dedicated by the Schwartz ַ ﬠ פּ־ל ָ ָ ֽ נ י ׃ “I the ETERNAL am your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, the and Sigal Families house of bondage: you shall have no other gods besides Me.” (Exodus 20:2–3) TORAH SERVICE Our teacher, Rabbi Lawrence Kushner, says that these two verses—the first Dedicated by Deena, Ed, Allison, two of the Ten Commandments—could be restated more simply and more succinctly as “I’m God. You’re not!” and Andrew Nahmias On Rosh Hashanah, we sound the shofar and we symbolically celebrate God’s coronation as Sovereign of the Universe. We remind ourselves that God is God TORAH READING FOR DAY ONE and we are not. In loving memory of Ruth M. Orbuch, It’s a message of ultimate importance—for too often we imagine ourselves as by The Orbuch Family real machers, real big-shots, Masters of the Universe. And this way of thinking is a type of idolatry that gets us into all sorts of trouble. So many of our many HAFTARAH READING FOR DAY ONE failings begin with our forgetting our place. So as each New Year begins, we remind ourselves once again that God is the ultimate macher: the Maker of In loving memory of Avi Efraim Gesundheit, Heaven and Earth. by Susie and Jaime Gesundheit God is God, and we are but flesh and blood. Frail and flawed and finite. Not such machers at all. Mere mortals who are desperately in need of tikkun— TORAH READING FOR DAY TWO repair. Desperately in need of meaning and direction. In loving memory of Hermene Zweiback God is God and we are not, but this doesn’t mean that we have no value. Our by Jacqueline Hantgan, tradition elevates us by imagining that our highest purpose on this earth is Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback, to be God’s humble servants. In this New Year, let us embrace our sacred obligation to serve God well by dedicating ourselves to making God’s world and Isa, Ariela, and Naomi Zweiback kinder, more loving, more just. We’re not God, but we can be God’s partners in making a better world. HAFTARAH READING FOR DAY TWO Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback In loving memory of Sam Woznica and Gunter Markus by The Woznica Family שער השמים A Machzor for the Days of Awe 63 ָ נֽ א כֹ ִ י֖ ְ י ָי ֶה-ֱא ֑ 1י רֶ֧שֲׁא 1יִ֛תאֵצוֹה ץֶרֶ֥אֵמ םִיַ֖רְצִמ בִּ מ ֵ תי֣ דָבֲﬠ ִ ׃םיֽ ֽלֹא־ ִי ְה ֶי֥ה־ ְל 1֛ ֱא- ִ ֥הים ֲא ֵחִ ֖רים ַ ﬠ פּ־ל ָ ָ ֽ נ י ׃ “I the ETERNAL am your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, the house of bondage: you shall have no other gods besides Me.” (Exodus 20:2–3) Our teacher, Rabbi Lawrence Kushner, says that these two verses—the first two of the Ten Commandments—could be restated more simply and more succinctly as “I’m God. You’re not!” On Rosh Hashanah, we sound the shofar and we symbolically celebrate God’s coronation as Sovereign of the Universe. We remind ourselves that God is God and we are not. It’s a message of ultimate importance—for too often we imagine ourselves as real machers, real big-shots, Masters of the Universe. And this way of thinking is a type of idolatry that gets us into all sorts of trouble. So many of our many failings begin with our forgetting our place. So as each New Year begins, we remind ourselves once again that God is the ultimate macher: the Maker of Heaven and Earth. God is God, and we are but flesh and blood. Frail and flawed and finite. Not such machers at all. Mere mortals who are desperately in need of tikkun— repair. Desperately in need of meaning and direction. God is God and we are not, but this doesn’t mean that we have no value. Our tradition elevates us by imagining that our highest purpose on this earth is to be God’s humble servants. In this New Year, let us embrace our sacred obligation to serve God well by dedicating ourselves to making God’s world kinder, more loving, more just. We’re not God, but we can be God’s partners in making a better world. Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback 64 שחרית לראש השנה Rosh Hashanah Morning Service BLESSING FOR WEARING THE TALLIT ָבַּרוּ אָתְּה יָי, ,Baruch Atah Adonai ֱא ֵֽה ֶֽינוּ מֶלָ הָעוֹלם, ,Eloheinu Melech Ha’olam ֲאֶשִׁר קְדּ ָֽשְׁנוּ בִּמְצªָתיו, asher kidshanu b’mitzvotav ְוִצָֽוְּנוּ לִהְתַﬠֵטַּף בִּצּיִצית. .v’tzivanu l’hitateif batzitzit Blessed are You God, Sovereign of the Universe, who makes us holy through Your commandments and commands us to wrap ourselves in the fringes of our prayer shawls. ַמֹה טּבוּ MAH TOVU As we enter our sacred spaces, we ַמה־ ֹֽטֹּבוּ אָה ֶֽלַי, יֲﬠֹקב, ,Mah-tovu ohalecha, Ya’akov recite the words of Mah Tovu. For the ִמְשְׁכֹּנ ֶֽתִי, יְשָׂרֵאל. !mishk’notecha, Yisrael Rabbis, the “tents” and “dwelling ַוֲאִנְי בּרַֹב חְסְדָּ אֵבוֹא ב ֶֽית, ,Va’ani b’rov chasd’cha avo veitecha places” of this prayer represent our houses ֶאְשַׁתֲּחֶוֶה אֵל־הַיכָל־קְדְשׁ eshtachaveh el-heichal-kodsh’cha of worship. These words of praise from ְבִּיְרָא ֶֽתְ. יָיָ, א ַֽהְבִתְּי מעוֹן b’yir’atecha. Adonai, ahavti m’on the Torah (Numbers were uttered (24:5 ֵבּ ֶֽיתְ, וּמִקוֹם מְשַׁכְּן כּ ֶֽבוֹד. .beitecha, u’m’kom mishkan k’vodecha by a non-Israelite prophet named ַוֲאִנֶי אְשַׁתֲּחֶוְה וֶאְכָֽרָﬠה, ,Va’ani eshtachaveh v’echra’ah Balaam who was asked by Balak, a ֶאְבְרָכִה לְפֵני־ְיָיֹעִשׂיַ. וֲאִני ev’r’chah lifnei-Adonai osi. Va’ani Moabite king, to .curse our ancestors ְתִפָלִּתְי־לְ, יָיֵ, ﬠָת רצוֹן. .t’fi lati l’cha, Adonai, eit ratzon Balaam told the king that he could only say ֱאִהְים בָּרבַ־חְסֶֽדּ, ,Elohim b’rov-chasdecha the words that God .placed in his mouth ֲﬠֵֽנִנֶי בֱּאֶמִת יְשׁ ֶֽﬠ. .aneini be’emet yish’echa Instead of curses came forth blessings, How goodly are your tents, O Jacob, and to this day, we Your dwelling places, Israel! quote Balaam at In Your lovingkindness God, let me enter Your house, the beginning of our Reverently to worship in Your holy Temple. worship to remind ourselves to keep God, I love Your house, the place where Your glory dwells. our hearts open, I will humble myself before You, my Maker especially in prayer. May I be a prayer to you, O Eternal, at this fi tting time. (Continued on next page) In your abundant kindness, answer me in Your salvation. (Numbers 24:5; Psalms 5:8, 26:8, 95:6, 69:14) שער השמים A Machzor for the Days of Awe 65 It is not only in the synagogue that we should “know before whom we stand.” How might we, in We face the Eternal every moment we love; we stand before God in every our day to day lives, action we take. transform curses into blessings? How might The presence of God fills the whole world. God’s glory is everlasting; there is no we, instead of hating place in the heavens or the earth that is not holy. the other, find cause for admiration? We There is no moment in time that is not sacred, no aspect of existence that does may not enter the not bear the seal of godliness. house of worship fully ready to pray, but If we but open our eyes we would recognize, as did Jacob, that the gateway to by lifting our voices heaven is wherever we stand. together, by searching for the good in one It is to open our eyes to the holiness everywhere about us and the godliness another and in our within us that we gather in this house of prayer. tradition, we hope to find cause for praise Here we renew those bonds that link us to our People and our faith. and thanksgiving so that we might, with Here we seek to glimpse the total dimension of human life, to sense the full hearts, cry out: drama that is Judaism and the role of prophets, poets, and sages in fashioning “How good is this that drama. place! How wondrous is this moment!” Here we dedicate ourselves to the sacred task of embodying more fully those EL and YZ values that exalt life. Out of the fullness of our hearts, we give thanks for the privilege of sharing in this service. 66 שחרית לראש השנה Rosh Hashanah Morning Service Torah is a path that, having been chosen, seems to draw me further and further along, convinced that every twist and turn of the road brings me a little closer to God. LOST IN THE FOREST Rabbi Hayim of Tzanz (1793–1876) related this parable. A man was lost in a forest for several days. He tried and tried but could not find a way out.