With the end of Simchat Torah earlier this week, we’ve come to the close of another High Holiday season. For some of us who work at synagogues, who are lay leaders in our communities, who are rabbis or congregants, this moment brings a sigh of relief. We’ve crossed the finish line of Judaism’s annual holiday marathon—we have completed our prayers asking to be inscribed in the Book of Life, and we have rolled the Torah scroll back to chapter one so we can begin again.
The High Holidays offer us a yearly opportunity to pause, take stock, and set forth anew on our path. This personal and communal time of introspection is capped with sermons from our rabbis—spiritual leaders who spend the days and weeks before Rosh Hoshanah and Yom Kippur at their desks and kitchen tables, gleaning wisdom from our tradition, composing words from the heart to guide us in the year ahead.
The Center for Small Town Jewish Life is blessed to have rabbis Erica Asch, David Freidenreich, and Rachel Isaacs as leaders within our organization. During Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, they each led services and gave sermons at Temple Beth El in Augusta, Adas Yoshuron in Rockland, and Beth Israel in Waterville, respectively.
Their sermons have been delivered and the book is closed, but we have the opportunity to revisit and share these sermons from the Days of Awe.
From the Center for Small Town Jewish Life, we wish you a 5783 full of learning, wisdom, and growth. We look forward to being in community with you during the year ahead.
You can read, reread, and share sermons from the three CSTJL rabbis here: