Welcome, everyone, to our synagogue on this Rosh HashanahThe Jewish New Year, also considered the Day of Judgment. The period of the High Holidays is a time of introspection and atonement. The holiday is celebrated with the sounding of the shofar, lengthy prayers in synagogue, the eating of apples and honey, and round challah for a sweet and whole year. Tashlikh, casting bread on the water to symbolize the washing away of sins, also takes place on Rosh Hashana. eveEve, according to the book of Genesis, is Adam's wife, the first woman to be created..
Everyone is welcome and valued here tonight: Jews, people of other faiths, secular folks, intermarried families, straight, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning, single or partnered, students, seniors, as well as people who don’t like labels and categories.
As we greet the New Year together, we are all equally treasured by the Holy One. Each of us is a unique and beloved soul held in the weave of Life, touched by the Divine Mystery. Eternal One, help us make this sanctuary a place of love and mutual respect, of dignity and welcoming, of appreciation of everyone here exactly as they are.
I’d like to ask now if everyone would please take a moment to greet someone near you, to say Shanah Tovah – Happy New Year – and welcome one another.
Adapted from a prayer by Rabbi Mychal Copeland
