Dear ,
The President and Board of Management, Rivki & I and our family and Ronny wish you and yours a Gmar Chatima Tova and well over the fast. It saddens me and us all that we won't be together tonight and tomorrow in our beloved Shule. But as I'm constantly telling myself, we have a choice how we respond to this very moment. We must choose to recognise and embrace our inner strength and potential, connect deeply with ourselves and our family, believe in the uniqueness and power of our own prayers, tap into the significance and opportunity of the day, and draw on the memory and energy of our loved ones who have passed on, to make this personal Yom Kippur as meaningful, spiritual and uplifting as possible. Please join us this evening for Kol Nidrei, 4:45pm on www.elwoodshule.org/zoom. as we sing some of the classics.
We switch off our devices and all distracting noise as we enter a period of quite and calm, beginning with Candle lighting and the onset of the fast at 5:53pm.
For Yom Kippur Machzor page numbers for tonight and tomorrow please see here. Set aside quiet time tonight and throughout tomorrow, to think about life, your journey, and to pray in Hebrew and English, traditional prayers or your own. Yizkor can and should be recited tomorrow at home, in a personal and meaningful way. In the spirit of togetherness, Melbourne Jewry will pause at 12pm to recite Yizkor. In addition to Yizkor being recited individually, I will be reciting the Memorial Prayer at 12pm, for the Elwood Shule community members who have passed on. You can download the Yizkor Prayer text, our Yizkor booklet of names and watch the video of last night's Yizkor reflection here. You can also find the Yizkor prayers and explanation - and other Yom Kippur Prayers and insights - on page 77 in the High Holyday Companion we sent out. If you don't have the hard copy, you can download it here.
Please download and print all resources before Yom Tov. The fast ends tomorrow at 6:50pm. Please join me just after 7pm for Havdalah, Shofar & L'Chaim on www.elwoodshule.org/zoom. Gmar Chatima Tova! Fast well and meaningfully. I'm with you, Rabbi Shmuel |