Of course, because of Covid, we could not get to Rosh Hashanah services today, but instead streamed them on our TV. You obviously miss something by not being present in the sanctuary, and you miss something not seeing so many old friends, and the clergy doesn’t know why you aren’t there (of course, they have other things to think about – and they don’t think about us individually – but they know that there could be more people there than there are and they wonder if it’s their fault, don’t you think?) But the TV streaming, if done well, is one great substitute. Especially when the services are so welcoming and telegenic, as those at Adas Israel here in Washington are.

But I feel bad that we weren’t there, and hope we will be able to be present on Yom Kippur.

I did think there were some special things about today’s service. I thought Cantor Brown’s voice and her management of the musical accompaniment, her supporting quartet and the youth choir, were just right. I thought all the Torah readers did a flawless job (and the Haftorah reader as well).

I thought Rabbi Alexander’s sermon about the significance and the contemporary relevance of the Book of Deuteronomy (based in part on the writing of Micah Goodman) was first class – speculation about whether the Book of Deuteronomy was “found” during the reign of King Josiah, or whether it was in fact “written” (as I have assumed) during Josiah’s reign, but also speculation as to whether it was a purposeful rewriting of the story of the Israelites/Jews in the other four books of the Torah to reflect then contemporary concerns and problems (thoughts new to me, and well worth thinking about).

And finally Rabbi Krinsky’s introductions to various portions of the service, as insightful and fresh as ever: first, her description of the Hineni service, where the Cantor proclaims his/her unworthiness for the task, as telling us that we are all unworthy for the tasks, that we do our best and that is okay, nothing more is required, and recognizing the truth of that is liberating; and second, her belief that the Unetaneh Tokef prayer (the prayer you all have heard, even if only via Leonard Cohen, that reflects that, over the coming year, God will decide who will live and who will die, etc., but which says that repentance, good deeds, etc. will avert the decree just is not realistic, and that we know that from experienc. But if you look at the roots of the Hebrew words, and you see that it really isn’t a question of averting a decree, but rather a question of getting help and support through problems that may lay ahead, it makes perfect sense. The problem is not in the prayer, but – she says – in the way it is traditionally interpreted.

This would have been my first Rosh Hashanah service after reaching the age of 80. For some I am reminded of my grandmother, my father’s mother, when she was probably 85 or so. Each year we would buy high holiday tickets for her at United Hebrew in St. Louis where we belonged (she herself was not then a member), but one year she told my mother not to get her a ticket. She was not going to go to High Holiday services this year. We couldn’t think of any reason why that would be, she wouldn’t give any, but she was adamant. So we didn’t buy her a ticket.

But on Rosh Hashanah morning, when we arrived at UH, there she was, sitting in her usual place. We were very surprised, and asked how she got a ticket, since you needed to be a member. She said (and I paraphrase): “Why should you pay for a ticket? I knew they wouldn’t refuse a woman in her 80s who wanted to get to Rosh Hashanah services.”

That year was a one-off. Future years, she let my parents get her a ticket.

L’shana tovah to all.