February 2025 - Light and Hope

These are challenging times. Some of the hostages have been released and we are grateful, but we’re not done yet, as I have been saying. We pray for the rest to come home and we will keep our empty chair, with a tallit and a prayer on it on the bima, until all are home, safe and sound. 

We have talked before about Israel’s national anthem, Hatikvah, The Hope, and we sing it even more fervently now. Our friend artist and liturgist Joanne Fink (a presenter awhile back on one of our Third Friday Zoom Kabbalat Shabbat services) shares her inspiration: “Hope is the candle that continues to burn even when we are lost in the dark.” 

She is drawn to the concept of light and envisions hope as an enduring flame that reminds us of the possibility of a better tomorrow. How do you define hope?  What tools do you use to keep hope in your heart? The late Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks suggests that through life’s ups and downs, our strength lies in coming together, in acts of generosity, and I would add prayer.

Last week our Torah reading included the Ten Commandments. This week we continue with ritual and social rules. We experience the light and hope that the study of Torah gives us. To that end, this Friday’s Zoom service will  feature our good friend and returning guest Cantor Anna Ott, who will offer a Sermon in Song on “Doing the Right Thing.” Be sure to Zoom in this Friday, February 21, at 7pm to learn and sing! 

 B’shalom,

Cantor Rena