Matt Rosing

And now we come to Elul, the final month for self-reflection and introspection before we once again encounter the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, our Yamim Nora’im, Days of Awe.

A few days ago a friend and neighbor of mine in Mississippi asked me: what is the significance of Rosh Hashanah? (I had just mentioned it in relation to another upcoming event on our calendars.) I found myself explaining not only the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah means “head of the year,” though it is one of no less than four “new year” observances in the Jewish calendar!) but also its place in the whole progression from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur, and beyond. I described the opportunity, offered to us explicitly at this season: for t’shuvah; atonement; forgiveness; for refreshing our priorities and values; for repairing our relationships with one another, with the world we share, and with God.

“That sounds so lovely,” my friend replied.

It surprised me, at first. This season does have the advantage of bringing us face to face with what and who is most important in our lives. But it’s pretty heavy stuff. No latkes and hamantaschen, no pretty outdoor huts or four questions (with the attendant four glasses of wine). This is not a season for merrymaking, like so many others in the Jewish calendar. Rosh Hashanah, and Elul preceding it, and the Days of Awe following it, require hard, sometimes painful work in exchange for the big spiritual payoff. This part of Jewish tradition can be a hard sell, even (perhaps especially?) with the Jews. It is not always fun. But it is lovely.

The month of Elul begins this year on August 6th at sundown. A midrash (a rabbinic tale) identifies it as an acronym for ani ledodi vedodi li—“I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine”—from Song of Songs 6:3. The first letter of each word—aleph, lamed, vav, lamed—taken together spell “Elul”. The midrash reads the phrase as an exchange between God and Israel. True and lasting love requires tending. It requires sometimes arduous work. But how much lighter the burden of the work when it is for the sake of a beloved, with the knowledge that we are likewise loved?

Why do we work so hard to become our best selves at this time of year? Is it because God (or friends, or parents, or qi, or the forces for good in the universe, or whatever you call that which inspires you to be your best), despises our imperfect selves? Must we better ourselves to earn back the love of our beloved? Ani ledodi vedodi li: Elul comes to remind us that it is precisely because we are loved, no matter what, that God (or whomever else loves us) wants us to shine as brightly as we can.

And Elul comes to remind us that we are not expected to complete this daunting task all at once, in a day, or even in ten days—but over the course of a month and ten days, one tiny step at a time. Forty days to make ourselves over in the image (or eyes) of our beloved.

Lovely, no?

To help in this project, I will offer, as I did before Passover, a tikkun of texts for daily study and reflection. I will send it out to the congregation by email on August 5th, the 29th of Av, and it will also be available on the Temple website.

Meanwhile, try out this text: Ani ledodi vedodi li; “I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine.” Is this statement true for you? If not, why? What does it mean in your life? Can “beloved” refer to something other than a human being? What can we change, in our thoughts or our actions, to make the text true, or more true, for ourselves? .

What a send-off you gave me for the summer! From a Shabbat evening with our seniors (otherwise known as Learned And Wise, or “LAW”!) to a Shabbat morning celebration including dancing with both of our Torahs as we officially welcomed and dedicated our Canadian Scroll (with thanks again to Karen Schwartz and her family), to a Shabbat afternoon hang-out and Havdallah with our teens—learning their interests, summer plans, and wish lists for a temple youth program—to dessert with the first of what our president Rick Grabish and I hope will be many havurot (small gatherings of members based on shared interests or social connections) meant to enrich and strengthen our relationships with one another, eventually encompassing our entire membership—and finally concluding with a Sunday morning chat under the blue sky, green leaves and fresh breezes at City Park; it was a beautiful, joyful, meaningful way to mark the end of a very busy year.

You have entrusted me, in short order, with so much of yourselves: your hospitality, your Jewish passion and curiosity, your personal stories, trials, and dreams. For that I thank you deeply, and I pray that our association may grow and continue. Alec, with the help of many of you, continues his search for an appropriate position in the Northern Colorado/Southeastern Wyoming area, and you will be among the first to know when he finds something to enable our family to move to your neighborhood. In the meantime, we continue to feel blessed by your support, generosity, and welcoming embrace. Thank you!

My next visit will be for Rosh Hashanah, the beginning of the Days of Awe, but there is much preparation to be made, much to contemplate and observe in the meantime, and I hope we will be able to engage in some of that together in spite of the physical distance between us.

Tuesday, July 16th, marks Tisha B’Av this year, the Ninth of Av, the date on the Hebrew calendar that marks the destruction of both the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem (in 586 B.C.E. and 70 C.E., respectively), and many other calamities since then. Unbeknownst to many liberal Jews, it is a traditional day of fasting and mourning, but in addition it marks the end of a three-week stretch in which we mark other catastrophic moments in Jewish history, and the beginning of a seven-week period, called the Shabbatot (Sabbaths) of Consolation, that brings us to the eve of Rosh Hashanah. It represents a turning point, from the depths of despair to the rekindling of hope.

I’ve always loved the way in which the cycles of nature and even our American culture match up with this part of the Hebrew calendar. Summertime—whether due to the heat, school vacations, or the sudden deluge of blockbuster films—always seems like a time of spiritual, intellectual, and sometimes physical dissipation. For better or worse, we move more slowly, more leisurely. If we’re lucky, we vacation. We lose some of our discipline, and certainly many of us lose much of our routine. In the West, fires rage. Along the coasts, hurricanes begin brewing. Crime rates go up. Daylight lasts longer, we stay out later. Daily things loom large: we become preoccupied with entertainments and sensations, with the latest curiosity or catastrophe to visit our corner of the world. We lose perspective.

Later, as temperatures fall, as days grow shorter, as end of summer approaches and our minds return to matters at school or work, we endeavor to regain our strength and our focus. If we plan it right, the break from our usual priorities refreshes, and we come back at life’s challenges with renewed vigor. But sometimes it disorients or depletes us. We speak of the need for “a vacation to recover from our vacation.”

This seven-week period beginning mid-month is Judaism’s way of helping us avoid the latter fate. It is an open invitation to start grappling with life’s Big Questions, well in advance of the spiritual marathon that begins on the first of the month of Tishrei and culminates at nightfall on Yom Kippur. But before that, before we begin the really heavy lifting—what have we lost? what goals have we neglected? where have we failed our own potential?—there is consolation.

“Comfort, O comfort My people!” cries the prophet Isaiah. We are human. We are not machines. We cannot expect top performance or discipline at all times, even given a regular break for Shabbat. Perhaps a little summer wreckage is to be expected. Perhaps it is the only way to properly appreciate, by contrast, the spiritual peaks we will scale later. Just when things threaten to fall apart, Judaism gives us hope that we can change. Once more I marvel at the wisdom of our tradition.

What is holiness?

It’s a slippery quality to define.

In the Torah we first hear of holiness in chapter two of Genesis, when God declares the seventh day, the Sabbath day, kadosh, holy. A special time. A time apart from other days. A time to do things differently.

From there it’s applied to many other things: to the whole and various parts of the Children of Israel; to the altar built in the wilderness, the sacrifices offered upon the altar and the many tools, furnishings and vessels associated with it; the priests and their garments; other special days; and so on.

But what does “holy” mean?

At its most basic, it means better or higher than ordinary, extraordinary. For those of us who are on speaking terms with God, to be holy means to draw near to God, to walk in God’s ways.

But even for those of us who struggle with God language or whose theology (or atheology) simply doesn’t allow for this sort of a relationship with God, we can relate to the idea of something special, different, elevated, sacred; worthy of veneration. Holy.

The dedication of a new Torah scroll ranks among the holiest moments in the life of a Jewish congregation. Why? First, taking a new scroll into our arms, into our ark, we recall Sinai, the original matan Torah, the giving of the Torah, that mythical moment (according to tradition, we all were there) when we became a people, a community of faith, committed to God’s covenant. Second, there is no object more sacred in Jewish tradition than a Torah scroll. We treat the physical artifact with reverence, almost as a living being: dressing it elaborately; rising in its presence; reading from it with ceremony; even, at times, kissing, hugging, or dancing with it.

But perhaps most importantly, we encounter holiness when we dedicate a new scroll because the Torah itself tells us how and what it means to be holy.

Along the way to telling the story of the origins of Judaism and the Jewish people, the Torah also records our earliest brushes with holiness: in both time and space; in our relationships, whether with human beings, other critters, the natural world, God, or our own being; in our behavior at work and at play, at home and abroad.

The Torah gives us lots of specific rules and examples: honor your parents; take care of your body; keep fair weights and measures and pay your workers on time; welcome the stranger, feed the hungry, clothe the naked. This is what God wants. This is what it means to be holy. Taken together, though, the message is clearly larger than the sum of these discrete parts. Torah teaches us that it is possible to find holiness not only on Sabbaths and feast days, in worship or ceremony, but in every moment, in everything we do.

Given that we are imperfect human beings, few if any of us will ever achieve this ideal. Most of us, from time to time, get distracted, discouraged, defensive, or just plain bored. We have our abject moments, when we succumb to the pain and chaos of the world, and question life’s meaning. Even then, the Torah reminds any who will listen: the potential for holiness is everywhere, and always.

Even in Auschwitz, stories survive of men and women finding ways to lift one another’s spirits, to transcend their surroundings, to achieve holiness. Should it surprise us, then, to find the same in Oklahoma and Boston; after hurricanes, earthquakes, and mass shootings; in execution chambers and in war; not to mention in supermarket queues and at stoplights? A seed of holiness lies at the heart of every single moment of our lives, whether terrible, wonderful or mundane. We are God’s catalysts. We must choose to plant and nurture those seeds. The Torah—and life—teaches us this.

The dedication of our congregation’s second Torah scroll, this special and joyous moment, reminds us of our talent and obligation—not only at such peak occasions, but with every heartbeat and in every season of our lives, from Shabbat to Shabbat, from one trash collection day to the next, from family to strangers, and everyone, everything, every time in between—to seek and do holiness. To be holy.

Front page layout

The overall structure of the website starts with the banner on top. This top bar is only on the front page. Below that is the main menu. There’s a Home menu with the usual stuff. Next to that is About Us, Worship, Learning, and Community. Those are the main menus and what we’re about. Speaking of which, don’t forget to check out the cookbook under Community. There is also the Calendar and Contact Us menus. Below that is the main content that consists of the left, center, and right columns. This is mostly dynamic content that comes from all sorts of places. The left column has reminders (upcoming events and birthdays). The right column has Debra’s blog and content from the URJ. The center column has a welcome article on top,  and a set of announcements. On the bottom of the page are some miscellaneous buttons on the left and a News From Israel feed.

Top and Bottom banners

The top banner, only on the front page, includes a search bar, a link to rss feeds (announcements and Debra’s blog), and a link to our facebook page. The search bar is on the bottom of all but the home page. On the bottom are buttons to login, get directions, and donate. On the donate page you can pay your dues or make a contribution to one of several categories. Payment is made through PayPal. You do not need a paypal account to use it.

Calendar

Calendar events are displayed in two places. The first is a list of upcoming events and is shown on the left side of the front page. If you click on the title you’ll go to a page with all of the details for that event. The second display is on the calendar page and you can get there by clicking on the calendar menu item. You can get a day, week, or month view by clicking on the appropriate button on the top right.

The default set of events displayed are Or Hadash events and Jewish Holidays. You can also list days by their jewish calendar dates and also list US holidays. To change this click on the little triangle right above the month name. This will bring down a list of check boxes.

The Or Hadash events are in an ical format at:

https://www.google.com/calendar/ical/tohadmin%40templeorhadash.org/public/basic.ics

or in xml format using

https://www.google.com/calendar/feeds/tohadmin%40templeorhadash.org/public/basic

Announcements

Announcements are shown in the center below the menu bar and below the welcome box. Please note that what is shown may not be the entire announcement. To see more click on the title. That will bring you to a page with the entire announcement.

Newsletters

Newsletters are found under About Us->Newsletters. You need to download the file and open it on your computer.

Member Files

Member files including the membership directory can only be see if you login. After you login the Home menu includes an item called Member Files. Click on that and you’ll go to a page where you can download the files of interest.

Login/Logout

To login or logout go to the login page (Home->Login) . If you want to login you should see a form to fill out with your login name and password. Fill it out and click on Login. To logout, click the logout button. If you don’t know your login or password please contact the webmaster. Once you are logged in your login name will be displayed above the search bar (on top of the front page or bottom of all other pages).

Changing your Password

You can either tell the webmaster what you want it to be or you can change it yourself from the website. To change it first log in as described above. That will put you back on the home page but you’ll see that there’s a “Welcome Your Name” just  below the logo. Now, if you click on Home->Login->User Profile (User Profile is a submenu of Login that you can’t see unless you login) you’ll go to a page that has a list of things like your name, login name and a bunch of things that don’t matter. Just below all of that is a Edit Profile button. Click that. You’ll end up on a page where you can change all sorts of things. When you’re done click Submit or else it will all be forgotten.

Editing a page

If you own a page or article you can edit it. You must be logged in to edit it. Get to the page you want to edit. You’ll see a vertical, greyed bar to the left of the content you can edit. In that should be an icon that is supposed to look like a pencil on a piece of paper. If you put the cursor over that icon you’ll see some faint text that says you can edit the article. If there is no icon then that means someone else is currently editing the same page and you’ll have to wait until they save their work or cancel out of it. If the icon is there then click on it. That will put you on a page with an editor of the article you want to edit. After you edit it DON’T FORGET to click on Save, or else all is lost. After you click on the save button you will be put back on the page with the original content. Reload the page to see your updates.

Caveat number 1: When you click on save, sometimes it will come back and either look like you’re still in the editor or back to where you were before you started editing. If that happens, click your browser’s reload button. It will ask you if you want to resubmit. Click yes. If it still comes back in the editor, but everything looks right, you can then click cancel.

Caveat number 2: The editor worlks on something called HTML. Sometimes it gets things messed up and the editor seems to do really stupid things. Usually I see this when editing lists. If you’re starting to get mad at the editor please just save your work and contact the webmaster. Usually it’s just a matter of cleaning up the HTML code. If you understand HTML then you can look at it by clicking on the show/hide button on the top right of the editor pane.

Submitting an Announcement

If you have the correct permissions you can create and edit announcements. Under the Home Menu is a submenu called Content Submission. Put the mouse on that and another submenu below that should show called Submit Announcement. Click on that. That brings you to an editor page. At the top is the title. This is the subject of the announcement. Dont’t worry about the alias field. The body of the message goes in the editor pane. If the announcement is longer than a couple of lines please use the “Read More” facility. What this does is split the announcement into a “teaser” part and the rest of the body. When someone sees the announcment on the front page they will only see the title and the teaser part. When they click on the title they will go to a page with the entire announcement. To use this first type in your entire announcement. Then place the cursor where you want the split to be between the teaser and the rest of the body. Below the editor page are a bunch of tabs. Click on the “Read More” tab. This will put a horizontal bar between the teaser and the body. You can erase the bar just like any other character. Put the cursor just past it and Delete.

Once you are done with this please edit, under the publishing section, the start and end dates for when the announcement should be displayed. It’s easier if you click on the little calendar icon to the right of the field. If you leave the start publishing field blank it will start publishing immediately. If you leave the finish publishing date blank it will never end publishing. Please don’t do the latter. The defaults for everything else should be fine.

Once you’re done with all of this don’t forget to click on Save. If the resulting window comes back to the same editor, use your browsers reload button to resubmit the page.

There is support for submitting three types of content:

• Announcements
• Newsletters
• Rabbi’s blog

For each type you need certain permissions. To submit an announcement you need Author permission.