What Does This Moment Require of Us?

(excerpted from Rabbi Pollack’s Yom Kippur Morning Sermon)

When the winds blow hard against us from every side, the temptation can be to shrink, to over-edit our truths, or to let fear decide who we are allowed to be. But our tradition commands us not to disappear; it asks us to remain recognizable to ourselves, to stand with our people in shared struggle, and when the storm is fierce, to remain resilient like the reed. As we welcome the new year, let us take these commitments into our hearts—not as a burden, but as a roadmap for how to walk in the world as proud and committed Jews.

Here is our Roadmap for Living:

• Find Jewish Joy & Lean Into Jewish Living: Do not let our identity be defined only by what threatens us. Seek out the sweetness of our traditions, the warmth of our Shabbat table, the radiance of our Jewish culture. Lean deeply into Jewish living—not as a defensive shield, but as a source of energy and light.
• Practice Courage & Seek Wisdom: Let us strive to make the impossible possible. That requires courage, but courage cannot walk alone; it must be guided by wisdom. Wisdom is the quiet ability to distinguish what can be changed and how to do that. True wisdom is always inextricably linked to the bravery it takes to act.
• Show Up (We Need Each Other): There is a reason that Jewish prayer requires a minyan. We cannot do this alone. We are fundamentally interdependent beings. We need community, we need each other, and we need you. We read in Pirke Avot the words of Rabbi Tarfon: Lo alecha hamlacha ligmor, v’lo atah ben chorin l’hibateil mimena “It is not your duty to finish the work, but neither are you at liberty to neglect it” (Pirke Avot 2:16) Your presence is an essential thread in the fabric of our survival.
• Build Bridges Beyond Ourselves: Our responsibility does not end at our own doorways. We need deep connections with others beyond the Jewish community—quite practically, there are simply not enough of us to fight antisemitism alone. Communities matter. Let us work on strengthening connections with allies to build the shared world we all desperately need.
• Hold the Tension of Our Care: We live in the delicate balance between particularism and universalism. We are commanded to care for the stranger and to care for our own community. Holding both is our heritage. Remember this: every Jewish person has every right to object to antisemitism fiercely and clearly, without being forced to produce a footnote acknowledging every other form of hatred in the world first.
• Know Your History: Root yourself in where we come from so you can stand firmly where you are. We must carry the eternal truth of Hillel’s words: Im ein ani li mi “If I am not for myself, who will be for me?” Knowing our history is how we keep our voice from disappearing.
• Choose Faith & Hope: Hope is not passive optimism; it is a fierce spiritual discipline. Our ancestors possessed it under conditions far darker than our own. It is this stubborn, unyielding hope that has sustained our people for thousands of years.
• Choose Life, Choose Love: Chai bahem — we are commanded to live by our values, to choose life in its fullest expression, and to let love anchor our actions. Even when the winds blow from every direction, let life and love be the roots that hold us fast.

We cannot always control the storms around us, but we can control who we choose to be while they pass.

(In this new year of 5787), may we be blessed with the clear sight to see the goodness in our own people, the spacious hearts to build genuine bridges with our neighbors, and the unshakeable confidence to speak the truths we know to be right.

Never forget that you are inherently holy. Your dignity does not depend on the whims of the world or the approval of others. It was woven into your very being by the One who created you, and it remains yours, always.

May we walk into this new year together knowing exactly who we are.

L’shanah Tovah Tikatevu v’Tichateimu – May this be a year of goodness and blessing may we be inscribed for blessing in the Book of Life. Amen

L’shalom,

Rabbi Audrey S. Pollack

Filed under: Rabbi's Message

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