For those who missed them, want to read them again, or are interested, here are my Yom Kippur sermons, delivered at Congregation Beth El in South Orange, NJ:
Kol Nidre: Liking and Sharing the Negative Moments in Our Lives
Yom Kippur: I Just Called to Say ‘I Love You’
Please feel free to share your feedback, thoughts, and comments.
Wishing you a happy and healthy new year!
-Rabbi Jesse M. Olitzky
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During these days of repentance between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, we spend extra time reflecting on ourselves. We insert additional words into our daily Amidah prayers, asking God to remember the good that we have done in our lives.
But we are supposed to do more than just recite additional words of liturgy. We are taught to spend these days saying sorry. We apologize to those that we have wronged – knowingly and unknowingly – through the past year. We reach out to family members, friends, co-workers, and classmates, and apologize if we have hurt them in anyway. Sometimes, it is easy to know when we have wronged another. Other times though, we hurt someone’s feelings without even realizing it. That is why we reach out to those that we care about to say we’re sorry, whether we know we have hurt them or not.
In that vein, I want to apologize to you if I have done anything during this past year to hurt you. If I did, I truly apologize.
We first ask for forgiveness from others, and then we ask for forgiveness from God. We repent during these days leading up to Yom Kippur so that we can beginning the most serious of days apologizing to God. We go into the day of fasting, a day filled with admitting our mistakes and transgressions, knowing that God will forgive us. We wear white on Yom Kippur because it is a symbol of a new beginning. We believe that we will be sealed for a new start and clean slate in the year to come.
Lastly, and most important, we need to forgive ourselves. We are our own biggest critics. We are often harder on ourselves than others are. We continue to feel the pain of our wrongdoings long after we have turned a new page. The most important step in this process of renewal is being able to forgive ourselves. Yes, we must admit our mistakes, but just as we did during the Tashlikh ritual, we must let go of what we’ve done in order to truly begin again. May we have the courage to ask ourselves for forgiveness and may we have the strength to finally forgive ourselves.
Wishing you a meaningful conclusion to these days of reflection!
Gmar Chatima Tova!
-Rabbi Jesse M. Olitzky
Filed under Holidays, Uncategorized
For those who missed them, want to read them again, or are interested, here are my Rosh Hashanah sermons, delivered at Congregation Beth El in South Orange, NJ:
Rosh Hashanah Day One: Writing Your Own Words
Rosh Hashanah Day Two: Responding to Hate: Building a World with Love
Please feel free to share your feedback, thoughts, and comments.
Wishing you a meaningful time for reflection during these days of awe!
-Rabbi Jesse M. Olitzky
Filed under Uncategorized
Rabbi Jesse Olitzky 