When I got engaged many moons ago, dear friends made us an engagement party. 
I was just learning how many people my husband knew and I quickly was overwhelmed by the crowd. There was no way I would be able to remember the names of all these people. 
Then someone introduced himself to me. 
He said “my name is Gershon Kramer. I’m a really good friend of your future husband. I know you will never remember me with all these individuals you are meeting.”  
I agreed apologetically. 
A few minutes later he came by again and said “hi, my name is Gershon Kramer, I’m a really good friend of your husband to be. I know you won’t remember my name but I just wanted to introduce myself.”
Felt a little de ja vue to me but there were a lot of people coming to say hello. 
Gershon Kramer did this little routine a few more times that evening. 
When I finally got a chance to speak to my husband to be at the end of the night I said-who is Gershon Kramer? It’s the only name I remember. 
Rabbi Robinson of Chicago was giving a class on the opportunities available to us right now in the month of Elul. 
As we mentioned last week, we are taught “the King is in the field”. This is to encourage us to take advantage of the heightened closeness that is available to us in these preparatory days leading up to Rosh Hashana. Rabbi Robinson asked about the usage of the word “field”. If we want to say Gd is close, why don’t we say Gd is in the house? Right close by?
He responded to his question with a story. 
There was a young man who had grown up with a traditional family and some Jewish learning. He got married and moved away from home and also moved away from any vestige of Jewish tradition. One fine, sunny day, he and his wife were sitting on the balcony of their condo overlooking the beach when he noticed below him, a group of people. Upon closer inspection, he was surprised to see that the people were not dressed in typical beachside attire, but rather they were fully dressed in elegant clothes. He could not imagine what was happening. 
All of a sudden a memory was triggered. 

He realized it must be Rosh Hashana and the people on the beach were saying the prayer of Tashlich. 
Tashlich is a ritual usually performed in the afternoon of the first day of Rosh Hashana. Tashlich means to throw. The custom comes from a Biblical verse “You will cast your sins into the depth of the sea”. 
Typically this ritual is performed near a body of water such as a sea, river, stream or lake. We do not do Tashlich on the first day of Rosh Hashana if it falls on Shabbat as it does this year. It can be done on the second day of Rosh Hashana and can be said until the last day of Sukkot. 
There are many meanings to this tradition. One is that going to a seashore can invoke awe in us as we recognize Gd’s mercy in holding the waters from flooding the world. The recognition of Gd’s power should inspire us to return to the best version of ourselves which has a spark of Gdliness, kindness and mercy. Jewish mysticism teaches that water corresponds to the attribute of kindness. We want Gd to treat us with kindness in the year ahead as we shed those actions that separated us from holiness and kindness to one another. The goal is to “throw away” our sins into the sea. The process itself does not grant atonement, it is just another tool that can be used to repair our relationship with the Almighty. 
Back to our friend with the beach condo. 
When he realized the people at the water’s edge were saying Tashlich he decided to go and join, for the first time in 25 years. When he arrived, the group warmly welcomed him in. After he concluded the prayer, one of the congregants introduced himself. He said:
“Hi. I’m Moshe Katz. I blow the shofar for this community. Would you like me to blow it for you?”
Our condo owner was very moved and agreed. 
After the blowing was completed, the man said again, “remember, my name is Moshe Katz. I’m the shofar blower and I’m pleased to meet you.”
After a bit more chitchat and conversation with those assembled, our friend began to leave until he was once more accosted by the uber friendly shofar blower who reiterated that his name was Moshe Katz the shofar blower and hoped they would meet again. 
When our friend returned home he reported the whole story to his wife. He mentioned that he met a lot of people who were very kind and friendly, but it was a little overwhelming. The only thing he could remember was
(You got it, you are following right) Moshe Katz the shofar blower. 
His wife literally blanched. 
She was shocked by this revelation. When she recovered a bit she told her husband that she too came from a very traditional family from a place called Bialystok in Poland and her grandfather was called Moshe Katz, and he was the shofar blower in their community. She couldn’t believe it. 
This “coincidence” was too much to be a coincidence, and it started a journey towards Jewish growth for the family. 
Someone heard this story and asked Rabbi Kanievsky, the Jewish leader of our generation, why was it necessary to wait 25 years for this Moshe Katz to come on the scene. 
His response speaks to our time. 
The Rabbi taught that we learn in a time of reconnection it says the King is on the field, he is not in the house. Even though Gd is closer and more accessible, He still needs us to come forward in some way, to express a desire for connection. By getting off the balcony, our friend went to make a move and started the process. 
In life there are so many opportunities to connect. We want to keep our eyes open to take advantage. 
The hero of this story is Moshe Katz. He saw someone trying to make a connection. He was that “observant Jew” who saw the chance to be present meaningfully for someone else. In that moment of somewhat social awkwardness where he was willing to look a little silly in order to really show this gentleman that he really wanted to be remembered in case of future need, Moshe Katz started an eternal process just by sharing his name.
So if you are in a social situation and you see someone who is feeling overwhelmed or uncomfortable, introduce your self - - multiple times. 
They will never forget your name. 
More importantly. 
They will never forget how you made them feel. 
Shabbat Shalom and so much love!