It’s the beginning.
We start the Torah anew.
And in the very first words we get a description of what is happening to us right now.
When Gd created the world it was “astonishingly empty, with darkness upon the surface of the deep”.
This week we have learned the most horrific definition of emptiness and darkness.
The black hole created by the bestial actions of our enemy is beyond comprehension.
Then “Gd said, Let there be light, and Gd saw the light was good”.
In these horrendous times when darkness would seem to prevail, there have been myriads of stories of light filled actions.
I want to share some with you because even a little bit of light can chase away a great deal of darkness.
Today was the funeral of Dekel Swissa. Those of you who attended the rally this week heard a little about him.
Dekel was an Atlanta Shinshin , a gap year student, (Shinshin stands for Shnat Sherut), who performed a year of community service here in Atlanta, before entering the Israeli army.
One of the families who hosted Dekel were my next door neighbors. Through their hospitality, we were truly privileged to get to know this exceptional young man. He was warm, friendly, kind, humble and wise beyond his years. I was looking forward to seeing the incredible mark Dekel was going to make on this world, but his life was tragically cut short at the age of 23.
He left us too young.
But a mark he did make.
He was the commander of his platoon, and his men (little boys of 19 or so who should not have to engage in life threatening gun battles) told Dekel’s parents that when the fighting began he ordered them into a safe room and took on the terrorists himself, killing dozens until he was overcome.
The soldiers told the parents that he saved all their lives.
A Rabbi who lost his son this week on the battlefield said something so profound.
His son was killed at 33, also much too young.
But his bravery also saved the lives of many, and the Rabbi realized that his son did not just achieve 33 years, rather he achieved eternity in the accumulation of all the years of the people and their descendants who will come forth from the lives he was able to save.
Dekel was only 23, but in his selfless actions he will live on for countless years to come.
He also left us his mantra
“Start every day with a smile”
And when we start our day with a smile, let us do so with this brave and kind young man in mind and honor Dekel’s memory.

Do you know what kreplach are?
You might think it’s a Jewish version of a wonton.
Basically it’s a piece of dough which is wrapped around a small portion of meat and served in the chicken soup.
My Father of blessed memory was famous amongst his friends and acquaintances as a great raconteur and story teller. Some of his stories were extremely moving, some of his jokes were quite funny, but for some reason, amongst his Eastern European friends, his kreplach joke was iconic.
Here it is, but it went over better in the original Yiddish.
A little boy was in fear of kreplach. Whenever he saw one he would shriek “kreplach” in fear and horror.
His mother decided to take matters in her own hands and with a mother’s intuition, and well before her time, she decided to employ exposure therapy.
She sat her son down and rolled out a circle of dough, it’s just a pancake right?
He agreed calmly.
Then she placed a small ball of meat in the middle of the pancake.
Just a mini meatball right?
Her son agreed with equanimity.
She folded the dough around the meat one side at a time with her son following along with interest, all was good.
But when the last side was folded up, the boy took one look and shrieked…kreplach!!
Like I said, the original Yiddish gives a different flavor.
Tonight and tomorrow is Hoshana Rabba, which means a time of great salvation.

I think I might have told you the story of Adonis.
He is a gentleman I met in Atlanta when he delivered some furniture. We spoke briefly when he finished the delivery and then he asked me where I had lived on the West Side.
I was literally flabbergasted. I asked how on earth he knew that I came from the West Side of Manhattan. He shared that he had previously been a beat cop in Manhattan and spent a great deal of time with the denizens. He met all kind of people and was able to discern the accents of those who were natives, it helped him recognize who was a resident.
Adonis was able to identify a West Sider just by an intonation.
Growing up on the West Side was an eye opening experience.
My family attended a synagogue there which was a magnet for Jews searching for their Jewish roots. The synagogue hosted a myriad of activities such as lectures and meals on Shabbat and holidays. There was also a concerted effort to bring Judaism to the streets of the West Side and make it accessible to any Jew who had interest in learning more about Jewish teachings.
One of my favorite activities as a young teen was joining a group of my friends on Sukkot to share the mitzva of Lulav and Etrog. We would literally stand near a mobile Sukka and offer passersby the opportunity to take the Lulav and Etrog. It was so fascinating to hear people’s reactions. Some were highly emotional, feeling a deep spiritual connection. Others waxed nostalgic, remembering taking the Lulav with beloved grandparents. A few were amused by the ritual and there were those who were deeply curious about the meaning of taking the four species and literally wanted to understand all the mystical aspects, while standing on one foot.
But all were united in their deep appreciation of having the opportunity to participate in this Mitzva.

What is the happiest day of the year?
We each may have a different answer to that question.
I’ll leave you to discuss and ruminate.
Our Sages teach us that Yom Kippur is the happiest day of the year.
I can imagine that is a surprising answer.
When we think about Yom Kippur we think about fasting, and being hungry. Perhaps the long hours sitting in a service are uncomfortable and maybe it’s hard to become inspired.
Doesn’t seem to be the happiest day at all.
But we are taught that if Yom Kippur only came once in 70 years, or once in a lifetime, we would be so joyous and appreciative of the opportunity to have the energy that we can access on that day.
And here we are blessed with Yom Kippur every year.
How do we access what is available to us on Yom Kippur?
The Talmud teaches us three principles:
If someone did you a small favor, regard it as something big.
If you did a little nothing nastiness to someone else, that should be considered in your eyes a large, egregious deed.
And finally, if someone did something really big and bad to you, perceive it as something small.
What message is being taught with these three principles?
What is a favor? It’s a Mitzva!
If we worry about our own needs - that’s physicality.
But if we worry about someone else’s, that’s spirituality, it’s eternity. We are concerned about taking care of another and that can have the most positive eternal impact.
So if someone does a nice thing to you, even if it seems small, thank the person profusely, they have stepped out of themselves and seen you!!
That’s huge.

The Day is upon us!
When you look at the Rosh Hashana liturgy you will see that phrase - The Day.
It’s the day we have the opportunity to return to the truest version of ourselves.
Rabbanit Yemima Mizrachi, noted Torah teacher in Israel today, relates the story of going to visit women inmates at a prison facility. She prepared an uplifting talk, but as she addressed the inmates seated at a table around her, they all remained impassive. If body language could talk, their slumped posture and morose demeanor projected their total lack of interest. Rabbanit Yemima was beginning to despair when one of the women raised her hand. Rabbanit Yemima was so excited, thinking someone was interested and she had made a breakthrough. She called upon the woman and warmly asked what her question might be.
The prisoner asked her
“Can I try on your ring?”
The Rabbanit was wearing a beautiful gold ring.
The Rabbanit was taken aback by the question, but she quickly regained her composure and removed her ring and passed it to the women on her right. Rabbanit Yemima then witnessed an amazing sight. Before her eyes each prisoner who had just sat in a sullen and detached manner tried on the ring and stretched out her hand in the age old feminine motion of a woman trying on a ring. Before her eyes a metamorphosis took place. Instead of angry detached people, she saw before her a group of laughing, engaged and feminine women.
A ring had brought them back to their true selves.
So on Rosh Hashana we want to do actions that will connect us back to our own essence.
Rabbi Wolbe, Torah teacher of this past generation, teaches us that the way a person behaves on Rosh Hashana plants the seeds for the year ahead.
So the message for us is that on Rosh Hashana we want to return to who we really are, the sweetest version of ourselves, devoid of all that has clouded our essence. We do that by engaging in a physical activity that will remind us and help us achieve that goal.
One custom we have on Rosh Hashana eve is to dip an apple in honey and pray that we be blessed with a sweet new year.
If we want something which exemplifies the ultimate sweetness why don’t we dip the apple in sugar?
Candied apples would be all the rage?
We use honey because it has a preservative property.
If something non kosher falls into a kosher dish it will render it non kosher. But if something non kosher falls into honey, one may just remove that item and the honey remains kosher.
From this we can take a lesson for ourselves.
No matter what we have done this year, our true essence is untouched and we can just remove the impediment and focus on our strength and connection to the Almighty.
Because who we really are remains untainted.
The sound of the shofar awakens the feeling of connection to ourselves and to one another.
When we are present at the shofar blowing we need to have in hand, figuratively, some course correction we have accepted upon ourselves. Because if we have such a positive intention on Rosh Hashana, a Kabbala, which is explained as something we have accepted upon ourselves to improve, we show that we are taking a turn in the right direction.
A Kabbalah in modern Hebrew is also a receipt. It’s as if we are doing something which we can show for ourselves, a receipt so to speak of the change we are attempting to make.
We are heeding the call of the shofar and we are doing an action that will sow positive seeds for the future.
This is the Jewish version of a New Year Resolution. It is a very, very, very, very (you are understanding that it should be quite tiny) small but sustainable action.
That is the way to make the best use of The Day, to make a tiny but positive change.
It will be your “receipt” of efforts expended to help retrieve the best version of ourselves which remains pure and sweet as honey.
May we all be blessed with a Shana Tova UMetuka, a Sweet New Year, which is filled with an abundance of blessings, and many opportunities to be the blessing.
Shabbat Shalom and so much love.

An Elul Elucidation.
In Israel, in the town of Bnai Brak there was a man who had an interesting profession.
He was a car thief.
He stole cars for a living.
One evening he broke into a car and was manipulating the wires to ignite the engine and bring it to life so he could make off with the car.
As he was attempting to start the vehicle he was startled to hear a noise coming from the back seat. To his horror he saw a toddler strapped into a car seat.
It appeared the child had been accidentally left in the car.
The first thought the thief had was not about himself and how he might get caught and arrested.
His first thought was the immediate emergency to save the baby who was clearly in severe distress.
He gunned the engine and rushed the baby to the nearest emergency room.
The toddler was attended to immediately.
The doctor came out and told the thief that had he waited even five more minutes, his son wouldn’t have made it.
At that moment the thief snapped out of his reverie. He had to explain his way out if this mess so he wouldn’t be arrested for car theft. Or even worse - kidnapping.
He told the doctor that he saw the baby in the car and managed to break in, but he wasn’t even related. He offered to go to the car and check the registration.
After doing some detective work, how delicious the thief became the detective, he found the contact information of the car’s owner.
He called the number.
Of course the people on the other end were beside themselves with panic. They realized they had left the baby in the car (now there are many gadgets to ensure such a tragedy should never happen) and when they ran down to the car, it had disappeared.
They feared the worst.
The relief they exuded could be felt through the phone.
They raced down to the hospital and were overwhelmed in their gratitude to the thief, who they didn’t know was a thief, for saving their baby’s life.
They wanted to give him a monetary reward.
He refused to take the gift. He just wanted to get away from this bizarre scene.
The family refused to let him go so easily and insisted on inviting him for Shabbat.
The thief figured one Shabbat meal and he’d be done with it.
He didn’t realize that the family invited everyone they knew to introduce the Tzaddik, the righteous man, who had saved their son.
Feeling quite the imposter the thief accepted all the accolades, he did not know what else to do.
His hosts insisted he spend the night. They brought him to synagogue the next morning where they hosted a huge Kiddush in his honor, again praising the thief to the hilt.
The thief was ready to crawl out of his skin. Here he was being praised for his deed, but he knew he was really just a car thief.
After lunch the father of the child insisted on bringing the thief to his Rabbi for a well deserved blessing.
When they entered the Rabbi’s home, the thief asked for a moment alone with the Rabbi.
When they were by themselves the thief confessed the entire charade to the Rabbi.
He admitted that he had been in the process of stealing the car when he discovered the baby and he feels like such a charlatan.
He was no Tzaddik, no righteous person, he was a garden variety common thief.
The Rabbi immediately told the thief that he was indeed a Tzaddik, a righteous person. He explained his stance by saying that no matter how he, the Rabbi, had conducted himself, he had never merited saving a life.
So he reasoned that this thief must have done something special to accomplish this incredible merit.
The thief responded dubiously, he couldn’t think of a single good thing he had ever done.
But the Rabbi continued to prod him, there must be a merit that paved the way for saving a life.
After a bit of thought, the thief admitted that when he broke into a car, he would first rifle through the glove compartment and check the insurance. If the car owner had very basic insurance, just collision coverage, he wouldn’t steal the car. But if they had replacement insurance and would receive reimbursement, then he would steal that car.
Seems like a “small” reason to be given such a merit.

ACRONYM
An abbreviation formed from the initial letters of other words and pronounced as a word.
Funnily enough, ACRONYM is also an acronym.
Arithmetically Coded Reminders Of Names You Misremember.
Whew!
Acronym works for me.
ELUL is an acronym.
Elul is the name of the Hebrew month preceding the High Holidays.
The acronym for Elul is the well known phrase
Ani LDodi VDodi Li
(I know the letters don’t match up, but trust me, it does in the original Hebrew.)
The meaning of the phrase is I am for my Beloved as my Beloved is for me.
In this month we are supposed to take the opportunity to come closer to one another in order to strengthen and repair relationships so when we get to Rosh Hashana we have done the work necessary to repair our relationship with the Master of the Universe.
There is a parable told of a grocer who realized that he was teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. Without an immediate infusion of cash, his business would fold. The grocer rushed to see the town magnate to request a loan. When he arrived at the office he was told he needed to wait.
He was so nervous, he paced anxiously back and forth.
After an hour he once again requested an audience and was told that the tycoon was still in a meeting.
The grocer resumed his frantic pacing.
Finally, the mogul emerged from his office, on his way to another meeting.
The grocer presented his desperate case, and the notable gentlemen generously agreed to extend the required loan.
He left a very appreciative and relieved grocer in his wake.
A few moments later, the wealthy gentleman ran into another petitioner.
This person said, hey, great to run into you, I happen to need a loan, can you help me out?
The man of means gently refused and said he was not giving out loans today.
The second petitioner was incensed, he knew the grocer had just received a sizable loan.
(We don’t know how he knew this, but remember, it’s a parable!)
The wealthy man responded to the critique by saying that the grocer’s plea cannot be compared with his.
After all, the grocer was anxious, stayed in the office all day, paced up and down like a caged lion, until he could finally present his case.
You, the donor said, are treating your situation like a last minute thought, no preparation and no skin in the game.
Your plea is a weak one! So I sorry I can’t help you today.
When we enter the High Holidays we want to be prepared, show we care and mean it.
How do we know what to do?

A young man finished his service in the Israeli navy. He served on a submarine as an expert in Morse code.
Shortly after he was discharged he began looking for a job.
He saw an advertisement in a newspaper that the army was looking for a Morse code expert to be in charge of a number of submarines.
The ad gave an address and time for interested applicants.
The young man showed up at the office at the end of the window of allotted time. The office was hot and crowded with many people who had waited a long time to be seen.
To add to the ambience, some soft music was playing in the background.
The young man waited a few moments, bypassed all those sitting in the waiting room and went into the commander’s office. A few minutes later he emerged with the commander who told all in the waiting room that they were dismissed as the latecomer was getting the job.
All present were up in arms.
They were actually livid.
They had sat in the waiting room for ages sad then this upstart waltzed in and jumps the line and gets the job.
The Commander asked for their attention and explained his decision.
He told all those present that you all heard what he heard.
The music playing in the background was actually in Morse code. It instructed anyone who understands it to skip the line and proceed immediately to my office.
This young man was obviously proficient in Morse code and did what he was told.
That’s why he gets the job!!
This time of year there is music in the air.
It is the sound of the Shofar.
One can just hear the notes, or one can hear the deeper message.
The shofar is calling us to wake up.

I was a pretty good student back in the day. I prided myself on getting good grades and I was somewhat of a goody goody, following rules and always doing what I was told.
There was however, one class that I lost my grounding.
Sewing.
(Nowadays is that even a thing?)
Everything that could go wrong went wrong for me in sewing class. I just couldn’t get the hang of it.
Case in point.
We were supposed to be making a skirt. I bought beautiful polka dotted fabric. The teacher instructed us to wash the material before we would begin the pattern. To my horror, after I washed the fabric, all the polka dots popped out.
Try making a skirt with fabric that is all bumpy instead of smooth and flat.
And then another strange thing happened. Instead of being the quiet studious one, I was constantly making jokes. I was clearly compensating for my lack of success by distracting the other students.
It was definitely not the best version of myself.
The days of summer are winding down. While the heat persists in many locations, there are hints that we are moving toward a new season.
Camp is over.
School is back in session.
And, today is the first day of the Hebrew month of Elul.
This is a time of new beginnings as we embark on the month which leads up to the High Holidays.
Elul is a time for introspection.
It’s a time when we take stock of ourselves in preparation for the next stage, the new year.
When one runs a business concern, a company in good standing does regular reviews to make sure they are delivering their product, meeting their goals and fulfilling the mission of the firm.
Elul is called an Et Ratzon, which can be translated as a time of mercy, a time when you can own up to our mistakes, return and be forgiven.
But an Et Ratzon is also a time when Gd wants to know our Ratzon, which can also mean desire. What do we want or desire from our selves. When we do a self review are we on target to fulfilling our destiny, to become the best version of ourselves.
This is the time to take our good intentions for ourselves, our desires, our Ratzon, and make sure we are delivering.
This week’s Torah portion is called Shoftim and it speaks about the judicial system of judges and police who are in place to create boundaries and safety.
There is also a discussion about cities of refuge. These cities were instituted on behalf of people who killed someone unintentionally. These cities were a haven and a place for the person who killed by accident and could stay safe from family members of the victim who might seek revenge.

It was very late at night in the city of Bnei Brak in Israel after the holiday of Rosh Hashanah.
Many people were waiting at the bus stop to travel home to Jerusalem.
The #402 bus was very delayed.
It was bedlam.
Men, women and children impatiently waited for the 402 bus.
Babies cried.
They waited to no avail.
It was 1:30am and the crowd was very restless, they had been waiting for what seemed to be an eternity.
Finally, headlights of a bus were spotted in the distance. The crowd lined up expectantly.
But to their utter dismay the bus before them was not the #402 to Jerusalem, it was the #318 to Rechovot.
When the bus pulled up a few people boarded and begged the driver to switch his route and take them to Jerusalem.
Obviously the driver was not able to change his route!
But the people begged and pleaded and finally the driver capitulated. He agreed to change the sign on his bus and take the passengers to Jerusalem instead.
The people were so appreciative. They heaped blessings on his head.
As each person came aboard they showered him with good words and compliments.
The trip proceeded without incident and they arrived in Jerusalem.
When the last passenger got off he paused and asked the driver a question.
He wanted to know why the driver was willing to risk his job by changing the route.
“Wouldn’t your supervisor fire you for completely ignoring your route?”
The driver burst out laughing.
He explained that the dispatcher saw via camera that there was a large crowd gathering at the #402 bus stop and a bus needed to be sent immediately.
But none of the drivers agreed to go.
Why not?
Unfortunately, in such circumstances, when the bus driver arrives after a crowd has had a long wait, he is subject of insults and vitriol upon his arrival even if the delay is not his fault.
So none of the drivers at the dispatch center wanted to go. They feared they would be berated for the delay and had no interest in being subjected to unwarranted abuse.
The driver continued his saga.
He explained that he had a lightbulb moment and agreed to take the route.
He posted #318 on the digital board of his bus and when he arrived and “agreed” to take the #402 route he was hailed as a hero.