Community at Temple Israel
Rabbi’s Message – September 18, 2025
Dear Temple Israel family,
The gates of a new year are opening before us. As the new year approaches, I have been reflecting on the year that has passed—its challenges and blessings, its moments of sorrow and of joy. In this sacred season we are called to take action: to perform teshuvah, to remember, and to begin again—to align our lives with our highest values and to repair what is within our reach. I am not only grateful but profoundly inspired by the everyday kindness and strength I witness in our community: meals delivered, calls made, cards sent, prayers shared, and communal learning that lifts our spirits. Your acts of care encourage me in my own journey of reflection and teshuvah, reminding me that none of us prepares for the High Holidays alone—we do so together, as a community bound by covenant and hope.
To enter the High Holidays fully requires both hope and resilience. Hope opens our hearts to possibility, allowing us to imagine a future better than the present. Resilience gives us the strength to face our darkest truths, to rise after stumbling, and to carry that hope forward even when the path is difficult. This past year has reminded us of both: from the painful rise in antisemitism that has tested our spirits, to the ongoing heartbreak of Israel’s struggles, to the everyday uncertainties and blessings of our own lives. Yet through it all, we have leaned on one another, drawing courage from community and faith, and finding the humility to ask forgiveness and to begin anew.
As we prepare for the Days of Awe, may we each find renewal in prayer and in quiet moments of honesty, connection with family, friends, and our Temple community, courage to do the work of teshuvah and healing, and the active hope necessary to make this a better world—for our community, for Israel, and for the world.
L’shanah tovah u’tikateivu—may you be inscribed for goodness in the year ahead.
With blessings,
Rabbi Karen Bodney-Halasz