Teshuvah—repentance, though literally return—is the core practice of our most sacred season. It is also a foundational practice of our lives. The gates of teshuvah, say the sages, are always open. We can always choose to turn toward learning and growth, toward acknowledging harm, making amends and holding each other lovingly accountable. We return seasonally, daily, hourly.

Teshuvah means discovering our most essential and generous selves, remembering our deepest aspirations, and coming back to one another in new ways. As we return to community in person, each of us at our own pace, we can embrace this moment as one of genuine teshuvah.

We return to what is, not what was. How will we move forward toward our next incarnation—as individuals, as communities, and as a society? What must we bring with us, and what do we need to leave behind?

שְׁלֵמוּת וְשֶׁבֶר

Wholeness & Brokenness

Tradition tells that for the entire journey in the wilderness, alongside the second set of tablets bearing the ten commandments, our ancestors also carried the fragments of the first set which Moses had smashed. In our present time of rupture and fragmentation, this image reminds us to make room for the broken along with the whole — in our lives and in our world. Often we can find in the fractured places pathways to wholeness. What is broken can become the foundation for healing and regeneration.

In moments of brokenness, we can help one another find comfort amidst loss, meaning in the face of upheaval, and agency when our values have been breached. However brokenness manifests, we can support each other to turn toward it with compassion and courage, so that we might discover wholeness alongside or even within it.

Our theme for 5780 – Hineinu: We Are Here.

היננו

Our ancestors responded to calls at pivotal moments in Torah with Hineini, “Here I am.” Hineinu is how we answer the call to be present as we are needed in this moment, as individuals and as a community. We can say Hineinu by comforting each other amidst hardship and loss; by rejoicing together however possible; by listening and communicating honestly as we navigate discomfort; by finding each other amidst vulnerability; and by cultivating resilience and compassion in response to injustice, oppression, and despair. This is how we say Hineinu: We are here.

Our theme for 5778 – Edut: Witness.

  עֵדות

In selecting a theme, Havurahniks seek to find common language to help us consider what animates our community and to set an intention for the year. Our theme is both a conceptual framework as well as an operational commitment.

In this time in which we are confronting vastly divergent representations of reality, we need to continually notice, be willing to bear witness, and stay present with our own truths. This requires showing up, both physically and spiritually, and returning - over and over again.

One more outgrowth of this root is the word oded, “to encourage and strengthen.” Ultimately, the actions of returning, building continuity, and bearing witness create strength within us, as individuals and as a community. What encourages you to continually show up and to speak your truth? How do we create a community that strengthens our ability to know and testify about what is right and good?