“…The work of spiritual life is never done. The work of becoming is never done. As long as we’re here, we’re growing and changing – or we can be. My covenant with each of you is a promise to accompany you in whatever life brings your way…”

“Possibility lives in us. Hope lives in us. Kindness lives in us. Truth and justice live in us. No amount of cruelty or coercion, bullying or gaslighting, can take these away. They are our birthright, and they are eternal.”

“…Love is the point of Torah. It’s what Torah most deeply comes to teach us, year after year…”

A Gathering of Sparks: Becoming One People, One Voice; for Erev Rosh Hashanah 5785.

The guest post is the D’var Torah that CBI member & cantorial soloist Ziva Larson offered at Erev Rosh Hashanah Evening Service on Wednesday, October 2, 2024.

“…Pursue justice by approaching the world with the integrity of a juror. 
Guard our gates, mindful of what we’re taking in and what we’re putting into the world.
And pour out our hearts – not to the vast indifferent universe, but to an imagined beloved Friend….”

“…Torah urges us to remove our protective calluses, a scant six weeks before the new year – all the better to do the work of teshuvah to which this season calls us. …”