"And the seasons they go 'round and 'round
And the painted ponies go up and down
We're captive on the carousel of time
We can't return we can only look behind from where we came
And go round and round and round in the circle game"

I am reminded Joni Mitchell's poem/song as we turn from Summer to Fall, as we turn towards the High Holy Days. Each year we cycle through the seasons of life and the seasons of the soul. How do we prepare for all these changes? Perhaps more importantly, what do we do with the possibility these Holy Days place before us? Do they change us or do we change them?

Woody Allen once said, "90% of life is just showing up". For me the real question and challenge is what you do once you are there. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur ask us over and over again to take life and our choices in life seriously. The ultimate goal of these coming days is to find meaning and purpose to our time. To make something of the gift of life we have been given, not just letting the time go by.

There is a marked difference between "just showing up" and living. There is no doubt that life continues to circle around us. When and how we enter that circle is what Judaism teaches us is the focus of these Holy Days. It is our choice to reach for life and value - to take seriously what is sacred in our families and community. To find new hope, even as we revisit places we have been before, as we continue our circles of life.

May this time be one of awareness and opportunity for all of us so that together we may enter 5771 with renewed energy and hope.

A Happy and Sweet New Year from our family to yours,
Rabbi Laurence and Merrill Kotok, David and Rachel