Beruchim Habaim, Welcome! It is good to be together again this Rosh Hashanah. One of the themes of Rosh Hashanah is what we call Heshbon Hanefesh, Soul Searching. It is the idea that we can and do change from year to year, nothing stays the same, but the belief in free will means that it is up to us to determine what we change and how we change.

Think about the year that has just concluded – what went well? What do you wish you could do over? What do you want to keep the same? What do you want to change? We now have ten days to map out our Jewish plan for ourselves for the coming year. What mitzvah do you want to incorporate into your life? What service can you add into your busy schedule? What do you want to learn this year? Which relationships do you want to strengthen? Which new relationship do you want to build?

Institutionally, we talk about Mission, Vision & Goals; do the same thing personally, what is your mission? What is your vision for how your life will look one year from now? What goals do you have for yourself to get there? You will change from this Rosh Hashanah to the next, my question to you is do you want to consciously decide how you will change? Do you want to be the master of your own fate? Each of us has choices to make.

What is true for each of us on a personal level is also true for us on a communal level. For those of us involved in synagogue leadership, who have been reading the literature, there is growing evidence that we are living in a time of transition for the synagogue world. Considering how quickly and how often things change around us, this shouldn't come as any great surprise, however, synagogues have been around for a very long time and don't change often or easily.

As many of you know before I became a Conservative Rabbi, I was ordained by the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. One of the things that the Reconstructionist movement got right was that Judaism evolves over time. The American suburban synagogue is not the same as the synagogue of Rashi, who lived in France during the Middle Ages. However, I think Rashi would be pleased to know that much of what we do today is based upon his teachings. Much in the same way that the Judaism of Rabbi Akiva living 2000 years ago would seem strange to Rashi, but much of what Rashi took for granted was based on the teachings of Rabbi Akiva. And we know that the Judaism of Rabbi Akiva was different from the Judaism of Moses from the following Talmudic passage,

'When Moses ascended into heaven, he saw God occupied in making little crowns for the letters of the Torah. Upon his inquiry as to what these might be for, he received the answer, "There will come a man, named Akiva ben Joseph, who will deduce halakhot from every tittle and crown on the letters of the Law." Moses' request to be allowed to see this man was granted; but he became much dismayed as he listened to Akiva's teaching; for he could not understand it, but when they came to a certain subject and the disciples said to the master, 'From where do you know this?' and the latter replied, 'It is a law given unto Moses at Sinai,' he was comforted.

Each layer of Judaism is based upon what came before, but every generation of Jews has modified the traditions they received according to the needs of their day. That is why Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews developed different customs and why Jews of different movements today interpret Judaism differently. It isn't a matter of right or wrong, just different choices being made. For a while now, I've been attending workshops and seminars on the changing nature of synagogue life, but the first book that helped me crystallize my thoughts was Hayim Herring's Tomorrow's Synagouge Today: Creating Vibrant Centers of Jewish Life. Rabbi Herring pointed out "six societal trends" that have changed our world and impacted synagogue life, "we have moved"
• From the age of organizations to networks;
• From credentialed professionals to avocational experts;
• From hierarchical control to individual autonomy;
• From exclusivity to inclusivity;
• From monopolization to democratization of knowledge;
• From assuming fee-for-service to expecting free-for-service.

Rabbi Herring points out that the values that guide and direct the synagogue have also changed. Organizational values have been: a hierarchical structure, honoring tradition, membership based, institutional commitment, denominational and locally focused. However, we are finding that contemporary organizational values are: non-hierarchical, fluid and improvisational; greater respect for innovation than tradition; community oriented rather than membership based; commitment to causes rather than institutions; and post-denominational.

In the most recent CJ magazine there was an article by Charles Savenor entitled, "Synagogue Life: The Next Paradigm" where he points out that at different times in Jewish history there were paradigm shifts that caused synagogues and Judaism to change and that we are in the midst of one of those now. One came with the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem and the growth of the synagogue.

Today the challenge is that we have a tradition that is all about communal needs and communal responsibility, but a population that lives in the era of the "sovereign self". A generation ago people joined synagogues, were part of the Men's Club and the Sisterhood, willingly gave of their time as volunteers to sit on committees to help run the organization. Today, everyone is much busier, even people willing to volunteer and give of their time, do not want it wasted, and are not thrilled to sit at committee meetings. People today are more likely to work on a project or event. Synagogues need to find new ways to involve people that work for them and still allow us to function.

A generation ago it was a given that when you had a child, you would join a synagogue and send your child to Hebrew school at least three days a week. Today, the three-day-a-week Hebrew school is a thing of the past; people are no longer willing to make that level of commitment to the synagogue. Their children's lives are so full and so scheduled that even coming twice a week has become a challenge. New educational models need to be found so that we can provide the next generation of Jews with an appropriate Jewish education using new technologies and new educational models. Our Federation has completely revamped their Jewish Educational Service to focus on brining us new models, because this is not a Shomrei Torah issue, this is a challenge to American Judaism.

The book that has probably influenced me the most this summer has been Ron Wolfson's Relational Judaism: Using the Power of Relationships to Transform the Jewish Community. Like his last book the The Spirituality of Welcoming: How to Transform your Congregation into a Sacred Community. Dr. Wolfson has written a book that when you read it seems so obvious that you're surprised no one wrote it sooner. Wolfson points out that most people who remain synagogue members after they no longer "need it" for Religious school, do so because they feel connected; and the vast majority who leave do so because they don't feel connected, in other words, it is all about relationships. He agrees that we live in an age of individualism, but as individuals we seek relationships. He actually posits nine levels of relationship: with self, with family, with friends, with Jewish living, with community, with the Jewish people, with Israel, with the world and with God.

Dr. Wolfson states that if synagogues want to continue to be relevant then we have to spend less time in meetings and more time developing relationships. He points out that we have been making contracts with you, our members, you pay your dues and tuition and we in turn provide you with a place to pray and educate your children. The problem with a contract is that when the need is over so is the relationship. He argues that what we need is a covenant or in Hebrew, Brit; a relationship that transcends the specifics of a school or a seat in the sanctuary. A covenant lasts a lifetime.

Wolfson picks up on the teachings of Martin Buber, a 20th century European Jewish philosopher most well known for his book I and Thou. To take a complex subject and simplify it, he says that every interaction has the potential to be a I-Thou relationship which is a true person to person connection and that God is found in the space between the I and the Thou. So as we relate to one another in I-Thou relationships, we also find God. He says that relationships start by listening and sharing, he is a huge advocate of sharing Jewish Journeys, each of us has a Jewish Journey that we have taken that has led us to this particular moment in time. Listening to someone's Jewish Journey is a great way to get to know them better. We hope to create opportunities to share our Jewish Journeys with each other this year. Keep an eye out for a Friday night with a Jewish Journey presentation.

Doing things together builds relationships and hopefully trust. One of the things we want to do together is to have Shabbat dinners together. There will be opportunities to do so here at the shul following an early service and also in each other's home through a project we're calling, "Come (to our) Home for Shabbat" where members will have the opportunity to host other members in their homes for a Shabbat dinner.

Rabbi Savenor has written, "Today many Conservative Jews want to be Jewish as long as it's on their own terms and that it emphasizes personal meaning." He continues, "People yearn for personal meaning not membership, for community not committees, and for a sense of spiritual purpose not programs." Even acknowledging that he has hit the proverbial nail on the head what does it mean for us as a congregation?

These are the questions we must now try to answer as we become a synagogue of the 21st century. What worked for our parents and has worked for us in the past is no longer working today. We need to engage in a communal Heshbon Hanefesh, we have to think about Shomrei Torah and what we want to change. To that end, I have some proposals for us to consider – first, during the break on Yom Kippur, I'm willing to meet with anyone who wants to talk about changes they'd like to see us make; second, I'm going to see about setting up an online congregational discussion group either on our website or Facebook page; third, I want to invite you to participate in focus groups that we will set up; and finally, I'm going to stop for a moment and I want you to spend the next 2 minutes talking to someone sitting near you – ask them a question, share a thought, either on the subject of the evolution of our congregation or just a moment to connect with someone else.

[2 min break]

Let me share with you the famous story, "The Wise Man and the Baby Bird" which may be familiar to you.

Once upon a time there was a valley between two mountains. The people in the valley were very fortunate because a wise old man lived in a cave at the top of one of the mountains. He was so wise that he was able to give them all kinds of helpful information. He could tell them when it would rain so they knew when to plant their crops. He could tell them when the frost would come so they would know when to harvest. He could tell them what was wrong with them so they could get over their illnesses.

Unfortunately, there were some boys in the village who found the wise old man to be overbearing. He was always telling them what to do and people wouldn't listen to anyone else. So the boys decided to trick him and prove that he could make a mistake and that he really didn't know everything. They tried and they tried and they tried. But, every time they tried, the wise old man always knew the answer. He was always able to see through what they were doing.

One day, one of the boys ran up to the other boys. He had his hand cupped one over the other and said, "I've got it. I know how we are going to fool the old man. We'll prove that he doesn't know everything. Then people will listen to us."

And the other boys said, "What is it? How are you going to do it?" The first boy replied, "Here in my hands, I have a baby bird. We are going to go up to the wise old man's cave and we are going to call him out. Then I am going to ask him two questions: 'What do I have in my hands?' and 'Is it alive or is it dead?' He'll know that I have a bird in my hands. He'll say, 'You have a baby bird.' But right when he answers the second question-if he says it's alive, I push my hands together and the bird will be dead-if he says that it's dead, I'll open my hands and the bird will be alive. We will have witnesses. We will be able to tell everyone he doesn't know everything and they should listen to us."

The boys thought about it. They all agreed. Absolutely it should work. So they ran up the mountain to the old man's cave and they called, "Old man, old man, come out." The wise old man came out into the sun and said, "Yes, my sons. What can I do for you?" And the boy with the bird in his hands holds them out and says, "We have two questions for you. What do I have in my hands? And is it alive or is it dead?" The old man looks at the boy and then at the boy's hands and says, "Why, you have a baby bird in your hands." The boy says, "Yes. Is it alive or is it dead?" The old man looks at the boy's hands and then at the boy and says, "My son, the answer is in your hands."

What we do with the coming year is up to us, we decide what is important to us, and we decide how we are going to spend our time. The choice is ours; our future is in our own hands.

As you know we wish each other a Shanah Tovah, a good year, but shanah can mean more than just year. My colleague, Charles Kraus points out that it can mean to repeat, as in if we don't change, we repeat our mistakes. The Hebrew word sheinah means to sleep, which is what we are doing if we are not doing something constructive. But shanah can mean to learn as in Mishna, we learn from our mistakes.

So, may this be a year of growth and change for all of us, may your choices be good and may the New Year be sweet! Together we will transform ourselves and Shomrei Torah!

Wishing each of you a Shanah Tovah – however, you chose to interpret those words.