Jewish holidays mean different things to different people - usually depending on how they were celebrated at home. At home for me, although my family was not particularly religious, the High Holidays were days when, as much as possible, you dedicated the day to thinking about spiritual things. Being in the synagogue with so many other Jews all focused on the words in the prayer book and linked with the melodies of the songs to each other and to times past and (I never realized then) to times in the future. In LA as a kid, my mother and I went to a synagogue where the rabbi was an old German rabbi with a white beard. My sense was that this ritual was a connection for my mother to her childhood, before Hitler rose to power. Rabbi Sonderling was really old - it wasn't just my child's sense of old. After he died, we ended up at services in large auditoriums - like the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium - that always seemed strange since I went to the same place to see basketball games and concerts. From sunset to sunrise, we didn't do any normal commerce like shopping or touch money. So today still, that seems to me how one should observe the day. But everyone picks what rules and traditions they care to follow.
The rabbi's sermons last night and today - at least what I took from them -focused on how we have to adjust our observances as times change. 'Reality' 2000 years ago, 1000 years ago, was very different from today's reality and how Jews (and others) have observed their faith has evolved as times change. The key is to take the basic principles and observe them in a way that makes sense today. That's not doing it justice at all, but will have to do.
Services here are special for various reasons. We've been here over 30 years - longer than I've been anywhere else - and we know a lot of people. And somehow we've been able to avoid the always unpleasant practice of having tickets for High Holidays. At other congregations in the Lower 48, this is a common practice. Running a synagogue and high holiday services costs money and space is limited come the High Holidays. So rationally, from a management perspective, having people buy tickets makes sense. But from a religious perspective it always bothered me. But then Jews don't pass the plate at services.
One thing I grew up with was a 'rule' was there is no applause in the synagogue. People are honored, but no one would applaud. So when that happens today, it bothers me. I also do not use my camera during services. That would take me outside of what was going on. So the pictures here are from yesterday, before sundown.
