Tashlich

Ezra K - September 13, 2026

Shana Tova friends. I am so happy to be gathered with this community. Thank you all for coming. This month is a month of working on ourselves. And G-d knows — I have to work on me. In this month of Elul, we are encouraged to introspect and reflect. We examine our actions, our thoughts, and our feelings. We're doing all this exploring to prepare ourselves for both "the birthday of humanity" and the "holiest day of the year". One of the major ways we do this is to hear the blowing of the shofar like we do today. The shofar is an instrument that dates back more than 3,500 years made specifically to wake us up and make us stand in attention.

I am reminded of a story from the Maggid of Dubna. Many of you may remember this from summer camp. It goes: A peasant was sleeping in a field in a town unfamiliar to him. He was woken at night to the loud sound of drums and horns. He asked a local who informed him that when they sound the trumpet, the fire is quickly put out. The villager returned home and told his community that "If we use drums and trumpets, the flames will be put out." The next year the village experienced a raging fire so naturally they sounded the drums and the horns to command the fire to stop. But their homes continued to burn. The village rabbi (that every Jewish story has) said "You fool! The trumpet is only an alarm to call us to gather water." And so…

Our action is integral to reach our collective goal. We cannot experience the power of the Days of Awe if we are relying on external factors to do the work for us. We cannot rely simply on the sound of the shofar, but must use it to spring us into collective action. The Shofar is calling us to prepare. It is the alarm needed for us to get our attention to protect our community. The three blasts of the shofar feels reminiscent of the three calls of the whistle to protect our neighbors from kidnapping by ICE. There are currently over 73 thousand humans held in detention facilities, that we know of. The fires of fascism are to be met with the beating drums of us villagers before they become an inferno. And I want to be clear that no matter how deep we find ourselves in authoritarianism, we must continue to fight. We can be the fire hoses that spray with such force, they knock the state thugs off their feet.

Tzedek, tzedek you must pursue. Rebellion is in our blood. In 132 CE when Bar Kochba's resistance stood no chance against Roman rule, we fought anyway. In 1943 when Jews stood no chance against the Nazis of Warsaw, we fought anyway. Today, we must fight anyway.

Shmuel Zygielbojm was a member of the Bund in Poland 1943. He wrote in his final note:

The responsibility for the crime of the murder of the whole Jewish nationality in Poland rests first of all on those who are carrying it out, but indirectly it falls also upon the whole of humanity, on the peoples of the Allied nations and on their governments, who up to this day have not taken any real steps to halt this crime. By looking on passively upon this murder of defenseless millions tortured children, women and men they have become partners to the responsibility.

And so-

The Shofar is not just an alarm to snap us into attention. It is a wailing cry. The first sound a healthy baby makes when it is thrust into life. The sound of the shofar is made to speak to a primal part of ourselves. The part that not only weeps in our own pain or joy, but the innate caretaker in us all. The inbuilt piece of us that protects our young and vulnerable in distress. Our sages say that Rosh Hashanah is the birth day of humanity. It is the first day we gained consciousness, a soul, and moral responsibility.

When a baby is born in the Jewish tradition, we name them publicly. Ensuring that we all are part of that baby's community. We all are called to take a part in their life. The Days of Awe are the invitation for us to raise the world together. We can only be good parents if we address where we missed the mark. We must use this time to not only reflect, but take action. We have to fight, but how? Court watch. Many of us have been involved in court watch to accompany immigrants to their court hearings and we're happy to talk about it. Get trained with Hands Off NYC to learn how to protect your neighbors. They have plenty of Virtual Trainings. Know your rights. Know the rights of our community members. Utilize them.

We are all we have.

Tzedek, tzedek, you must pursue. May we continue to pursue.