I just got home from the first day of Rosh Hashanah services. Once again, I am a wandering Jew, taking advantage of my sister's kindness of an extra ticket to her synagogue on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. (It's my second year back in NYC and I still haven't found a synagogue I feel comfortable joining just yet.) I should preface this diary (my first, so be gentle) by saying that I usually find the sermons during the High Holidays to be hit or miss. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are the two Jewish holidays that really draw the crowds, so some Rabbis are known to be long-winded and a little self-important (though, that could just be the rabbis from my hometown).
Today, however, was not long-winded (even at 45 minutes, give or take), nor was the sermon self-important. The rabbi started off by saying that he was going to be talking politics from the pulpit, though he hastened to add that he wasn't going to be partisan. Meaning, he wasn't going to tell the congregation who to vote for, he was just going to talk about issues that were important to Jews and then implored us to use that information when making our decision.
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