“Bring us back to Your Torah, our Father, and draw us near.”
These words are in our Shabbat prayers. They hearken back to the place where we came
from, our roots, our point of origin. We
cannot be present, much less envision a future, without a firm grip on our
past. That is why we plead for a return
to where we came from.
William Faulkner wrote, “The past is not dead. It isn’t even past.” The vibrancy of life resounds in the chords
played throughout our history. They must
not be dismissed for they live within us.
They sing to our soul. The chords
are present in every milestone - Hanukkah, Purim, Pesach, memorials…. To ignore these notes is to miss the symphony
of life.
Perhaps this is what brings us all to our present. We recognize the truth of remaining faithful to our heritage, our
past. It is the solid bridge that
connects to where we stand today. Tradition is who we are and the key to our
future.
One great rabbi wrote about our strivings at the dawn of one
Rosh Hashanna, “He returns to his starting point, to where he stood….” It is always this way. The path forward wends back and the way back
leads to the path forward.
May we realize more wonder
from our history, reap joy from this grand moment, and sow seeds of
continuity in our families.
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