My favorite services of the entire High Holiday lineup have always been Selichot and Neilah. But it only occurred to me this week that these are the two liturgical bookends of the season.
Selichot offers that first taste, after nearly a full year, of the melodies that pierce our souls. Almost Pavlovian, the first notes of that High Holiday niggun (wordless melody) indicate that renewal is upon us, that change is possible if we allow it.
And with Neilah, the final service on Yom Kippur, we culminate the entire experience. Somehow, every year, regardless of being at the end of a full fast day, despite any lethargy, the energy in the room is palpable and uplifting. I often say to the community that if we reach into ourselves, we usually find that there is more inside of us than we imagined, a reserve that allows us to reach those gates, waiting for us, if we make the extra climb.
When thinking about it, I realized this week that my affinity for these two services is distinctly connected to the way they frame the High Holiday experience. Selichot is meaningful because I know what is to come; Neilah is powerful because of what has transpired. Selichot wouldn’t have any force if we did it in February and Neilah wouldn’t mean anything if we did it tomorrow. The force of Neilah is precisely because of the climb that occurred the previous ten days, the days we start this coming Sunday night. Neither of these stand alone and the strength in them comes from being part of a larger whole.
So I hope you’ll join us in the climb. I hope you’ll try something new to see what you can build towards this year - whether it’s singing along for V’yitnu Lekha Keter Melukha or if it’s prostrating for the Great Aleynu. I hope you will push yourselves in these upcoming ten days, reaching inside of yourselves to find more than you imagined. The gates are waiting for each of us.
I pray that the year ahead is a good one, of happiness and blessing, and most of all, good health.
