Six Candles. One red, one white, one blue, one red, one white, one blue. Six teens each holding a candle. You could hear a pin drop in the sanctuary. Each teen lit their candle and silently walked off the stage. The candles stayed burning throughout the service.

It was  Rosh Hashanah, back in 2001, six days after 9-11. People had called us sobbing to please let them come to the service. But we could only fit 600 people in the sanctuary and had to follow the fire laws. 

We were a young congregation then. It was only our third year holding High Holy Day Services. But that Rosh Hashanah service is one I will never forget. I still can’t find the words to describe what happened. Only that we all became One and were taken to a higher dimension where there was the most incredible Love from G-d that comforted us, healed us, loved us. Each one of us left that service transformed, each in our own way. 

This year Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown on 9-11. I pray that once again, our prayers will be the vehicle to take us to the highest places where we are Comforted, Healed, Loved. That it is then spread throughout the world bringing Peace. 

Shana Tova, 

Cantor Lee

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