The Return to School

I love the first day of school in Clark County, not for the reasons you might expect, but for seeing families share photos of our children on social media. Seeing kids dressed and ready, smiling for their first day, is comforting. I especially enjoy comparison photos, like a child’s first day of kindergarten next to their first day of high school. They show how much a child has grown over the years. 

There’s a ritual to those pictures appearing each August.  We’ve come to expect and cherish them. Their proximity to the High Holidays and our Jewish cycle of rituals adds an extra measure of comfort as Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur approach. Just as we eagerly await the school photos, we look forward to the holidays. The yearly cycle of Jewish celebrations reassures us with its familiarity. 

We may discover new customs or foods, share holiday meals in different homes, or learn new melodies for traditional prayers, but repeated rituals ultimately give us reassurance.

This week’s Torah portion, Parshat Eikev, highlights the importance of ritual and repetition. Moses reminds the Israelites of their obligation to teach the laws to the next generation. By observing and commemorating the cycle of holidays, we teach our children about our past, heritage, customs, and values. 

I look forward to celebrating the New Year with everyone in the Midbar Kodesh Temple family. We will reconnect with familiar faces and welcome many new ones. We will sing familiar tefilot (prayers) and learn new ones, passing on the beauty and sanctity of our traditions to the next generation. 

Keep those first-day-of-school pictures coming. May this school year bring us all blessings and hope. 

Shabbat Shalom 

Rabbi Bradley Tecktiel