Prayer for Those Who Carry Us into the High Holy Days

Makor HaKedushah (Source of Holiness),

Bless all of us

preparing to carry our Jewish people

into the High Holy Days…

Rabbis and cantors,

educators and executive directors,

administrators and assistants,

chaplains and campus and communal professionals,

teachers and youth professionals,

musicians and music-makers,

choirs and songleaders,

technicians and production teams,

custodians and maintenance teams,

security professionals and synagogue presidents,

greeters and guides,

board members and volunteers…

and all who

labor, lead, lift, and love

our Jewish people.

In synagogues and camps,

day schools and nursery schools,

college campuses and community centers,

hospitals and convalescent homes,

prisons and homes for the aging,

military bases and ships at sea,

in rooms filled with people

and online communities reaching beyond walls…

wherever Jews gather

to hear the shofar,

whisper a prayer,

shed a tear,

sing a melody,

or simply sit beside another Jew or Jewish family and know:

I belong.

Grant us koach (strength)

when the days grow long,

chochmah (wisdom)

when decisions feel daunting,

and

ruach (spirit)

when our own spirits run low.

Fill us with creativity and connection,

patience when plans unravel,

presence as people need us,

and passion for the possibilities.

Instill within us

the sacred stubbornness

to keep opening doors,

widening the circle,

and welcoming our people

Home.

May we inspire

and be inspired.

Holy One,

help us hear the kvells

and release the kvetches.

When someone complains about

the seat,

the sound,

the sermon,

the song…

remind us

of

the soul who was stirred,

the mourner who felt held,

the child who felt welcomed,

the lonely one who suddenly belonged.

Remind us: this sacred work changes lives.

Through programs planned

and sermons polished,

tickets printed

and chairs arranged,

melodies rehearsed,

rooms readied,

doors opened,

we make space for encounter:

bringing our people

toward You, the Divine,

inviting Divinity

to dance among us.

For we walk in ancient footsteps:

like Miriam,

making music beside the waters,

like the Levites,

lifting sacred song in sacred service,

like Aaron,

bringing people closer to one another,

like Moses,

standing before a people searching for their way.

None of them perfect.

All of us are called.

So as Sha'arei Teshuvah

(the Gates of Return),

the gates of these High Holy Days open,

may we who open them for others

remember that these gates open for us, too,

our avodat kodesh (sacred service) strengthened,

our calling renewed.

Kotveinu v'chotmeinu b'sefer hachayim

(Inscribe us and seal us in the Book of Life),

for a year of strength and sweetness,

meaning and shalom.

Amen.