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Dear Lab/Shul,
Ten years ago, in 2016, I experienced a holy shift I will never forget. While it might have been an exciting time for us as Cubs fans (we clinched the National League Division title), my family was simultaneously grieving the recent loss of our mom.
As Yom Kippur 5777 approached, I dreaded Yizkor. I had recently watched Rabbi Amichai weep as he remembered his own father and thought, How could I ever do this? I didn’t want to enter that deep place of loss. Then, Yom Kippur came. I stood on the bimah, waiting for my mom’s photo to appear on the memorial screen, knowing I would fall apart. And I did.
But that’s the thing. I could fall apart because I was not alone. I heard the soothing voices of Shira Kline – my Lab/Shul spiritual sister – and artist in residence Netanel Goldberg, steadfastly holding the space with the melody and words:
כִּי עִמך מְקוֹר חַיִּי Ki Imach M’Kor Chayim, we are held with the source of life.
The sounds and songs shifted everything for me that year. I knew my grief could flow how it needed to, and moreover, I was able to be held by a sacred community that grieved alongside me: Lab/Shul’s Kaddish Club.
Thank goodness we have the opportunity to grieve together. On Yom Kippur, a seismic shift can happen, when the grief we’ve been carrying suddenly becomes part of the sacred ritual of Yizkor. Maybe, like I once did, you’re approaching that moment with dread or anxiety. Or maybe you just want to be more spiritually prepared for YIZKOR.
Enter ReCollect: Prep for Yizkor 5787 — Join me, our circle holders and our Kaddish Club community on September 17 where we’ll make space for memory, grief, ritual, and whatever may arise as we prepare for the Yizkor Ritual. |
