27th Elul : Stepping forward is the motto

The new year hides in itself a striving for relationships. The Hebrew letters with which the year 5783 are written are ת-ש-פ-ג. The word that comes up is pagasht or pagashta, feminine and masculine for 'you encountered'. To encounter, to meet, to come together are the food for relationships. With the letters gimel and shin there is an active form, 'gash' which means to step forward. A relationship does not always arise by itself but sometimes needs a nudge. Stepping forward is the motto.

May the year Taw-shin-pe-gimel encourage us to encounter and to step forward. Encounters that bring us the joy of friendships, good family ties and an ever deepening relationship with the community.

Rabbi Ruven bar Ephraim, Or Chadash Zurich Switzerland, HUC Jerusalem 1993