Notes from Cantor Avima

My father always said: "All Beginnings are Difficult". Of course he said it in Hebrew, "Kol Hatchalot Kashot".  I always hear that statement as advice reminding me to keep stepping forward even when I am forging a new path of some kind. This summer I had a new beginning as the Cantor and Director of the Religious School at Adath Shalom. I am sure many of you are being challenged by your own "new beginnings". This month the sound of the shofar beckons us to a new beginning, while we review the past and the mistakes we have made. Our task when we start anything new is to learn from past mistakes and try not to repeat them. The blast of the shofar is a wake up call. It can be somewhat intimidating if we feel we are not ready for what is ahead, but it can also be encouraging us by saying  "Shofar... so good". When we start something new we often focus on the stumbling blocks, the rocks in the road which seem to impede our progress. But we need to also thing about the moments that are going right so far in the new year to come and say to ourselves "Shofar, so good!". 

Here are some beautiful pictures to remind us all of the reason we are here at Adath Shalom. We are a community brought together by the same goals and identity. Look at these pictures and say to yourself, "Shofar, so good".