Rabbi Alisa Zilbershtein: The Sacred Lens of the High Holy Days

by Rabbi Alisa Zilbershtein

(Edmonton) – Rosh Hashanah 5786 calls us to pause and reflect on the year that has passed and the possibilities ahead. We carry with us experiences of joy and challenge, clarity and confusion, connection and searching. So often in our daily lives, we feel lost in a world where the presence of the Holy Blessed One seems hidden from view. We move through our days surrounded by divine light we cannot perceive, like stars that shine brilliantly in the daytime sky yet remain invisible to our naked eye. The light is there, constant and radiant, but the brightness of ordinary life conceals what has always been present. We know something greater exists beyond what we can see, yet it remains beyond our ordinary perception.

This beautiful chassidic teaching reveals that we have a way of seeing this divine light:

“The stars, which by day are not visible,

can nevertheless be seen

by one who uses a proper lens.

The holy letters of prayer form such lenses.

They may be used as telescopes

for seeing into the hidden ways of God.

The High Holy Days offer us that lens. The presence of the Eternal surrounds us like those invisible stars, flowing through our relationships, our struggles, our unexpected moments of grace. The divine hand moves through what appears to be random events, weaving sacred purpose through the ordinary fabric of our lives. Sacred meaning flows through seemingly disconnected experiences. However, we sometimes remain blind to this luminous reality that encompasses everything around us, but our prayers offer us a way to see what has always been present.  The Hebrew letters in our Machzor, the ancient words that have guided our people through millennia, become the lens through which the hidden ways of the Creator emerge from concealment.

During these Days of Awe, we gather in synagogue holding this sacred lens in our hands. Each Hebrew word becomes carefully crafted glass that reveals what our ordinary sight cannot perceive. Through these holy letters, we discover that we have never been wandering without direction. The light of the Holy One has been shining on us constantly, blessing our steps, guiding our choices and illuminating meaning in everything we encounter. The stars of divine presence are always there.

May this new year bring clarity and recognition of the divine light that illuminates your path. May you be inscribed and sealed in the Book of Life for a year of health, happiness, and peace.  May you have a good and sweet new year.

Rabbi Alisa Zilbershtein is the Rabbi of Beth Shalom Congregation – Edmontonton’s Egalitarian Conservative Shul.