Hineni. Here I Am.

This is the time of year when we would ordinarily be together. When we would reflect on what has been and celebrate the sweetness of what is to come.

But this year, the Hebrew word “Hineni” takes on a new meaning.

It’s not just a call for our prayers to be heard. This year we say “Here I am” as a commitment.

We commit to being present for ourselves, for our loved ones, and for our greater community—even if we can't be present in person. There has never been a more important time to do so.

For more ways to reflect, reconnect, and renew over this year’s High Holidays, visit: https://reflect.reformjudaism.org/
Each activity can be completed alone or with family and friends.

Shanah Tovah!

To The Forces of Kindness and Mercy, wherever you may be: 

Please pour out your blessing on this land,
our citizens and elected officials, 
in whose hands we’ve entrusted with the public good. 

Enlighten us all with the rules of justice, 
so that peace, tranquillity, happiness and freedom 
stretch throughout our land. 

Please bestow the spirit of humanity amongst all of us, 
and plant love, fellowship, and friendship 
between the different communities and faiths that dwell here. 

Uproot from our hearts all hate, animosity, jealousy and strife,
in order to fulfil the longings of all our nation’s inhabitants, 
who aspire for dignity. 

And so may our land be a blessing for all who live on earth, 
and that fellowship, mercy and liberty will dwell between us all. 

Establish the vision that 
“Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, 
neither shall they learn war anymore.”

Moroccan-Inspired Vegetable Couscous
By Tina Wasserman

This Moroccan-inspired dish is a perfect way to reap the bounty of wonderful vegetables available during the Sukkot season. It also makes a beautiful, edible centerpiece for your dinner table in the sukkah.

Ingredients
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 medium onion, diced into 1/2-inch pieces
2 carrots, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
1 8-ounce can of tomato sauce
3/4 cup dark raisins
1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 1/2 cups of vegetable stock, divided use
1 small (1 pound) eggplant, sliced into 1-inch cubes
2 yellow crookneck squash, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
2 small zucchini, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds, or 1 cup asparagus cut into 1-inch lengths
4 ounces of mushrooms (any type), caps cut into quarters (portabellas cut into 1-inch cubes)
1 15-ounce can of chickpeas, drained
4 Tablespoons butter or margarine
1 cup fine couscous
1 or more Tablespoons of finely minced parsley for garnish

Directions

1. Heat a large frying pan or 4-quart saucepan for 30 seconds, add the olive oil, and heat for 15 seconds. Sauté the garlic and onion until lightly golden. Do not allow the garlic to brown.
2. Add the carrots, tomato sauce, raisins, salt, cumin, and 1 cup of the stock. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until the carrots are crisp tender--thoroughly cooked but firm and not mushy.
3. Add the zucchini and the eggplant and cook for 10 minutes. Spoon in the crookneck squash or asparagus pieces, mushrooms, and chickpeas and stir to combine. Cook for an additional 10 minutes until all the vegetables are tender.
4. In a large saucepan, heat the remaining 1 1/2 cups of stock along with the butter or margarine. Add the couscous. Cover, remove from the heat, and allow the pan to sit for 5 minutes.
5. To serve, spoon the couscous into the center of a large rimmed dish, and surround with the cooked vegetables. Pour the sauce evenly over all, and sprinkle with a little parsley for garnish.

Additional Notes
- Always heat your sauté pan before adding oil. This prevents the oil from adhering to the pan and the food from sticking to the oil.
- When cooking vegetables, always add in first those that require more cooking time.
- The fins of portabella mushrooms will blacken foods. Before adding a portabella to any recipe, scrape the fins off its underside with a spoon and use only the remaining mushroom cap.

Recipe from Reform Judaism

“Rejoicing in the Torah” doesn’t require us to find joy in every verse.

    It doesn’t mean that we concur with every choice made by the people in it.

It doesn’t demand that we defend the indefensible or excuse the inexcusable.

    It doesn’t imply that we should be happy about passages that break our hearts.

Rejoicing in the Torah is found in the freedom to study it when, where, and with whom we wish.

    We experience happiness with it when we wrestle with its conflicts and struggle with its challenges.

It becomes a source of gladness when even its most disturbing passages increase our desire to do good.

    “It is a tree of life” when we treat all life with care, a “light to the eyes” when we look where we are going, a “path of peace” when it inspires us to work for a better world.

As we restart the process of reading it, let our renewed study bring newfound hope, meaning, and joy.     
​May this be our blessing and let us say:

    Amen. 

Rabbi David Wirtschafter is the rabbi of Temple Adath Israel in Lexington, KY.