What do failure, tikkun olam and the power of imagination have in common? They’re all themes of D.C.-area rabbis’ High Holiday sermons this month.
Around this time of year, clergy members often take extra care to write sermons that reflect the main ideas of the High Holidays, a period of introspection, repentance and spiritual renewal. They incorporate both timeless themes and a connection to current events.
Rabbi Ilana Zietman, the director for Jewish life at Georgetown University, said she’ll discuss tikkun olam and how this idea of repairing the world became “so ambitious.”
“What did our ancestors think? How did they have the chutzpah to think we could repair the whole world?” Zietman asked.
She plans to unpack the origins behind the Jewish concept of tikkun olam and also provide nuance to the idea, specifically geared toward her primary audience.
“College students … are in a stage of life where they want to make a difference,” Zietman said. “That’s why they’re learning and experiencing things, but they’re also facing a real political reality and an economic reality and a global reality where it is really hard to see how one can make a difference.”
Zietman referenced the fewer opportunities and jobs available to young adults today.
“Careers are going to look different for them in a lot of ways,” she added. “So, how can I give them a version of tikkun olam that’s still inspiring and still ambitious, but actually sustainable — more specific — to help guide them? And where can we find in our tradition other guidelines for how to live an ethical life?”
Rabbi Marc Israel of Tikvat Israel Congregation, a Conservative synagogue in Rockville, will similarly discuss how to move forward in difficult times.
“There are a lot of people who are just really struggling right now with being able to maintain a sense of hope and imagine a better future,” Israel said. “Part of what I’ll be talking about is where to get those sources of strength, even when we may not see the world getting better.”
He said themes of resilience and hope are as relevant as ever, between the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, growing antisemitism at home and across the world, the Trump administration’s “assault on our democracy,” the shooting at the Capital Jewish Museum and the recent assassination of political activist Charlie Kirk.
Rabbi Hannah Spiro of Hill Havurah, an independent Jewish community in Washington, D.C., has a similar message.
“I’m going to be talking about opening ourselves up to imagination as a way to cope with impossible times and to connect with God and with one another, and also to envision a way to take action when it seems like we’re powerless,” Spiro said.
She added that she felt at a loss for words while brainstorming ideas for this year’s sermons.
“I personally was feeling this sense of tirelessness, and I was having trouble coming up with anything particularly inspiring,” Spiro said. “I decided to go with imagination, because if I think too much about what is, I feel powerless, but if I think about what could be, it opens me up a bit more.”
Other sermons embody more timeless themes.
Rabbi Hyim Shafner of Kesher Israel Congregation, a Modern Orthodox shul in Washington, D.C., plans to talk about repentance and personal relationships with God, themes that he’s incorporated into past years’ sermons.
Trish Abrams, a visiting rabbinical student who will lead High Holiday services at Fort Belvoir Jewish Congregation, will discuss “failing miserably, and how it’s OK to do that.”
“Our ideas of perfectionism often lead us to fail miserably, and we think that’s a bad thing, but that’s how you grow and you learn,” Abrams said. “If there’s no adversity in your life and you don’t make mistakes, then how can you become a better person? How can you grow from that?”
She hopes the synagogue’s 30 to 50 member families walk away knowing, “It’s OK that I messed up. That’s going to help me learn.”
Abrams came across this message while reading Dav Pilkey’s “Comic Kid Cat Club” to her kids one night, in which Li’l Petey and Molly attempt to teach 21 baby frogs how to make comics. The two make mistakes, but become better artists with practice and perseverance, according to a press release.
“I thought, ‘What a great message, not just to tell my kids, but also for me as a religious leader who’s leading the services, and a great message for congregants,’” Abrams said.
She added that the High Holidays can be a difficult time because of the focus on our mistakes and forgiveness.
“I think the message that we should [convey] is that yes, you have intrinsic worth as you are,” Abrams said. “Don’t be afraid to fail and make mistakes. It’s OK to do that and also realize that you’re going to be a better person when you can take the time to also sit and look at the things we could have done better and work on what you can. It’s a balancing act between not being too hard on yourself, but also looking at what you can work on.”
