Hineini. I am here. Today I stand before you humbled. You have chosen me to be your rabbi. It is a humbling feeling. I pray that I am worthy of your respect.

Today is Rosh Hodesh Elul. A mere month to Rosh Hashanah, the Rosh Hodesh of Rosh Hodeshes, the head of the year. Now I am beginning to think that G0d has a sense of humor. The last time that I gave a d’var Torah here, back in March, it was Rosh Hodesh Nisan, just before Passover. Both are about preparing. Both are about a new year. Passover is the anniversary of the exodus from Egypt, and about spring, rebirth, renewal and a new agricultural planning. Nisan has come to be about preparing our homes and ridding them of hamatz. It is physically demanding. And while people have tried to write a spiritual layer into it about how ridding ourselves of hamatz is like getting rid of the puffed upness, tell that to someone who is in the middle of moving the refrigerator to clean under it or up in the attic trying to bring down the Passover dishes. Moving to Elgin has seemed like Passover cleaning on steroids. It was physically demanding and exhausting. I am looking forward to a Shabbat afternoon nap. But there were special moments along the way. For instance when we were drivng here this week we saw an Elgin truck and the Elgin furniture company somewhere along Interstate 90. That made this move seem beshert, destined. Even more so through this process people have done such very nice things for the Kleins, old, long time friends in Chelmsford and new friends here in Elgin.

Today is Rosh Hodesh Elul, again about preparing. This preparation is more of a spiritual preparation so that we are ready to meet the new year. It is one of reviewing the past year and committing to make changes in the new. It is about doing “teshuva”, repentance, returning. It is about repairing relationships, with ourselves, with our friends, famly and community and with G-d. It too is hard work and that is why the calendar gives us 40 days until Yom Kippur. We’ll talk more about this in the weeks to come.

Today our Torah portion comes from Deuteronomy. This is Moses’s farewell address. He knows he is not going into the Promised Land and he is recapping what the Israelites have to do. It outlines the covenant between the Israelites and G-d. A covenant is a contract. If you do X then I will do Y. If the Israelites do X then G-d will be their G-d, go with them, give them rest, protect them, bring them rain in its season, and bring them into the land of Israel that G-d promised to their ancestors Abraham Isaac and Jacob.to

Today’s parsha teaches us that we should not add anything to the law nor subtract from it. This is a congregation that through its visioning process is a congregation in transition. Some members are excited about this process and some are worried. Where is the rock that they have stood on for so many years, even for thousands of years. This parsha reprises all of the laws of kashrut, something this congregation has reaffirmed as part of its vision process. This rabbi has not come to town to change all that, but rather to build on the solid foundation that is already here.

Hiring a rabbi is a lot like having a covenant. A covenant is like a contract, legally binding. If you do X then I will do Y. The nitty gritty of that is in the formal contract, elegantly negotiated by Malcolm, Mark and Dale. But there is more to a rabbi’s contract than the financial terms and job descriptions.

So here is my proposed covenant with Congregation Kneseth Israel.
If
I promise:
To be patient and compassionate. To be slow to anger.
To approach the task of being a rabbi with joy and enthusiasm.
To laugh at my mistakes and have a sense of humor
To be present. To listen attentively
To guide you and meet people where they are
I promise to make halachic decisions carefully and thoughtfully with the knowledge and understanding of 5000 years of tradition
I promise to continue to learn
I promise to create, together with you a place where people feel welcomed, a safe non-judgmental space where people can explore their Judaism in all of its myriad facets
I promise to be visible to the Elgin community and to promote Congregation Kneseth Israel, to be a good role model for our kids
I promise to teach and to learn, to preach and lead discussions that are meaningful and enable us all to grown.
I promise to do Tikkun Olam, gathering the sparks together, in myself, with our community and the wider world so that the world will be a better place.

What I want from you is similar
To listen openly, attentively and honestly
To laugh at my mistakes and help me correct them
To be patient, especially as I and my family settle in
To create community where people feel welcomed, cared for and loved in a safe, non-judgmental space.
To become life long learners
To create meaningful observance, rituals and celebrations
To be willing to share deeply from yourselves to enrich all of us emotionally, spiritually and physically.

Then we will have created a partnership, a covenant, like G-d and the people of Israel.

Will there be glitches along the way? Probably. We are all human. I promise to try and resolve misunderstandings quickly so that feelings don’t fester. I promise to own my mistakes and apologize when necessary. I promise to

The words of the Hininini prayer that our cantorial soloist will sing in just a short month are particularly apt today. This is Rabbi Rachel Barenblatt, the Velveteen Rabbi’s translation with my emendations.

Here I stand painfully aware of my flaws 
quaking in my shoes and in my heart.
I’m here on behalf of this holy kahal, congregation, assembly of kneseth Israel 
even though the part of me that’s quick to judge myself says I’m not worthy to lead them.
All creation was nurtured 
in Your compassionate womb! God of our ancestors, help me as I call upon your mercy.
Don’t blame this community for the places where I miss the mark in my actions or my heart, in my thoughts or in our davening.
Each of us is responsible for her own teshuvah. Help us remember that 
without recriminations.
Accept my prayer
as though I were exactly the leader
this community needs in this moment, as though my voice never faltered.
Free me from my own baggage
that might get in the way.
See us through the rose-colored glasses
of Your mercy.
Transform our suffering into gladness.
Dear One, may my prayer reach You
wherever You are
for Your name’s sake.
All praise is due to You, Dear One
Who hears the prayers of our hearts

May it be so and may this be a season of growth, renewal, smooth transitions, reconciliations and teshuva. Then when we enter the new year in a month it will indeed be a sweet new year for each of us and for the community.
Ken yehi ratzon.