Elul 22 5781

 Elul 22, 5781/August 30, 2021

Rabbi Harry Rosenfeld

The Talmud teaches in Tractate Rosh Hashanah 16b and Bava Metziah 75b: Mishaneh Makom, Mishaneh Mazal - Changing where you are changes your luck.

Moving to a new place is ubiquitous in our society. We or our ancestors, and people today, moved to these shores looking to change their luck for the better, hoping to find “streets paved with gold.” We continue to move to new locations toward new opportunities, or fleeing a place that was less than welcoming.

But, changing where we are, does not guarantee that the change in our luck will be for the better. There are no guarantees and the luck we find may be bad luck.

More importantly, “Changing where we are” is not just about physical location. We continually change and grow hopefully for the better. Our Judaism gives us an opportunity every year during these 40 days, to change ourselves For the better.

Dr. Eugene Mihaly taught that Judaism survived because, everywhere Jews have left and arrived at, through the reforms that Judaism experienced, we remain moored to where we started. Being moored does not hamper change, rather it allows us the stability to grow and change our luck for the better.

Who moors you to the past so that you can move forward? Who can you call after many years and it is as if you were never apart? Who moors you to your past and at the same time propels you toward fulfilling who you can become?