As you may know, this year Conservative/Masorti congregations throughout the United States are celebrating the publishing of our new Machzor so appropriately titled, “Lev Shalem” which translates as “wholehearted” or “complete heart”.  What a wonderful title!

We see this Hebrew term in a number of verses from the Tanach.  In one example (Isaiah 38:2) we read about King Hezekiah who was known for important religious reforms for the community in his time.  As Hezekiah approaches his death we read: “Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord: “Remember O Lord how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.”

We too, desire to approach God during these High Holidays with wholehearted devotion and we also pray that God remember the good that we have done in our lives.  We pray that our deeds reflect a heart of goodness and that we will receive the strength to continue to live a life of decency and faith.  And like Hezekiah we pray that we will be able to turn during these holidays toward God with close personal prayer.

In the Amidah on the High Holidays we pray that the entire community will be allowed as a Jewish people to be “bound together” and be able to “carry out your will wholeheartedly” (U’vechen teyn pachdacha).  Powerfully we join together on these holiest days of the year joining our hearts as one as we turn to God with sincerity and wholeness.

Rabbi Jacob Emden (1697-1776) wrote in his commentary on the High Holiday amidah that the reference to a “whole heart” was meant to remind us that there are two parts to our essential being.  Each of us contains the “yetzer harah”, the evil inclination and the “yetzer hatov”, the good inclination.  As we approach prayer we must somehow unite all disparate parts of our soul that constantly struggle to express themselves throughout our lives.  Prayer does not mean we discard the evil inclination – no, instead, according to Emden, we unite the evil and good to create one unified heart.

Reb Menachem Mendel of Kotzk who lived in (1787-1859) wrote the following, somewhat paradoxical statement:  “There is nothing so complete as a broken heart”.  What could he mean by this?  I think that there can be several answers but I’d like to suggest that the Kotzker Rebbe recognized something about adulthood and maturity that we often forget.  To live and to grow will inevitably bring with it grief and pain.  No one can possibly escape feelings of loss – sometimes it is the loss of loved ones or even the loss of youth that comes with natural aging or myriad other loses that are a natural part of living life.  Yet, as we experience a torn heart we often find ourselves comforted in sincere and deep prayer that connects us to God in a powerfully and personally. 

Interestingly, our new Machzor reflects this reality of life with a section of prayers that recognizes both personal and global brokenness.  Especially during this season of repentance we seek “tikkun” or repair of our souls and our world. 

As we approach this new year I pray that we can do so with a “Lev Shalem”, a “complete heart” that reflects faithfulness and devotion, communal unity and unity of spirit, as well as our appreciation of maturity and growth. 

Shalom U’vracha,

Rabbi David Kaiman