Dear Friends,

It is hard to believe we are approaching another new year.   Even as our years are filled with joy and challenges, the time seems to fly so fast.  These days right before Rosh Hashanah are a paradoxical period.  We are meant to reflect on the past while also looking to the future. Let us begin with reflection…This past year has certainly been a full one for Geoff and me.  We moved back to Chicago and began new jobs in wonderful communities.  Just recently, we began a new chapter in our lives - parenthood.  In May, Geoff and I welcomed our first child into the world, Ruby Truth Abrams-Prass.  Our daughter has already transformed our lives in so many ways.  In addition to being a rabbi, wife, daughter and the many other roles I play, I am now also “mom.”  While still in my early stages of parenthood, it is clear that motherhood is a role like no other, more challenging and more rewarding than anything I have experienced in my life thus far.  Over the past few months, I have gotten to know the incredible human being who is my daughter and I have come to understand the great joy, responsibility, and power of being a parent.  I have learned that when Ruby smiles, I smile and when Ruby cries, I often feel like crying as well.  Even at a few months old, I want her to be happy.  And even after just a few months, I know I will not always be able to turn the tears into a smile.  But I know I will do anything in power to try.

I have always believed there is a spark of God in every person.  Every one of us is a child of the Divine and every one of us embodies the ruach - spirit - of God.  Ruby is yet one more proof of this.  As with every child, there is more Divine light and possibility in the world because she is here.  She has opened Geoff and me to a kind of love we never knew until a few months ago.

These have been words of reflection.  At Ruby’s naming ceremony, we asked her grandparents and aunts and uncles to offer her words of blessing on different values we hold dear.  These were blessings to carry her forward, into her future and ours.  Geoff and I gave the seventh blessing - for truth and justice.  It seems appropriate at this time - a time of looking forward - to share that blessing with our temple family. 

One of my favorite group of Jewish texts is the Prophets.  They were the activists of their day - voices of truth and justice in times of corruption and greed.  Even when others thought they were crazy, the prophets always spoke truth to power in the name of justice, knowing that God was with them in their calling.   Our blessing for you is that you live with a vision of justice, acting as an agent of truth.  We will always be here to support you and encourage you to embody these values.  We also pray that the ability to know truth and justice brings you a sense of wholeness and purpose in your life and becomes a way to express your love for other people.  We love you and pray that you are blessed with joy, health and all the love in the world.

I wish you all a meaningful time of reflection and year full of blessing.

Shanah Tovah,

Rabbi Alison Abrams

Rabbi Alison Abrams