David Byrne, the lead singer of the Talking Heads, sings ‘the world was moving she was right there with it, and she was.’ The song, ‘And She Was,’ appeared on their 1985 album, Little Creatures. I’m not sure what he intended when he wrote that line, but – for me – it speaks to the nature of change. The world is, indeed, always moving. Life, after all, is all about change. 

Friends, change is all around us, especially these days: Summer is drawing to an end. A new school year is starting. The Eagles are about to embark on their defense of their title. 

Around KI, we are very much gearing up for the high holy days, which will be here before we know it. This month of Elul has us consider what we might do with the new year about to start, 5786. Who do we want to become? Where should we put our energy? 

There are other changes in the air as well: Technology is changing constantly (maybe for the better, maybe not), as we seemingly have the world at our fingertips with our iphone or so-called ‘smart’ device. Medicine is changing and advancing but so is skepticism around science growing at an alarming rate. Political norms seem to be changing too. Assumptions we made about the reliability of longstanding institutions – the Supreme Court, the FBI and CIA, Congress itself – are dashing off before our very eyes. Perhaps your relationship with Israel is changing too, as we move beyond long held talking points to a more earnest and evolved assessment of a place that is at once deeply flawed in its leadership and highly precious to us. Reform Judaism is also changing. We are not the staunch classical Reform Jews that our parents and grandparents may have been. We do not shun Hebrew like the early Reformer did, nor do we shy away from traditional texts, like the Talmud. Our Reform Judaism is robust, interactive, inclusive, and committed to building a more perfect world

The question is what to do with change. Some elements of change we can navigate: cooler temperatures mean dressing differently. Some elements of change we can choose to resist: the undoing of democratic norms can be fought in how you vote, how you spend your money, the voices you choose to elevate in your home and personal life. We cannot simply wish for things to return to how they were or to a mythic past. Nor can we pretend the world isn’t changing on so many fronts. We cannot sit on the sidelines and hope things will work out. This is not the Jewish way. Like the girl in the song, we have to be ‘right there with it.’    

This coming year, I am excited to meet and greet this changing world with you. We are in it together, this fast-paced sometimes unnerving life. I am thankful that YOU are part of this congregational family. May it be a year of meaning, of peace and of life for all of us. Amen.