Jews in the United States who great each other with a customary Shanah Tovah! or “(Have a) Good Year!” will have more meaning behind those words after 12 months that saw the horrific terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, and the ensuing war, rising antisemitism, multiple assassination attempts on a former president and divisiveness among Jews, arguing that there will be great repercussions if the candidate they want to be the next president is not elected in November.
Rabbis who spoke to JNS said they have seen a surge in interest and participation after Oct. 7, and say they will do their best to connect with congregants and raise their morale at this tumultuous time in history.
Rabbi Felipe Goodman of Temple Beth Sholom in Las Vegas said he will include some stories of heroism on that Black Shabbat. The leader of the Conservative congregation said he knows some might have differing opinions regarding Israel, but his message will be one of unity.
“At a time like this, we cannot turn our back on Israel,” he said. “Whether you like the prime minister or not”—referring to Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu—“whether you like the government or not, we’re all in this together. We have an enemy that’s coming to kill us.”
He also said that while there are understandable concerns about rising antisemitism, it is imperative that Jews don’t let their enemies define them, adding that he will speak about the need for introspection to see what specific actions one is taking to ensure the preservation of Judaism.
‘Correcting our ways’
Rabbi Yosef Zarnighian of Congregation Mikveh Israel, an Orthodox synagogue in Philadelphia, said he will speak about Oct. 7 as part of his sermon.
“It’s not an easy issue to address,” said Zarnighian, noting that his parents fled Iran for a better life in America. “Many of our congregants have family members who are soldiers on the border in the north ready against Hezbollah, and some have family members still fighting in Gaza against Hamas. Maimonides teaches us that in tragedy, we cannot be prophets and pretend to know why a tragedy like Oct. 7 took place.”

On the other hand,” he continued, “we can’t ignore the tragedy because God is not absent from the universe. As it says in Psalms, ‘The guardian of Israel does not slumber or sleep.’ How do we respond to tragedy? The message of teshuvah is one of correcting our ways, and asking what led to the tragedy and what can we do to make sure it never happens again.”
Zarnighian made it a point to say that as policy and law, he does not endorse any political candidate and encourages people to vote their conscience.
“We are proud Americans who care deeply about democracy,” he said. “I speak year-round about how rather than asking oneself if they are a Republican or a Democrat, or what a candidate’s position is on a specific social issue, we should look at how something relates to Jewish tradition and what the Torah says about certain issues.”
‘It’s a fine line that I walk’
Rabbi Julie Kozlow, founder of Or Atid in Arizona, which has no denomination, said she will be giving a sermon called “A Letter to My Son and Everyone Else.”
“The point is to show how my love of Israel transcends the particulars,” she said. “My son is part of the younger generation who finds fault with Israel so easily.”

She acknowledged that Israel, like any country, can be criticized but emphasized that “Israel is in my DNA, and my DNA is in Israel.” She said she plans to visit in December.
Kozlow also said that while she believes that war is sometimes necessary, a Jew should never celebrate it.
And she noted her rule that politics are forbidden at her place of worship.
“Half the congregation are Republicans and half are Democrats, so it’s a fine line that I walk,” she said. “The rabbis in old times sat at a table, everyone had a different opinion, and they fought as hard as they could to defend their beliefs. They listened to each other and got up and had lunch together. We’re not doing that in this day and age. We have been manipulated to believe if someone doesn’t agree with you, they’re evil. We’re all kind of caught in this manipulation. I set the law that you cannot talk about politics in any Or Atid gathering.”
Rabbi Erez Sherman of Sinai Temple, a Conservative synagogue in Los Angeles, will present a Yizkor sermon about “individual and collective loss, and how we’ve experienced both this year,” coupled with the necessity to realize that “we can’t live a Jewish life out in fear; we have it live it with pride.”
He said his congregation has a section with the names and ages of the hostages in certain seats, without the faces, as well as a banner.

“We want to keep their names alive,” Sherman said. “We feel strongly that no matter what else is happening, we must have the hostages on our minds.”
Rabbi Mark Miller of Temple Beth Ami in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., said on Rosh Hashanah, he will speak about Israel and Jewish identity, and how Oct. 7 has impacted people. He said that his Reform congregation is known to be supportive of Israel and that the Jewish people are living in very frightening times.

He also pointed out that in the heated political climate, people may use hurtful words against those who they think are voting for the wrong candidate in the upcoming election.
“Everyone is nervous, and tensions are running high,” Miller said. “My Yom Kippur sermon is crafted around ‘Mah Tovu,’ in terms of how we approach people who are different from us or may have different views and our words can be one of a blessing or words of a curse.”
Rabbi Zalman Deitsch, director of the Schottenstein Chabad House at The Ohio State University, stated that while he will not be giving a long traditional sermon, he will stress the need for Jewish unity. In the wake of Oct. 7, rather than questioning their faith, many students have been leaning into it, he described, with some putting on tefillin for the first time. He said he encourages his students to be proudly Jewish, despite a rising tide of antisemitism in North America.
‘The overall need for healing’
Rabbi Bonnie Margulis of Beth Hillel Kenosha, a Reform temple in Wisconsin, mentioned a number of important issues she will address in her High Holiday sermons.
“I will be speaking about voting rights as a Jewish value,” Margulis said. “I will be speaking about Israel and being able to look at what’s going on with nuance, understanding the complications and respecting different opinions in the Jewish community, and coming together to support Israel, each other and looking to find hope.”
She said for the Kol Nidre sermon on Yom Kippur, she plans to talk about white nationalism.
Rabbi Andy Koren of Temple Emanuel in Greensboro, N.C., said many have been watching the news since Oct. 7 with concern, with the additional possibility of an expanding war between Israel and the Hezbollah terrorist organization in Lebanon.

“We will be focusing on what a difficult year it’s been for us,” he said. “We will be talking about our connection to Israel and the theme of the overall need for healing—for us and for our people around the world.”
He said that the Reform temple has strong ties to Israel, and since Oct. 7 and in the last year, there has been a surge of Jews in the area who want to be connected.
Rabbis noted that some congregants feel especially overwhelmed by the news cycle when it seems that every few days, something unexpected takes place. Take, for instance, the barrage of nearly 200 missiles launched on Oct. 1 by Iran into Israel.
Rabbi Miriam Terlinchamp led Temple Sholom in Cincinnati and is now the executive director of Judaism Unbound, and hosts the “Tales of the Unbound” podcast.
“I’m thankful for the gift of being able to listen this year,” she stated plainly. “If there was one thing I would talk about, it would be extending compassion to see the broken-heartedness in all people. The role of nuance or being able to sit at one table has been decimated by our fear and trauma, which are based in reality but can wind up isolating Jews.”
She said: “My connection to God is driven by the belief that things we think are impossible are possible if we listen a little differently to the world. In this moment of Elul, everyone has the capacity for change.”