{"id":76485,"date":"2023-09-08T16:58:13","date_gmt":"2023-09-08T21:58:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/?p=76485"},"modified":"2023-09-15T08:37:51","modified_gmt":"2023-09-15T13:37:51","slug":"rav-elations-today-we-stand-but-only-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/rav-elations-today-we-stand-but-only-today\/","title":{"rendered":"Rav-Elations: Today We Stand&#8230;But Only Today"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By RABBI DAVID GERBER<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This week&#8217;s Torah portion holds significance not only for the present moment but also for Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. It commences with the profound words, &#8220;Atem Nitzavim hayom kulchem lifnei Adonai,&#8221; meaning, &#8220;You are all standing today before God.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/rabbi_david_gerber_-_talit_2016.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-38967 size-thumbnail lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/rabbi_david_gerber_-_talit_2016-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/rabbi_david_gerber_-_talit_2016-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/rabbi_david_gerber_-_talit_2016-350x350.jpg 350w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 150px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 150\/150;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-38967 size-thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/rabbi_david_gerber_-_talit_2016-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/rabbi_david_gerber_-_talit_2016-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/rabbi_david_gerber_-_talit_2016-350x350.jpg 350w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a>Even within these initial two words lies a message that offers guidance not just on Yom Kippur but throughout the entire year. &#8220;Atem Nitzavim&#8221;: You are standing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Jewish people are recognized for their ceaseless motion. We are a community of action, continuously working and engaging. Our very legal code is termed &#8220;Halacha,&#8221; which directly translates to &#8220;walking.&#8221; Throughout the span of 364 days, we live in adherence to the principles of Halacha, tirelessly tending to our own needs, our families, and our communities.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yet, on this singular day, Yom Kippur, we permit ourselves to stand still. We gather in the synagogue throughout the day. We immerse ourselves in prayer and study, all while refraining from sustenance. We exhibit remarkable patience, awaiting the moment when the rabbi utters those three remarkable words: &#8220;please be seated.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As we embark on a new year, we do so with an undertone of contemplation. We strive for personal growth and initiate the year with resilience. However, this endeavor is only achievable when we set aside the time to stand in tranquility and regard our own reflections. This is why we read these words on Yom Kippur, to prompt us to pause and stand in the presence of the Divine.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em>Rabbi David Gerber is the senior rabbi of the URJ\u2019s Congregation Gates of Prayer (Sha\u2019arai Tefillah) in Metairie.<\/em><\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_toolbar\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"lazyload\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\"\/><\/noscript><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services_t=new Array(\"Twitter\",\"Facebook\",\"Google Plus\",\"Pinterest\",\"Linkedin\",\"Tumblr\",\"Email\");var hupso_background_t=\"#EAF4FF\";var hupso_border_t=\"#66CCFF\";var hupso_toolbar_size_t=\"medium\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_url_t=\"\";var hupso_title_t=\"Rav-Elations%3A%20Today%20We%20Stand...But%20Only%20Today\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/share_toolbar.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[557,642],"tags":[8790,8795,8788,678,8821],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76485"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76485"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76485\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":76577,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76485\/revisions\/76577"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76485"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76485"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76485"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}