Summer - Flipbook - Page 8
CANTOR DAVID CHILDS
Dear TBI,
While I could tell you that each High Holy Day service is like a child that I love differently but equally, it’s not true. I
enjoy some services more than others. Ne’ilah, the final service of Yom Kippur, tends to be my favorite. I adore the
energy pouring from the room so much that I don’t even care that half the congregation is chatting while I daven. The
morning service of the first day of Rosh Hashanah comes in a close second because, while it is a heavy morning of
prayer, the mood is generally joyful, and we can all look forward to lunch afterward.
The following services are a few that I struggle with: The Avodah portion of Yom Kippur, because early afternoon
during a fast really is naptime; Yom Kippur mincha, because that was a really short break we just had; and the second
morning of Sukkot, because—woof—we have been in shul a lot lately.
I have mixed feelings about the evening service of Yom Kippur. It is a weighty and important service that kicks off a
full day of prayer, reflection, and repentance. The moments leading up to the start sometimes give me a pit in my
stomach—a mix of nervousness and dread, realizing that another year has passed and here we are again. I haven’t
accomplished everything that I had hoped to accomplish, nor have I strengthened all of the relationships that I hoped
to strengthen. Chanting the first notes of Kol Nidre feels like stepping off a high dive—we are gathered here to nullify
the vows that we have made to God and to ourselves. It is too late to fulfill them. There is no going back now.
My blessing to you, and my hope for myself, is that we can ride the wave of the Yamim Nora’im together. We will
prepare as well as we can, but when the moment comes around, it will just happen to us, along with all of the feelings
it brings out. I look forward to experiencing it all together once again!
With warm regards,
Cantor David Childs
tbiport.org
TISHREI/CHESHVAN 5786
