Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote: “Our goal should be to live life in radical amazement. …To be spiritual is to be amazed.” The high holidays are the perfect time to explore what “spiritual” can mean to us as Jews, and to explore the idea that this year— even with all its dismay and darkness—can still fill us with the wonder and awe so necessary for a “religious” life. We will study Heschel’s essay on radical amazement, with emphasis on our own personal reactions and reflections.

This year is especially important for us to be together. Rabbi Elyse Goldstein will be leading the High Holidays services at Beth Isaiah. 

Elyse Goldstein has been a Rabbi for 41 years, including at City Shul, a congregation she founded in downtown Toronto, and twenty years as the director of Kolel: The Adult Centre for Liberal Jewish Learning. Rabbi Goldstein is a well-known published scholar and an inspirational educator. In 2013 she was named one of America’s 50 Most Influential Rabbis by The Forward and in 2017 she was awarded Doctor of Laws Honoris Causa from Toronto Metropolitan University in recognition of her path-breaking work in Canada.

“When I used to attend classes, retreats, and services with Kolel, Rabbi Goldstein’s sermons always brought a level of wisdom and insight that always left me with something new to ponder. I’m looking forward to services filled with Rabbi Goldstein’s contagious kavanah. It is truly a privilege to welcome her to the Beth Isaiah congregation.”
                                                                                  -Tracie Schmirling, Beth Isaiah Congregant

Learn more about Rabbi Goldstein here: https://www.rabbielysegoldstein.com/