by Bat-El Lieberman, Keshet Director of Jewish Life
Just before Rosh Hashanah, a group of Keshet moms gathered in the beautiful home of one of our community members for an evening of challah baking. There is something special about gathering women around a table to create together. A challah bake is not only about making bread; it is an opportunity to connect spiritually, emotionally, and physically. We knead, shape, laugh, share, and create something together with our own hands.
As we gathered just before Rosh Hashanah, when we celebrate the creation of the world, I found myself thinking about the idea of creation.
One of the piyutim we say on Yom Kippur contains the beautiful phrase “כי הנה כחומר ביד היוצר” (Ki Heene Ka’Chomer Be’Yad Ha’Yotzer) “like clay in the hands of the Creator.” The image describes us as material in the hands of our Creator, shaped and formed with intention.
Standing around that table, I began thinking about creation in a different way.
The world is made from countless individual ingredients that come together to create something greater than each one could be on its own. Challah is much the same. Flour is flour. Water is water. Yeast is yeast. Each ingredient has its own purpose, but when they come together, they become something completely new.
I think the same is true of the Keshet community.
Each person brings something unique. Our families, our participants, our staff, volunteers, and community partners all bring different experiences, strengths, perspectives, and gifts. Individually, each one matters. But when we come together, we create something bigger: a community where people can connect, participate, support one another, and experience Jewish life together.
As we enter a new year, I think about how much we are all creators. We may not control every ingredient that life gives us, but we can choose how we bring those ingredients together and how we shape what comes next.
And perhaps the most important ingredient is one another.
May we enter this new year as a community that knows how to collaborate, partner, and support each other. Sometimes we may be the sugar, helping someone else rise. Sometimes we may be the water, connecting people and bringing them together. And sometimes, perhaps, we are the honey, making someone else’s day just a little sweeter.
That evening, each woman made her own challah. But together, we created something beyond the bread, a moment of connection, a circle of Jewish community, and a reminder that when we bring our different ingredients together, we can create something beautiful.
As we welcomed 5787, may we remember that we are not only part of creation. We are also creators.
May we have the wisdom to shape our year with intention, the generosity to support one another, and the courage to continue creating a Keshet community where everyone has a place at the table.
Shana Tovah!
