Tonight's Selichot services will begin with havdalah, the ceremony of wine and spices and fire which formally ends Shabbat. With this havdalah, we'll enter into the holiday season, which will end with havdalah two weeks from tonight, when we once again make havdalah to formally mark the end of Shabbat and Yom Kippur. Two weeks of self-examination, reflection, and repentance, bookended with two havdalot.

I'm excited about my high holiday pulpit, which is right here at home -- I'll be behind the amud with my friend and colleague Jeff, serving as CBI's cantorial soloist for the Days of Awe. I'm excited about offering some poems this year as part of our services; tonight I'll be reading Petition, and our Rosh Hashanah shofar service will feature some new poems written just for this occasion.

Of course, I'm also aware that the task of leading a community in prayer at this holy season is a big one. Especially since so many people come to High Holiday services who don't necessarily attend Shabbat services during the rest of the year. I hope that we can create opportunities for real prayer and for real teshuvah.

If I have offended or hurt you in any way in the year now ending, I hope that you will accept my regret and will forgive me.

For now, it's Shabbat -- time to rest and enjoy. And when this Shabbat ends, the rollercoaster begins...