Ki Anu Amecha For We Are Your People
Rabbi Linda Shriner-Cahn
Over ten months ago we entered into a new reality as a worldwide Jewish community . It is a painful reality with no solution in the offing . With the approach of the High Holydays , the Yamim Noraim , my mind and my heart turn to the prayer above . I have found this prayer to be one of hope and the importance of our relationship to the Divine .
For me , one of the highlights of the Yom Kippur service has always been the singing of Ki Anu Amecha . I have loved singing it full out – long ago , with my daughter by my side – and now with my beloved community .
It has been the music , the sense of hope that it has provided , that has carried me and those around me . It seemed to become a melody without end . The joyousness of the music provided a counterpoint to the seriousness of the Yom Kippur journey that we were on . Singing with intention and spirit along with others seemed to provide a net , a net of hope , of possibility of better days ahead .
This year , we need that net of hope more than ever . The words of the prayer speak to our interconnectedness with the Divine . It elucidates the many ways that we are connected to the Divine and the Divine to us .
For many , this year has been one where the hope for a better world for our children seems
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