Dear Friends, 

     Over the course of the last several weeks of vacation, many of us might well have participated in a grand American ritual, particularly common to Southern Californians; a trip to Disneyland, quite probably the happiest place on earth!

     Seeing our children's and grandchildren's unbridled joy and wonder at the sight and hugs of their favorite characters and throughout  thrilling rides and attractions, all rich with fantasy and imagination, is a blessing for anyone who loves a child. A day in the Magic Kingdom is an escape from life’s challenges and opportunities, from the relativity of options, choices, and consequences, each and all better or worse, to an alternative reality of absolute happiness and fun. Escaping into our children's smiles and laughter allows us to escape some of the realities of our own "real world," and as we return to them, some of the realities of the “real” world may feel slightly lighter as we re-engage them.

     As Jews, we are blessed with rituals that help us specifically to engage and even confront the challenges that life presents and to avail ourselves of opportunities for joy, purpose, and meaning. Few, if any, of our rituals are designed to have us escape reality, as Disney does. And, the most compelling among our rituals helps us to clarify, whether spiritually or practically, what our struggles in life are truly about and how we might each and all approach them toward achieving the greatest good possible. Whereas Disneyland offers a vacation from reality, prayer offers us a spiritual approach to engaging it.

     First among our rituals is the opportunity for prayer afforded us by Services at synagogue. While some Services are, perhaps, more "entertaining" than others (our First Shabbat Services, as one example), the common thread of experience that runs through all of our Services is not fun, but, rather meaning. Whereas Disneyland can afford us entertainment with a pinch of meaning, Services can provide for us awareness, understanding, and purpose, all framed by the enriching and uplifting aesthetic of music and sacred verse.

     It strikes me that, in an era in which we seek so often to be entertained and to escape reality, we may often confuse Disneyland and Services, mistaking each for the other. We may, at times, imagine that Services are an escape from reality, denying ourselves what can be the safest and most reflective time and place in our lives to face and even confront our realities. Likewise, we may sometimes forget that the joy of Disneyland is not duplicable in our daily lives, leaving us with unrealistic expectations of an ease and pleasure in life that could never, and perhaps should never, be met in reality. This is not to say that Services should not be enjoyable or that there is no enduring value to a day at Disneyland. Rather, it is a question of emphasis and purpose, and each is quite unlike the other.

     The escape that Disneyland provides for us is a blessing. Prayerful contemplation during our Services is likewise a blessing. We are uniquely fortunate to have both within our reach and we are most fortunate when we engage each, without confusing one for the other.

     B'Shalom - With Blessings of Peace and Wholeness,

Rabbi Isaac Jeret

Spiritual Leader