Our Rabbis have taught us Tadir V’Lo Tadir, Tadir Kodem, that which happens more regularly takes precedent. Therefore when we greet each other today, first we should wish each other a Shabbat Shalom and then we should wish each other a Shanah Tovah.

As we begin celebrating a New Year together and acknowledge the birthday of the world as she turns 5767 years old, we as Jewish Americans or American Jews, however we identify, typically know of two New Year celebrations in our lives. The first is Rosh Hashanah, and the second is January 1st of every year. Typically our collective habits at both times of year are to create our typical and most important “New Years Resolution List”. How are we going to be better this year, what are we going to do for ourselves, for our families and for others, how can we exercise more and stay healthy, when are going to make the time to enjoy the natural world around us that God has given to us to enjoy and to take care of.

But this year, I would argue that there is one word that should be on all of our resolution lists for this year. And that word is love. This year needs to be a year where we love ourselves more, where we love others more, and just as important, this year needs to be a year where we love our Jewish Homeland, the land of Eretz Yisrael, even more than we have ever loved her before in the past because she is looking for and is expecting more love from every single one of us.

It is always difficult to comprehend what the word love actually means. And each of us has our own way of showing our love to those around us and to our world. But before we can love others and give our love to the world, we must first accept the priority to love ourselves. And the first part of such a process is to ask ourselves the question, do we love ourselves? After all, the great Rabbinic Scholar stated, Im Ein Ani Li Mi Li, If I am not for myself, who will be for me? So my way of understanding such a statement is if I do not love myself, why should someone else love me?

And how do we love ourselves? Can we love ourselves more than we do now? We must take the desired risk that our souls and our bodies beg from us in spending more time on ourselves. Yes, there needs to be more time this year to listen to our evil inclination in a small way acknowledging that being a little bit more selfish over the coming year is crucial to our mental, spiritual and physical stability. We must make sure that we make ourselves the priority and then spend important and valuable time for others, for our jobs and for the wonderful volunteer organizations that we involve ourselves with.

Yitzhak Buxbaum, a Chasidic master once shared the following: A Chasidic book states: “All the souls in the world are one essence. Even when divided into parts, there exists in each part the whole essence. So a person’s love towards someone else is not the love of another, but-is the love of him or herself. The Chasidim call this exalted level, of loving another in the same way that you love yourself- “essence-love”. Because you see all souls as part of the same divine essence and as extensions of yourself.

It is only after we look at our souls, our lives and our daily routine in truly acknowledging that we are loving ourselves enough, that we can move on to the next aspect of love that exists in our lives and that is our ability and beauty to love others. There are different ways that we express our love towards our spouses, our children, our parents, our grandparents and our extended family and friends. But again, the question needs to be asked, are we loving those whom we say we love, whom we know and associate with enough? Or do we need to do a better job in showing those we love that we really do love them instead of just saying that we love them.

The caring of others in Judaism, Kavod HaBriot, is a very important commandment that we learn in our Torah. On this Rosh Hashanah, I want to share with you a true story that demonstrates just how crucial, how special and how holy our love can be for other people who are a part of our lives.

The story is about Sammy Braun, who was the owner of a ritual slaughterhouse in Argentina. And generally, Sammy was the last person to leave every night. The entire area was surrounded by a tall chain link fence and everyone entered through a wrought iron gate in the front, near the parking lot. The guard at the front gate, Domingo, knew that when Sammy Braun left in the evening, he could lock the gate and go home. One evening as Sammy was leaving, he called out to the guard, Domingo, “Good night my friend, you can lock up and go.”

“No”, Domingo replied. “Not everyone has left yet.”

“What are you talking about?” Sammy said. “Everyone left two hours ago!”

“It is not so!” Domingo responded back with great concern. “One of the Shochtim, one of the ritual slaughterers, Rabbi Berkowitz, has not left yet.”

“But he goes home every day with the other Shochtim, maybe you just did not see him!” Sammy replied.

“Believe me, I am positive, he has not left yet!” Domingo replied with even greater concern. “We better go look for him” Domingo said insistently to Sammy Braun.

Sammy knew that Domingo was reliable. He decided not to argue, but instead got out of his car and rushed back to the office building with Domingo. They searched the dressing room for Rabbi Berkowitz but he was not there.

They ran to where the animals were slaughtered, but he was not there either. They searched the truck dock, then the packinghouse, going from room to room. Finally they came to the huge walk-in freezer where the large slabs of meat were kept frozen. They opened the door and to their shock and their horror, they saw Rabbi Berkowitz rolling on the floor, trying desperately to keep himself warm and save himself from leaving our world at a time that perhaps was not his time.

They ran over to him, lifted him off the floor and helped him out of the freezer, past the thick heavy door that had locked behind him. They wrapped blankets around him and made sure he was warm, comfortable and eventually ready to be taken home.

Sammy Braun was incredulous. “Domingo” he asked, “How did you know that Rabbi Berkowitz had not left? There are over two hundred workers here every single day. Don’t tell me you know the comings and goings of every single one of them?”

Domingo’s answer is worth remembering as we contemplate whether or not we are loving people enough.

“Every morning when that man walks in, he greets me and says hello. He makes me feel like a person. And every single night when he leaves he tells me, ‘have a pleasant evening Domingo’. He never misses a morning and he never misses an evening. And to tell you the truth Sammy, I wait for his words of kindness and love. Dozens and dozens of workers pass me every day-morning and night and they do not say a word to me. To them I am a nothing. To him, I am a somebody.”

“I knew he came in this morning and I was sure he had not left yet, because I was waiting for his loving and friendly good-bye for the evening!”

One could argue that it was Rabbi Berkowitz’s genuine love and regard for another human being that literally saved his life.

There are times like the story I just shared that love brings benefit into the world and then there are times when we only wish we had another chance to tell others how much we love them and how much they mean to us.

This summer, I traveled back to Los Angeles with Michelle, Brianah and Julia to visit our family and friends. Our last weekend, we were due to spend Shabbat in the synagogue that I grew up in before returning back to Miami for our beautiful humid summer weather. I had received an email that a very prominent member of the congregation, whom I had known for almost all my life lost his 13 year old granddaughter. What happened? The email simply stated that the girl died in her sleep.

Upon my arrival to Shomrei Torah Synagogue that Shabbat morning and after spending some time in shul sitting next to my stepdad, Murray Weiss, I saw walking into the back of the sanctuary the grandfather and mother to say Kaddish for their granddaughter and daughter. I also had found out that they were planning on going to Israel the very next day, and how their plans had tragically changed in a matter of days.

After services I approached the family and we shared hugs and cried together. They asked how Miami was and how my new congregational family experience was, but I felt that I had no right to share with them all of the wonderful transitional things that were happening to my family and I. I asked them if there was anything I could do for them as we were leaving at the end of the weekend.

Pinny Kanter, the Grandfather looked right into my eyes and he said: “Promise me something Micah.” Promise me that everyday you will look at yourself and be proud of who you are and love yourself. Promise me that everyday you tell your family that you love them and never go to sleep angry at anyone, for as my family and I have now witnessed, you never know what will happen tomorrow.” I was silent and I could not respond, but I knew that when I spoke on Rosh Hashanah this year, I would vow to Pinny and his family that I would share his important message with my congregation.

My colleague, friend and family member Rabbi Jack Riemer has said: “Can you imagine what pain there must be? Can you imagine what shame there must be if you have to stand at a grave and bid farewell and realize then, at that moment, what you did not say when you could have, when you should have, when there was still time? Can you imagine having to live the rest of your life with the knowledge that you loved someone, and that once you almost told him or her? Let none of us ever have to live with that kind of regret in our hearts. Let none of us hold back the words of love, the words that could help and heal. Let none of us keep them choked up and bottled up inside where they do no good, until it is too late.

And finally, there is one more aspect of love that each of us needs to put onto our New Year’s Resolution list for the coming year and that is to have a deeper and more passionate love for our Jewish Homeland, the State of Israel. Yes, our congregation has a deep love for her. Yes, we as a congregation are constantly sending money to families who have suffered from terror and war, to our Masorti sister congregations, to Israeli cultural organizations, to the Israeli army through the Friends of the IDF, to Magen David Adom, to the Jewish National Fund, to the Sochnut and to countless social, political, economic and technological organizations and companies as well. Yes, we as a congregation constantly go on trips to Israel, which will include this year’s summer trip as we embark first to Spain, recalling our beautiful and powerful Sephardic roots and traditions and then on to the land flowing with milk and honey. And yes, we make Israel a part of our vocabulary and a part of our lives.

But we need to do more. Rabbi Elliot Dorff, who will be our Scholar in Residence this coming year at the end of February speaks of each and every Jewish family to have a Mitzvah child. What is a Mitzvah child you might ask? Rabbi Dorff argues that the Jewish population is decreasing at a rapid pace, and where we once had 2.9 children per American Jewish family that number has decreased to 1.8 children per family in the last 20 years. Rabbi Dorff argues that for the sake of Jewish survival and success, families who are planning on having 2 children should have three for the sake of the Jewish people in allowing us to carry forward and not worry about the possibility of our extinction from human existence.

So on this Rosh Hashanah, I ask us to do the same for Israel. Do one extra Mitzvah for Israel. If we are planning on going on a vacation this year elsewhere, think about changing that trip and going to Israel this coming year because it does so much for our Israeli brothers and sisters seeing that we care, that we are there and there is a clear expression that they need us just as much as we need them. When we are in doubt as to where our charity should go over the coming year, we cannot second guess because Israel needs us now more than ever.

There is a classic statement that I know we are all familiar with and comes from the Talmud, as it is found in tractate Shavuot. The statement is Kol Yisrael Arevim Zeh BaZeh, All Jews are responsible for each other. But the word L’arev, literally means to mix together. We, along with our Israeli family live together and there is no separation. We are a part of the land of Israel just as much as they are, and if we commit ourselves with as much love for Israel as we possibly can, then perhaps peace and stability leading to Messianic redemption just might be possible.

Rabbi Avraham Yitzhak Cook, Alav HaShalom, May his rest in peace, one of the greatest modern Orthodox Rabbis who wrote, counseled, guided and played a vital political role during Israel’s early years made the following statement regarding the love that Israel needs and is still lacking. Rabbi Cook said that the reason the Second Temple that once stood on the Temple mount in the heart of Jerusalem was destroyed was because of Sinat Chinam, pure hatred that the Jewish people and the rest of the world had for one another. Perhaps, Rabbi Cook concluded, the Third Temple will be rebuilt because of Ahavat Chinam, pure love that the Jewish people and the rest of the world must have towards one another.

So as we begin Rosh Hashanah, as we begin a new year not truly knowing what will happen through the series of events in our lives until we meet again here to welcome in 5768, what we can do is ensure ourselves and each other that one of our New Year resolutions that we will carry out and bring to a reality will indeed be a stronger love for ourselves, a more intimate love for others and a more compelling love for our Jewish Homeland, our land flowing with milk and honey, the land of Eretz Yisrael.

May God be our guide and support as we begin our new powerful and spiritual journey of increased love in our lives and in the life of God as well.

Ken Nihiyeh Ratzon, may it be our will to do so. Amen!