Kabbalat Shabbat, September 19, 2008: "Only a Dream" by Mary Chapin Carpenter

The following are Cantor Frankel's thoughts on "Only a Dream":

In life we all face difficult times. During this month of Elul, as we review the year that has past, we may recount the difficult experiences of the past year. As we consider this past year in the context of the length of our lives, we may think again about the difficulties we have had in years past. But whether focusing on this past year or many years ago, we all hope and pray for comfort, for the security of knowing that someone is watching over us and sheltering us in our darkest moments.

In this song, “Only a Dream,” Mary Chapin Carpenter recalls some of the difficult moments of her life and sings of the person she looked to for that comfort. It is a song about sisters, which may be why it resonates so loudly for me, as now the mother of growing sisters. But in pleading, “When I look up at you looking down/Say it was only a dream,” Carpenter articulates that universal prayer for comfort and shelter. Who will protect us when we are in need? When we look up, what do we find, what do we know?

Traditionally during the month of Elul we recite Psalm 27 each day. The psalmist writes, “One thing I ask of Adonai, only that do I seek: to live in the house of Adonai all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of Adonai, to frequent God’s temple. God will shelter me in God’s pavilion on an evil day, grant me protection of God’s tent, raise me high upon a rock.” As we search the deepest parts of ourselves, we ultimately realize that we need shelter, we need protection, we need the comfort of knowing we will live in the house of Adonai all the days of our lives. That is why this season is about return; return to God and to the comfort of God’s shelter and protection. That is why this season is about hope; hope that we will look up and find what we need looking down.

May your t’shuvah, your return, lead you to a sense of everlasting comfort and protection.

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