For those of us who are Jews we begin our accounting of what we might have done to hurt others, to hurt God, or to hurt ourselves. At Rosh Hashanah the Gates of Heaven open so that our prayers might be heard by God. On Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, we pray for forgiveness more fervently than we do all year long. During the ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur we ask forgiveness from the people around us: our children, our parents, other relatives, friends, colleagues. In a way, we are shedding our coats of sin, leaving ourselves as clean as a newborn baby.

But being human means we don’t stay in that state for long.

My friend Stephanie Sargent died at the age of 49. She was Ralph’s wife, and Daniel’s and Jacob’s mom. Stephanie was someone you could count on. She was a fierce Mom, Preschool Teacher, Vocalist, and Book Club Facilitator.  She was funny, and she stood by you to hold you up with her presence and her words when you needed a friend you could trust. So when she died recently of complications from a stroke her very large circle came together to mourn and to support her family.

The controversy over the term “Special Needs” has comes up fairly often.  Personally, I don’t like the term when referring to a person who has a disability. It’s patronizing and euphemistic in my opinion. Further, what does it really mean?

Rabbi Richard Address of the Union for Reform Judaism defines the Theology of Relationships as “the sacred relationship that you establish with people along your journey.” Our most important need in this context is to be needed and loved.

Our biggest fear?