Figuratively, we speak on these Holy Days about the gates of repentance and the Book of Life. Surely we do not believe that God literally sits in the heavens and decides who shall live and who shall die among us on this sacred evening. Yet, something of this tradition takes root in our minds. This year our congregation will feel the grief of death, the sadness of losing loved ones. Yes we do stand before God this evening wondering will we be the ones to experience the hardship of death, will we have the strength to face this part of life with dignity and forbearance? Tonight we come face to face with our own mortality.

There have been a few very precious moments in my rabbinate when people have revealed to me that they don't really understand what Judaism teaches about afterlife. Some people have felt let done and not able to find comfort in the popular statement that we live on through the memories of others.

Some believe that Judaism is silent on the issue or that Reform Judaism rejects any notion of afterlife. It is true that we must emphasis our actions in this world and that Judaism is a religion that emphasizes this life but we have a very rich and I believe comforting belief in the eternality of the soul. But first, let me share with you a letter that reveals the importance of our life in this world before we delve into a discussion about the afterlife.

In December of 1974 a trucker was hauling a load up Steamboat Mountain in Canada. This mountain is known to be particularly treacherous for truckers but it is a part of the Alaska Highway. With its many twists and curves, the road is built into the side of cliffs around the mountain. During a snowstorm the trucker went over the side of the road. He wrote the following:

What words would we write to our loved ones if we had but three hours to live? What regrets would we have? On this sacred evening, we must consider these essential questions. We stand on the brink of our death this evening. How will we resolve to make our lives more meaningful? If we want to give ourselves the greatest gift available to humanity we will take time during these next few hours to write a similar letter if not in ink then at least in thought.

This past year I had the wonderful opportunity to read a beautiful book by Mitch Album entitled Tuesdays with Morrie. Morrie Schwartz was a loving and wonderful professor at Brandeis University while I was a student there. He was the kind of professor that regularly caused people to cry in class. He truly believed that students needed to come to terms with themselves rather than coming to terms with their studies. Professor Schwartz forced his students to grow, to stretch, to believe in themselves.

Several years ago he was diagnosed with ALS. Mitch, a former student, visited him each Tuesday and recorded their conversations about life, regrets, philosophy and religion. The wisdom contained in this little book is invaluable.

Beyond the seeds of wisdom is the constant reality that this man whose body was rapidly deteriorating was full of life. Down to the last days he was teaching, giving and receiving. I strongly recommend his book to you. It is a rare soul who can exist on the brink of death and live each day as though it were a vibrant, new experience. Imagine if we could do that when we were not existing on the brink of death. Imagine if we could live making each moment count. That is what this white robe is all about - it reminds us that we do always live on the brink of death and that we should treat each moment as though it were the last.

Tonight we are called upon to come to terms with the death of our bodies. We all know that it will happen and yet we usually choose not to fully deal with the ramifications of this reality. We choose to live each day as though we are eternal beings, as though we will always have the chance to get it right another time. It is the holiness within our souls that calls us to work toward righteousness.

When I think about life and death, I start with one supposition - the human being is holy. We are created in the image of God - in a Holy reflection. Humanity can achieve great things because of the spark of holiness implanted within us. The eternality of God is planted within the human soul. Though Judaism teaches us that we must learn to live this life in such a way that we have no regrets, I personally believe that our souls are eternal.

Judaism has a very strong and varied tradition of belief in the world to come. When I was a teenager, I traveled to Israel on a teen trip. I asked my grandmother if she would like me to bring her back anything from the land of Israel. She was a traditional Jew, well steeped in the heritage of our people. She excitedly replies, "Yes, please bring me back some dirt from the Mount of Olives. I was a little shocked, "l'm traveling to Israel, I can get you dirt from here! Let me bring you a menorah or a Kiddush cup." She said a few sentences to my father in Yiddish basically accusing him of giving us children no Jewish education and then she told me the following Talmudic story. There will come a day at the end of Days when each person will be physically resurrected and stand before God to be judged. The resurrections will begin on the Mount of Olives and the process will take a very long time. She then said, "I have been a good Jew all my life. I want to be first in line. If you bring me the dirt I will be able to roll under the earth comparing soil samples. Without the soil, I will end up in China, God forbid!" I thought about giving her my sixteen years of life experience and telling her that I was pretty sure it wouldn't happen that way but I figured that my logic was no match for her belief. She died two years ago and I made certain that she was buried with a satchel of dirt from the Mount of Olives.

No, even after years of study, I do not accept my grandmother's view of afterlife but I do believe strongly that our souls our eternal even if our bodies our temporal. I believe that upon this bodies death our souls cleave to God. We know peace and we accept accountability for our deeds, both good and bad. I believe that the knowledge of this life is imprinted upon our souls. Those people that we really love, it is their soul which we love. The presence of their body is secondary.

There is a wonderful Kabbalistic notion known as gilgul hanefashot - the recycling of souls. We are taught in some Jewish texts that God chooses to recycle souls who have proven to be worthy. These souls are given another chance at life in the form of a newborn infant. The kabbalists talk about old souls - those people who despite their age seem to have a tremendous amount of wisdom. It is believed that these souls have existed many times before. There has been some significant research in the past few decades documenting young children who are able to recall accurate details of a former life. It is fascinating reading and wholly in line with the Jewish notion of gilgul hanefashot.

Whether or not we believe in the physical resurrection of the body, the recycling of the soul or the eternality of the soul, does not change the fact that we must continue to expend our efforts on the days we have available to us in this life. We are told that a teacher taught his students that they must repent one day before their deaths. One of the students inquired, "How do we know when it is one day before our death?" The teacher responded "You cannot. Therefore you must repent everyday because one day you will die."

During this coming year, let us lead our lives so that we live without regrets. Help us, O God, to act as if each day were our last. Help us to treat each other with the knowledge that we may never have the opportunity to make right the wrongs we do.

Look at this robe; dare to see it as a shroud about you. Spend this holy day delving deeply into your soul. Be not comforted until you hear the sound of the Neilah shofar telling you that it is time to resume your true work on this earth. Bless the time that you have - no matter your circumstances, there are always others who have less time than we. Gemar Chatimah Tovah - May we be sealed into the Book of Life - eternal life that is.