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Writings by Rabbi David Frank

-2005-
Rosh Hashanah 5765 (2004)—Rabbi David Frank, "Our New Look," Chanukat Bayit: Dedication of the House; Temple Solel, 3575 Manchester Avenue, Cardiff-by-the-Sea, CA, 92007: For our new Temple facility, we have implemented a new design concept. The theme is creation—creation as it was seen through the eyes of the mystical Kabbalah. The mystics, much like our modern scientists, imagined that our universe began with a Big Bang. God poured pure light, or the seed of energy, into cosmic vessels within space. But the light was so pure and intense, that the vessels could not contain it. So the vessels exploded—and their fragments scattered throughout the universe, with sparks of the light of creation clinging to the pieces. Our job, said the Kabbalists, is Tikkun Olam—to recover those holy sparks of light, and to repair the shattered vessels of creation which we do every time we perform a mitzvah—an act of goodness, an act of holiness, an act of justice or compassion. The essential teaching of Kabbalah comes down to this: raise up holy sparks: repair the world. And this is what you will see when you enter our new building. The theme begins to unfold inside our sanctuary. Our newly designed stained glass, ark and bima wall, all reflect the moment of creation—the shattering of vessels, the bursting forth of light. from there, it is carried outward to the mezuzot on all our doorways, and also on our signage, all the way down to the entrance at the street. It is even carried on our new letterhead.  Our Temple Solel logo includes these words: "Raising up holy sparks. repairing the world."  Upon our shoulders is an awesome responsibility. To nurture light within souls, to tend to shattered vessels, to repair humankind and piece this fractured planet together.—Excerpted from Rabbi Frank's Rosh Hashanah sermon, 5765.