Yom Kippur 5787 Family Sermon – “How Will You Make Your Mark?” by Rabbi Suzie Jacobson

“How Will You Make Your Mark?”

Rabbi Suzie Jacobson | Yom Kippur 5787 Family
September 21, 2026 | Temple Israel of Boston 

View the video recording of this sermon

 

What is this? 

Did you expect me to hold up a pencil on Yom Kippur morning? Kind of an odd addition to our ritual objects eh? There’s actually a pencil under each of your seats, pick it up. 

What’s the best part of the pencil? 

Interesting. We will return to this. 

This morning, I’d like to tell you about the most special pencil in the world.

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Once, an investigative reporter was crisscrossing America, hunting stories for her newspaper, when she rolled into a small mid-American town. At first it looked like every other town she’d passed through—but something felt off, something oddly retro she couldn’t quite name.

Strolling down Main Street, it hit her: not a single cell phone, iPad, or laptop in sight. Everyone was jotting notes on paper pads with pencils. Not pens—pencils. She couldn’t remember the last time she touched a pencil, or even seen one used by someone older than 5th grade. 

She stopped a store clerk. “Excuse me, I’m new to town. I’ve been here all day and I have not seen a single person pull out their cell phone. And why does everyone here use a pencil?”

“You must be from out of town,” the clerk smiled. “These are Goldberg’s pencils—the best and wisest pencils in the world. Writing with them actually makes you feel better.”

“What makes them so special?”

“Nobody really knows. They’re made at Goldberg’s factory, and nobody’s allowed inside but him. But I’ll tell ya, that Mr. Goldberg sure knows how to make pencils.”

The reporter smelled a hot story. She found the factory’s address, parked several blocks away, and in the dead of night slipped in through a back window. Then she waited.

At eight sharp, the door opened and in walked Mr. Goldberg—a grey gentleman in his seventies who, according to town residents, had done nothing in his life but make pencils. He donned an apron, gloves, and goggles and set to work in complete silence. Nothing was out of the ordinary. By five o’clock he had finished one hundred beautiful yellowish-orange number 2 pencils.

Just as she thought he’d leave and she’d remain in the dark, Mr. Goldberg lined all hundred pencils up on his work table and addressed them:

“Kinderlach—my dear little pencils. You’re about to go out into the world—to schools, businesses, homes. Remember these lessons.

“One: everything you do will leave a mark.

“Two: if you’re not happy with the mark, don’t worry—you can erase it. But erase it quickly, because the longer you leave it, the harder it becomes to erase.

“Three: you will undergo some very painful sharpenings. But you know what? They will make you a better pencil.

“Four: someday you may end up in a desk drawer for years, or behind a shelf, or lost on the road—abandoned, forgotten, alone. At those times, remember: what makes you a pencil isn’t what’s outside of you. It’s what’s inside of you.

“And finally, kinderlach, to be the very best pencil in the world, you must be held and guided by the hand that holds you. Respect that hand, for it will help you become what you were put on earth to be: a pencil.”

With that, Mr. Goldberg switched off the lights and went home after a day’s work.

And the reporter knew, then, exactly what made the Goldberg pencil the most special pencil in the world.

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Look again at the pencil in your hand. Bet you’ve never thought so much about a pencil! Spoiler alert — it’s a metaphor. You are the most special pencil in the world.

This story gives us so much to think about on this day of atonement. Let’s take the lessons in reverse order.

 

Respect the hand that holds you — it helps you become who you are meant to be.

We hold the pencil, but what hand holds us? 

Some of you are saying God. The Torah teaches that God created us to be God’s partners. God doesn’t expect us to be a tiger or a tree — God wants us to be people with wise minds and open hearts, the best humans we can be. Some communities sing a prayer today called Ki Hinei KaChomer — “like clay in the potter’s hand.” God shaped each of us to be exactly who we are. On Yom Kippur we can be grateful for the blessing of being ourselves, and also recognize our responsibility to live as our best selves.

I heard some other answers too. Yes — the hands that hold us are also our parents, our grandparents, everyone who supports and cares for us. They’re the reason we get to… exist. Turn to your family and say thank you!

 

Next Lesson: what makes you a pencil isn’t what’s outside. It’s what’s inside.

The paint can chip, the eraser can wear down, but as long as there’s graphite inside, it’s a pencil.

Inside each of you is a neshama, a soul. No matter what’s on the outside — cool clothes, a nice haircut, amazing basketball skills — we have to take care of our souls. That’s what today is about. Sure, you all look great. But are you kind? Are you trustworthy? Would you lend me that pencil if I asked nicely?

There will be moments when we all feel lonely or lost, like a pencil forgotten in a drawer. But when we build the traits that make strong, loving relationships, then in those tough moments we’ll be surrounded by people who know our souls.

 

Ok, the third lesson: 

Zzz zzz… Imagine being a pencil mid-sharpener! Ouch!

But a sharpened pencil is a better pencil! 

I bet you’ve all figured this out during your 7, 8, 10, or 46 years on this planet: life is sometimes HARD. Sometimes we fail at things that really matter to us. Sometimes other people hurt us. Sometimes life doesn’t feel FAIR.

But every time we work hard for something, solve a problem, apologize, or learn from a mistake — we’ve been sharpened. Made better by the experience. It hurts sometimes, but it’s worth it. That’s how we discover our best selves, again and again.

 

Almost there – And this one is pretty important. 

If you’re not happy with the mark, erase it — quickly.

This is the entire point of Yom Kippur. 

Al Cheyt Shechatanu L’fanecha – For the sin we have committed before you God.

Cheyt – sin, literally means “missing the mark.”

To erase our mistakes, we make teshuvah: we admit what we did wrong, take responsibility, and make a new choice. It sounds simple from a bima, but it’s actually extremely hard, and it takes practice every day of our lives.

And “sorry” is easier the sooner you say it. Someone will forgive you far more easily for something you did last week than for a hurt that’s been sitting for years. That’s why we have the Ten Days of Repentance between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, every single year — to remind us to make things right. This is eraser season.

We could have been created in pen — no do-overs. But we are written in pencil. Forgiveness is built into our design. We were each born to make mistakes, learn, and change.

And sometimes the eraser leaves a smudge. That’s okay. The smudge is better than the mistake, and it reminds us to be careful as we make our mark on the world.

And our final lesson: Everything we do leaves a mark. 

It’s easy to think, “I’m small, what I do doesn’t matter.” Or, “No one’s watching, I can get away with this.” Or, “I’m tired — just this once.” But what we do matters because we matter. Everything we do affects the people and the world around us, for good or for bad.

Tradition teaches that each of us has a mark in the Book of Life. When I was a kid, that scared me a little — like God could take some white-out and erase me from the book, maybe from existence.

Now I realize that’s the wrong way to think about it. God doesn’t control our name — we do. We make our own mark in that book. We decide what kind of people we are and how we live. Yom Kippur isn’t scary because we’re being judged. Yom Kippur is amazing because we’re being given permission to become the person we most want to be. Judaism is saying: we believe in you. You can change. You can be your best self.

Or in our case — your best pencil. You are the pencil in your hand: sharpened, strong, ready to leave your mark, and ready to erase and fix whatever mistakes come in the year ahead.

Under your seat is one more gift – a piece of paper. Here’s what I want you to do – write one mark you want to leave in 5787. How can you make this world, this community, your family more loving, more kind, more wonderful? My colleagues will come around to collect your answers, and the best answers will be proudly displayed for all to read.

Kinderlach – Go be pencils. Go be really amazing, special human pencils.