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In other words, he's ready for Rosh Hashanah, which begins Sunday, Sept. 13. (Yom Kippur starts at sundown Tuesday, Sept. 22 and ends at sundown Wednesday, Sept. 23.).
"I read nine books this summer in preparation," he said.
Not to mention the dozens of notes and articles he clipped and saved over the past 12 months.
And while some may complain the holidays fall too early this year, Rabbi Sirkman says they always come at the right time.
"The High Holy Days are an awesome moment of coming back together..of renewal ...of the chance to try to start over, of spiritual recharging," he said.
"It's a time when we look inside ourselves to see where we are, to do some spiritual soul stock-taking and to figure out what we need to do to be the people we need to be."
As for that sermon preparation, he is giving three for Rosh Hoshanah and will be talking about Israel, the Iran Deal, and the eternal question of how the state can ever achieve peace with its neighbors.
He also has a sermon titled "Lying for Life," about the fictions that sustain the Jewish faith and how "essential it is that we all engage in that sin."
Lastly, he plans to discuss "chutzpah" and "the road to character that renews and redeems our world."
He said his messages will no doubt be like many other rabbis who will offer their take on Israel, the state of Jewish life and spirituality, albeit with their own personality.
"Every rabbi does his or her own thing," he said. "I try hard to make my sermons ecclectic, personal and reflective of an almost 30 year-relationship with Larchmont Temple."
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