Welcome to 5723!
According to the Jewish calendar we just entered a new year, 5723. For Jews around the globe this is a time of reflection, confession, cleansing and renewal.
FORGIVENESS AND RENEWAL
First, we beg forgiveness for our sins against others, on Rosh Hashanah, the New Year. Then we have little more than a week before we return to prayer on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur. This is the day Jews ask forgiveness for their sins against God. If we are fortunate, she then inscribes us in the book of life for another year.
At some level, I have always understood the significance of this holiday in my religion. For one thing, the usually sparsely populated temple was packed for these two holidays. Even the name proclaimed the importance—High Holidays. High, holiest, most sacred.
Between the High Holidays and the start of the school year, this time of year really did feel like a chance at renewal. A new teacher, a new class of students—and potential friends—and the holy days of prayer.
As a child, the new year was a very big deal. I got new clothes to wear to religious services, something fabulous that lent me added confidence walking into the crowds at the synagogue. I still remember shopping with my mother at our favorite boutique, saved only for special occasions. I recall my favorite outfit as if it was before my eyes. A plaid pleated skirt, a silky cream blouse with full sleeves, a gold velvet vest and a purple satin ascot, tied in a flawless bow. I would wear it today if I could!
The High Holidays meant I got to see my friends from Sunday school all together and in another setting. We usually cut out during the sermon to explore the Hebrew school classrooms and search for snacks. Dare I confess, we scoured for crackers on Yom Kippur, when we should have been fasting? Even the rabbi’s daughters played a little hooky with us.
During the service, I would sit beside my cousin, one of my favorite people in the world, and behind a fur coat. You read that right. My mother would place me behind a coat I could surreptitiously pet to keep me quiet. It almost worked, but only because my cousin and I knew a limited amount of American Sign Language that we used to communicate. She was funny as hell so It was hard not to laugh out loud, which may have been her intention.
EMBRACING RITUALS AND HISTORY
I was a precocious child, unable to keep from fidgeting, struggling to concentrate, but eventually I would get caught up in the music and the ritual, which I still love to this day. A choir of booming voices and haunting melodies helped pass the time, which stretched forever as a child—and as an adult.
Somewhere over the years I stopped attending services regularly, for the sabbath and for the High Holidays. My mother lost her memory and stopped attending. I moved around quite a bit and was married to a non-Jew. There were a dozen reasons—excuses—to avoid attending what at that time felt like a meaningless ritual.
But now, years later, I realize that the rituals were not meaningless. The renewal, the asking and praying for forgiveness, even the melodies are ingrained deep within me. I hum them to myself as I go about my week, pretending I am unaware of the holidays even as I take the holidays everywhere I go.
FIVE NEW RITUALS FOR THE NEW YEAR
In the spirit of renewal, I offer five lessons for celebrating the new year—and you don’t have to be Jewish to embrace them.
1/As Autumn is upon us and the days grow shorter, get outside and enjoy the crisp air and the company of a friend. While together, ask their forgiveness for that day you didn’t have time to listen to their woes, or another transgression.
2/ Check in with your own faith, whatever it might be. Pray for another year of life and vow to use it wisely.
3/ Invite friends to share a meal. With the pandemic better under control, what better time to celebrate? Use the new year as an excuse to gather around a table and share laughter. Jews around the world use their holidays as a reason to come together and eat—a lot.
4/ Money is tight for most of us, but perhaps you can buy an item of clothing that makes you feel beautiful. Wear it out and about and watch your confidence explode.
5/ Take in the beauty of Autumn. If you are lucky enough to live where the colors are changing, go for a drive and appreciate the brilliance of mother nature. Be grateful you are here on earth to enjoy it.
You needn’t be Jewish to celebrate the sense of renewal that comes with Rosh Hashanah. You simply need to make amends for past mistakes and embrace your life for the coming year.
Wishing you all a very happy New Year! L’Shana Tovah. Here’s to the New Year and the new you.
LEARN MORE
Want to learn more about the Jewish New Year, its history and meaning? Read “Rosh Hashanah 2022”
Want to better understand how Rosh Hashanah is celebrated? See this YouTube video
More about my attitude toward a New Year, Jewish or otherwise. Read my blog post “Resolve or Not to Resolve, Will You Make 2022 Resolutions?”