A High Holiday message for Rosh HaShana 5770

We are so preoccupied with record-keeping that even at this most auspicious season of the year, we often forget to record what is ultimately important. We often neglect that which brings real meaning and value into our lives. This is the season of remembering. At this time of the year, more than any other, Jews make a conscious effort to review our lives and resolve to add meaning and value to them. We focus on the values which we would like to leave as a living legacy to those we love. Today I ask you consider what your spiritual diary might look like for the past year. If you had kept a journal of 5769 (the Hebrew year that is drawing to a close), what would you have meticulously recorded? What were the most significant moments of your life? What brought you the deepest meaning? What caused your deepest fears? What did you regret? What joys caused your soul to soar to the highest heights? On this Rosh HaShana, ask yourself, what you would have written in the book of your life for this last year.

Each one of us can write a chapter of sacred moments. The Jewish traditions of these Days of Awe are wonderful and wise, and compel us to look back each new year and count our blessings. We do, so that we can move forward into the year with a sense of wonder, meaning and humility. How right and fitting it is that we begin each new year gathering as a congregation for a sacred moment! During this holy time we share a renewal — in the spirit of forgiveness and in the joy of celebration.

Sadly, not a small number of us find it difficult include anything holy or sacred in our lives. Ironically, our lives have become torturously complicated as we have invented more ways to make life easier. We feel harried by demanding, exhausting schedules. It is often tough to pause to appreciate the special moments or the little wonders that we encounter each day. We do not consciously block holiness from our lives. We are living life intensely. We work hard. We enjoy serious recreational pursuits; after all these stress reducing activities are good for us. We strive to meet our family obligations and responsibilities with integrity. How can we fit in holiness too?