A Season for Renewal

Fall is often considered a season for new beginnings. For those celebrating Rosh Hashanah this weekend, marking the beginning of the Jewish High Holy Days, it’s an opportunity for reflection and renewal. Most people would probably benefit from stepping back from the daily routines in their lives for a period of reflection. Even those who are not Jewish may be inspired by this holiday that is “centered around the theme of personal self-improvement and the opportunity for a fresh start,” according to Rabbi Yaakov Glasman of Sydney, Australia.  

The festival of Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) carries a universal message that is not limited to the Jewish experience.

Rabbi Yaakov Glasman

The holiday, which is the start of a new year on the Hebrew calendar, brings together friends and families, deepening connection. The sounding of the shofar (ram’s horn), the enjoyment of a festive meal with apples and honey, and the casting of bread crumbs into a body of water–these rituals associated with the holiday involve leaving the past year behind and taking a moment to start the new one joyfully and surrounded by community.

Last year, I wrote about the importance of coming together to support communities affected by hateful rhetoric or violence. At the U.S. Open tennis match earlier this month, German player Alexander Zverev went as far as to stop his match to call out a spectator for chanting a phrase made popular during Hitler’s regime. As a German, he felt compelled to say something, knowing that this was one of many weapons used against the Jewish people at that time.

Zverev stopped play, approached the referee, and had the heckler removed from the stands. As a child of Russian immigrants, he recognized the powerful signal he could send by standing up to these offensive words. Rabbi Rob Gleisser, the Peter J. Rubinstein reform senior Jewish educator at Penn State Hillel, shared with USA Today that in addition to coming together as a community at the holidays, we can “also think about the ways that we can help others.”

As we wish our Jewish friends and neighbors a Happy New Year, Rabbi Geisser’s words are a powerful reminder to take time to reflect on our divided world and to “think about the ways that we want to create a safe community, a welcoming community, a warm community and then be able to enrich the world around us after having those moments of introspection.” This is an excellent reminder to all of us at a time when many in our society feel deeply polarized and isolated.