As you read this message, we have transitioned into the Jewish year 5784 (no more or less an arbitrary number than the one associated with Pope Gregory). 

The holiday of Rosh HaShanah, the Head of the Year, kicks off a month-long cluster of holidays ordained in the Jewish Scripture, mostly without explanation. This one, on the 1st of the Hebrew month of Tishrei, is described merely as “yom teru’ah”, a day of blowing a horn. Ten days later, it is followed by Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, and a few days later by Sukkot – the Holiday of Booths, where we sit in little huts attached to our houses for seven days and hope it doesn’t rain just yet. The season is capped by a couple of extra holidays, and then we get to sit back and watch our neighbours prepare for December.

In Israel, everything screeches to a halt during this time – if you need anything done, from a car repair to a medical appointment, you may be out of luck until that mythical, mystical time known as “acharei hachagim”, after the holidays. It is a time of introspection, of asking each other for forgiveness, and for that activity known as “cheshbon hanefesh”, accounting of the soul.

This accounting is like a miniature mid-life crisis every year. Did I do what I promised in the past year? How can I repair any harm that I caused? How can I do better in the coming year?

Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg has written an excellent book on the subject of Teshuva, usually translated as Repentance or Return. Repairing harm that we may have caused, either personally or as part of a larger system, is a great way to improve how we walk through the world. Leaving the world better than we found it is a great mission in life, I believe.

On Rosh HaShanah, it is customary to dip apples in honey and express a wish for a sweet and healthy year. I wish that for you and yours. May 5784 be a year of health, success and joy, for all of us. 

Ken yehi ratzon – may it be so.