Dear all,
Our family recently spent time skiing. While the kids and Ron were in ski school, I rode the chairlift up the mountain alone. Midway up, the lift suddenly stopped. I was left hanging there—feet dangling, body suspended between earth and sky.
At first, I was irritated. I wanted to keep moving. I wanted to get to the top.
But in the stillness, something unexpected happened. With nowhere to go and nothing to do, my mind began to wander—then to settle.
I thought about life.
I thought about family.
I thought about Judaism.
I thought about peace.
When the lift finally lurched back into motion, I checked my watch. The pause had lasted only a moment in time. Yet it felt expansive. That brief interruption gave me something I didn’t know I needed: the chance to truly stop.
As we enter this secular New Year, the invitation is not only to begin, but to be intentional about how we move forward. To pause before we rush ahead. To reflect before we accelerate. To create space—however brief—for mindfulness, clarity, and purpose.
A better year doesn’t come only from climbing higher or moving faster. Sometimes it begins when we allow ourselves to stop, take stock, and then choose how we want to ascend.
With love and Shalom,
Rabbi Zachary R. Shapiro
