Dear all,
Maya and Eli started first grade this week. Later this week, they turn 7!
Last weekend, Temple Akiba’s religious school reopened its doors following summer recess.
And next week, Jews throughout the world will welcome Rosh HaShanah—the Jewish New Year.
There is something powerful about this time of year. We return to familiar rhythms: a new school year, a new cycle of Torah, a new Jewish year.
But we do not return as the same people.
We move through cycles, but hopefully, we also ascend. We take the experiences of the past year—our joys and disappointments, our mistakes and discoveries—and, if we are paying attention, transform them into wisdom that can guide each moment in time.
So as we prepare to enter a new year, perhaps we should ask ourselves:
Did we notice goodness?
Did we appreciate the people who enriched our lives?
Did we partner with God in making our corner of the world a little better?
Did we honor the traditions that connect us to those who came before—and to those who will come after us?
But reflection is only half of what Rosh HaShanah asks of us. A new year also demands aspiration.
Will we create goodness?
Will we uplift those around us?
Will we open doors through which God’s presence can enter our world?
Will we find our place in the rhythm of our Houses of Gathering—our synagogues and communities—so that the next generation can inherit not simply our traditions, but our love for them?
The New Year invites us to begin again—not by erasing who we have been, but by building upon who we have become.
May this Rosh HaShanah renew our souls, deepen our gratitude, sharpen our purpose, and give us the courage to imagine the people and the community we can yet become.
L’shanah tovah u’metukah—may it be a good and sweet new year.
With love and Shalom,
Rabbi Zachary R. Shapiro
