Rosh Hashana celebrates the birth of the world. The holiday is also known as Yom Hazikaron, Day of Remembrance. How do you celebrate and remember at the same time?
Many enter this new year as if it is an entirely different world. With the loss of a loved one, it feels strange to eat a festive meal, attend services and sing with exultation without that person adding their voice, opinions, thoughts and embraces. Rosh Hashana becomes a stark realization that with this person no longer physically here, the world truly feels different than before. It is the birth of a strange new journey.
Which is why Rosh Hashana is a day of both celebrating and memorializing. Celebrating our ability to make this world brighter and better and carving out room for our loved ones’ memories to make a lasting imprint. Their legacy is woven within the steps we choose to take. We stand before the Holy One, praising God for the gift of life and simultaneously honoring those that are in the world to come.
And while this new world is hard to navigate, it just may be the memories of our loved ones that direct us through. This High Holy Day season, may we feel their spirit. Carrying them through a brand new world.
Shana Tova and early, Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Nicole Guzik is senior rabbi at Sinai Temple. She can be reached at her Facebook page at Rabbi Nicole Guzik or on Instagram @rabbiguzik. For more writings, visit Rabbi Guzik’s blog section from Sinai Temple’s website.
