Rosh HaShanah is here, filling us with memories and emotions. This festival, celebrating the beginning of the new year, has many names: Yom Teru'ah, Yom HaZikaron, Yom HaDin - a list defining the deep meaning that infuses the spirit of Rosh HaShanah.You won't be suprised to hear that my inspiration comes from our tefilot: "HaYom Harat Olam!" - Today the World was Born! What a blast of joy! The 1st day of Tishrei is, according to the Gemara, the date of the first Shabbat ever, putting the 24th of Elul as the first day of Creation. On Rosh HaShanah, it is not the creation of the world that we celebrate, but its birth, complete and perfect.
You probably know this, but it bears repeating: the Mishnah declares that when we save a life, it is as if we have saved a whole entire world. Perhaps this is because each of us contains something so unique and so complex that we are compared to a universe. Or, perhaps it is a reflection of all that we bring to the world, the number of people whose lives we touch, minutely altering their thoughts and actions and literally changing the course of life immeasurably.
Can you see where I'm going with this? We humans are neither haphazard nor irrelevant. Each one of us is vital. The ways we develop ourselves and our relationships - with other people and with God - form our uniqueness. On Rosh HaShanah, as we do teshuvah, we try to return to the very best version of who we are, our most complete and perfect selves.
May we - each of us as valuable as the world - and the miraculous world which was created for our use, be blessed this year with healing and growth.
(References: Masechet Rosh HaShanah 10b; Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:5)
(Photo credit: Earth_Western_Hemisphere_white_background.jpg)
No comments:
Post a Comment