Rosh
Hashanah is not just the beginning of the year, it also marks the new month of Tishre. It is a day when we are supposed to
raise our heads high, to hope about tomorrow and to dream about what we can become.
Psalm 27,
the psalm that we recite from the beginning of Elul through the haggim, ends
with "Be Strong. Have Courage. And place your hope in God."
Clearly hope can be a
powerful tool, yet it is somewhat limited. Frankly, when life is at stake, hope
is not enough.
To create the necessary
changes in ourselves and in the larger world, hope needs to be coupled with
action.
In Pirke Avot (the Sayings of
Our Ancestors), Rabbi Eliezer advocates that we live in a state of perpetual
reflection, repentance and teshuva. I can't think of a more appropriate message
for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. I
believe his idea holds the key to not just responding to our contemporary
challenges, but also to unlocking the door to a more meaningful life.
But
how do we do this?
Bronnie
Ware, an Australian nurse, spent several years caring for dying people in their
homes. In her role as a palliative care nurse, she listened deeply as dying
patients voiced what they regretted most in life. She recently wrote a book
called The Top Five Regrets of the Dying.
The first regret of the dying is that they ignored their dreams. It's easy
to let our responsibilities take over, and then suddenly we look back and many
years have gone by without any progress on those aspirations that animate our
souls. It might just be that as adults, we stop dreaming. I don't mean dreaming
about pitching for the Red Sox; but rather dreams about places we want to
visit, experiences we want to try, accomplishments we want to achieve.
The second regret has to do with working too much. All of these
hours away from family and friends begin to add up. During an age of economic
uncertainty hard work is a value, but what is the cost on our personal lives.
Are we really present when we are home today, especially with our smart phones?
The third one ironically left me speechless. People regretted that they didn't
speak up. They didn't speak up about inequality and injustice, they didn't challenge
authority and some mentioned that they didn't say I love you enough to family.
People's fourth regret was losing touch with friends. No explanation needed.
Finally, people regretted that they did not choose to be happy. What is most amazing about this regret is that
people realize that happiness is a choice, even a habit that can cultivated. We
can choose how we respond to the world around us and about whether to sweat the
small stuff. We can embrace an attitude of gratitude instead of letting fear,
pettiness and conflict tarnish our appetite for life.
While
we may be able to predict most of these regrets of the dying, there are
countless people who live with regret and fear. The question
is, what holds us back? And how can we move forward?
The
good news is that we don’t have to wait until we are on our deathbed to
appreciate the opportunity that God gives us today on Rosh Hashanah - and
everyday - to begin anew.
The experience of our
Patriarch Isaac opens our eyes as to what happens when we live in fear.
While it is true that Isaac’s
life is deeply affected by the Akeidah, his binding on the altar, he goes on to
create a full life. He has other moments besides the Akeidah that define him as
a person. He gets married, has children and becomes the second patriarch of the
Jewish people. Eventually he develops his own dreams about the future and shares
them with his children.
Despite the violence and
anxiety that permeate our world today, we have the opportunity to live full
lives, hopeful lives, happy lives, and lives without regret.
Walt Disney once said,
"All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue
them." It is vital that the courage to hope be coupled with the conviction
to pursue our dreams.
By living a life surrounded by those we love and living in concert with our principles, we have
the power to transform our homes, our kehilla and our community into the
"happiest place on earth"!
Shanah Tovah!
