Rosh Hashana begins Sunday night and the Days of Awe and Yom Kippur follow quickly on. Do you feel ready? I don’t. In fact I never feel ready for the High Holy Days - regardless of whether they are “early” or “late” in a particular year.
Note that I refer to the days to come as Holy Days as opposed to Holidays. They are holy. They are special. They are for family and friends and introspection and prayer and hope (and maybe a dash of good old fashioned guilt).
Notice that I include hope in that list. This period we are about to enter represents the epitomy of hope. It reminds us that although we are fallible we can “return.” We can right wrongs - or at least make a righteous attempt. We can take a deep dive into our very souls and figure out who we are and who we want to be. Then, we work on becoming that person. We recognize and value the people in our lives and we recognize and value our connection to the Awesome One Above and to the universe in general.
Tefila ~ Prayer (and/or talking to ourselves)Tzedakah ~ Good deeds and acts that make the world a better place than the one we were born into, for everyone on earth as we are all created in God’s imageTeshuva ~ introspection, repentance, atonement and change
Shabbat Shalom on this the last Shabbat of 5779. Relax, enjoy and of course eat:) And then enter the High Holy Days ready to do the work. And to feel the hope.
Shanah Tovah! May we all be written and sealed for the good.
Rabbah Arlene
