First of all, a prosperous, healthy and meaningful new year to you all. I hope this year will bring peace, light and joy and hopefully, the ideal era we have all been waiting for.
Amid frantic Rosh Hashana food preparations (unlike those of you who live outside of the Land of Israel, I am not used to two-day long holidays, with the exception of Rosh Hashana, which is celebrated for two days also in the Land of Israel), I have several ideas floating in my brain, but I wasn’t sure which I should write about. In the lectures I have been attending lately, I have heard several kabbalistic insights into Rosh Hashana, so I will discuss several briefly instead of limiting the discussion to one.
First of all, it is written in the Torah, the Eyes of G-d are on the Land of Israel from the beginning to the end of the year. What does the beginning to the end of the year mean? What is the distinction between when the year ends and when it begins? On Rosh Hashana, a new light that has never existed before enters the world. We have the opportunity to use this new light for the good and to start again fresh, not only in our own lives, but because the world is revitalized with a new light.
Another idea I read this past week is that the Jewish Messiah asks the world every Rosh Hashana why we aren’t in the Redemption yet? Why he hasn’t come and rescued the world from darkness. This shows that the Messiah wants to come more than we want him to come. If we want a world free of darkness, we need to do good deeds and acts of kindness to bring the Messiah here to our world.
A third idea is that this year is called the Hakhel year. What is the Hakhel year? In the days when the Holy Temple stood in Jerusalem, the King would read part of the Torah to the entire Jewish nation. Men, women, children and even babies were gathered together to hear the Torah from the king. Even though we no longer have a Holy Temple or an official king, we can commemorate Hakhel year by gathering together and learning Torah. This could be as simple as attending a lecture in your neighborhood or having a party to celebrate your birthday and share some Torah thoughts there.
A Sweet New Year to You All.