Rosh Hashanah is in less than two weeks and I don’t really know what to do with that. It’s been so many months without structure, I don’t have that “new school year” adrenaline rush that usually revs me up for the Yomim Noraim.
I was reviewing previous Rosh Hashanah posts and it hit me that each year when I write, I’m so sure that this is going to be THE year, no matter what happened (or didn’t) the previous year. Hope springs eternal…b”H. If someone had told me in advance that I would have gone through this many post-sem Rosh Hashanahs single, I would not have believed how good and fine overall (I said overall, not all the time) I would be feeling right now. Yet here I am, good and fine.
When the COVID pandemic broke out and the whole world came to a standstill, I had (we probably all had) incredible clarity about Hashem’s power over every little thing in this world. The strongest economy, the most unstoppable businesses, the most efficient and organized and smoothly-running operations…everything crumbled. From something that no one in the world could have predicted. From one day to the next. At the time I took comfort in knowing that just like the world could be overturned in an instant, my struggles could be over in an instant — it’s the same Hashem Who is limitless and unconcerned with the rules of nature that He set in place and can violate at will.
It’s so easy to lose this clarity as we go back to some semblance of life “before.” When I do my year in review, I want to revisit this clarity and get back in touch with how I felt at the time and how I can carry this feeling into the New Year.
I’m preparing for Rosh Hashanah by doing a year in review, reflecting on how so much (so much!) can happen in a year, and identifying the next steps for me in terms of my emotional/spiritual development. It’s important to me to keep the focus on this year and looking towards the next, and not to ruminate on Rosh Hashanahs past. If I have time, I’ll try to do some of these writing exercises as well.
How are you preparing for Rosh Hashanah? Any good ideas/inspiration?
