10 Life Lessons: Rosh Hashanah - Jewish New Year

Festival greetings to Jewish friends for Rosh Hashanah,

with heartfelt wishes and prayers for all the goodness & sweetness of the new year.

Shana Tova U'Metuka

At time of posting, Jewish communities have entered the High Holiday period, having just celebrated the two-day festival of Rosh Hashanah - Jewish New Year.

Rosh Hashanah celebrates the 'birthday of the world'. Front and centre is the conviction that G-d, Creator and Sovereign of the world, continues to renew creation and calls human beings to account for their decisions and actions. Despite the fragility of our lives, we are expected to live the gift of each day to the fullest. Thus, the sound of the shofar (ram's horn) on Rosh Hashanah might be described as a 'wake-up' call.

Rosh Hashanah leads into an extended period of introspection and self-examination, known as the Days of Awe or Days of Repentance. It culminates ten days later in Yom Kippur ('Day of Atonement'), a solemn day of fasting and repentance, girded by a deep trust in G-d's mercy.

So what are some of the key messages and insights of Rosh Hashanah for Jews? And how might they also inspire other peoples of faith and good will? The late Rabbi Jonathan Sacks (1948-2020), an English Orthodox rabbi, a scholar and author - widely respected as a faith leader by people of many traditions - articulated the following Ten Themes.

Rosh Hashanah instills an awareness that:

1. Life is short,

2. but it is a gift from God,

3. to be lived as a free response to the God of freedom.

4. Life is inherently meaningful,

5. however life is not easy and too often involves immense suffering.

6. Yet, because God never leaves us, life can still be sweet;

7. and what we create with our lives is our greatest work of art.

8. In life, we stand on the shoulders of those who came before us.

9. God asks great things of us and, by responding to this call, we discover our own greatness.

10. Paradoxically, human beings are both dust and spirit. We are formed from the dust of the earth and the living breath of God (Genesis 2:7).

This brief summary is gleaned from "What Rosh Hashanah says to us" by Jonathan Sacks, at The Rabbi Sacks Legacy website. The link takes you to a family-friendly version of his teaching that lends itself to a meaningful discussion around a family or community dining table.

A closing prayer:

May the memory and work of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks continue to bless the world and be a beacon of moral guidance.

And we pray for Jewish people everywhere during their High Holy Days - for continuing vitality and strength in their covenantal life with G-d, and for safety, health and happiness for their families and communities, after what has been a terribly painful and difficult year.

We pray that all the hostages still held by Hamas will be released and be brought safely home soon; that hope will prevail over despair; that a lasting peace will be found in the Middle East; and that the suffering of all innocent victims of war will come to an end.

Light of Torah is a Sydney-based grassroots ministry encouraging Christians to learn more about Torah and Jewish traditions from Jewish texts, teachings and commentaries. More...  © Teresa Pirola, 2022, 2025. lightoftorah.net