A few years ago, esteemed Orthodox Rabbi Yosef Edelstein wrote, “Other nations may celebrate their New Year reveling in Times Square … we spend ours in court, pleading for mercy from on high.”
The rabbi’s wry observation aside, it is a perennial privilege to celebrate Rosh Hashanah. The season is upon us, as Jews around usher in the year 5766. As always, this is a time for contemplation and buoyant expectation.
With the sound of the shofar echoing in our ears, we greet friends and family members as we gather at our synagogues to pray.
More importantly, we each set aside time to look inward. It is the genius of Judaism that this self-reflection is mandated by our Torah. Back in a time when slaughter, drought and pestilence defined human existence, that band of stiff-necked people, that nation of priests, not only proclaimed the value of the individual but set aside time each year to scour the heart and redefine personal existence.
It was an audacious concept that hurled humanity forward.
It remains audacious today. We urge all Jews to grapple with this Holy Day to their best advantage.
As always, we take time to look back on the year gone by. In the Jewish world, it could not have been more momentous. The marked changes in Israeli-Palestinian dialogue since the death of Yasser Arafat gave us cautious hope. Israel’s historic Gaza disengagement was a breathtaking effort to break the logjam. We still don’t know how it will play out, but Israeli diplomats recently met for the first time with representatives from Pakistan and many Arab countries, proving that Israel is more proactive than ever in changing the Middle East paradigm.
Here in the United States, the disastrous twin hurricanes showed the Jewish community at its best. Open hearts and open wallets eased the dislocation of thousands.
Locally, we saw continued growth of our Jewish institutions. New Jewish campuses in the South Bay, newly built synagogues in the East Bay — all point to a thriving Bay Area Jewish community. And we welcomed the arrival of Tom Dine as new CEO of the S.F.-based federation. A proven leader, he will help strengthen the federation and its ties with the community at large.
But the arrival of the new year is also a time for looking forward. We harbor high hopes for progress in Israeli-Arab dialogue, in the fight against anti-Semitism in Europe and the Muslim world, and for a thriving Jewish community here at home.
And we wish our readers a joyous, prosperous and peaceful new year.
Shanah tovah.