9-18-2025 Rosh Ha’Shanah 5786

This year, starting on Monday night, September  22nd we enter into the holy month of Tishre and the  High Holidays. This is a month for personal and  group reflection, a time when we take an accounting  of our personal and collective souls, a time to correct  the mistakes of the past and seek new beginnings with ourselves, with each other and with G-d.  

This past year, 5785, was not an easy year in the  Jewish world. We have had to deal with war and  with the worst outbreak of antisemitism since the Holocaust. Hate groups from both the right and the  left of the political spectrum targeted us, and too  many of us feel as if the horrors of the 1940s have  never ceased. 

Rosh Ha’Shanah is a time of self-examination and  trying to mend fences with those whom we love. These are days when we ask G-d for forgiveness  and learn to appreciate the gift of time. 

As such Rosh Ha’Shanah is different from many  other New Year celebrations. It is a time for thinking,  for reflecting, for quiet and community prayer, and  for analyzing the year that has passed. It is a time to  face our inner fears and faults and to seek ways to  overcome them.  

From Rosh Ha’Shanah until Yom Kippur we ask  ourselves questions such as: What are my major  goals? What is the most important decision I need to  make this coming year? Which people in my life  make me feel closest to G-d? When I die, what do I  want people to remember about me? 

These are not easy questions, but then Rosh  Ha’Shanah is not meant to be an easy holiday.

My family and I wish each of you a Shanah Tovah  uMetukah/A good and sweet 5786. May it be a year  filled with health, happiness, and peace.