The time between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is one of my favorite times of the year and not just because the pumpkin spice latte is back. The Jewish New Year feels very different than the regular New Year to me.
The holidays in December are always packed with events, school breaks, trips, work (since I often cover Christmas in the hospital), and feel very hectic. The holidays in September can also be full of events but for me, they tend to be much more relaxed and lend themselves to a lot of reflection.
For those who are not familiar with the Jewish holidays, Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New year (5784 this September!) and ten days later, we observe Yom Kippur, the day of atonement. During this time, Jews ask for forgiveness and reflect on the past and future. It is also the time when the names of those who will be inscribed in the book of life are decided, which are then sealed on Yom Kippur.
I am not very religious but mostly culturally Jewish as you can probably tell from my very simplistic explanation of the holidays and there is a lot more to them than what I mentioned but I still take the time every year to go to temple and celebrate the holidays.
During this New Year, I don’t make resolutions. I reflect on my past and present. You don’t need to wait for a holiday to do this but for me, it works well to have some days off work and dedicated time where I can really focus on reflecting. The other nice thing is that it falls near the beginning of the school year, which matches changes in my work schedule since academic hospitals also follow the school year calendar. It feels like a great time to re-assess how things are going and how to do better.
It is a time to think about what could have been done better the year before, who I hurt, and how I can improve this upcoming year. I like to think about this time as an inventory of my soul. Am I living by the values that are most important to me? Am I honoring my commitments? Am I treating myself and others well? Am I giving back and staying in gratitude? Often the answer is not as much as I would like, which gives me a chance to think about how I can improve in these areas. The ideas that come up are not necessarily resolutions but I think of them as roadmaps. I may get off the road every once in a while, take a short cut, get distracted, but I can always get back to it.
Next week is Yom Kippur and that is when I really will have time to sit and think but in the mean time, I wanted to share some inspiration I’ve had so far. Below are some of the main values I would like to work on for the year 5784.
- Self-compassion: kindness starts at home. If we can’t be kind to ourselves, it makes it hard to be truly kind to anyone else. Some of the toughest words and criticism of me come from my own brain!
- Charity: gratitude is a huge component of my life and charity is one way I can remind myself of how lucky I am and how much work there is still to be done.
- Legacy: This is not as much a value as it is a guiding concept for me. I am constantly trying to build a legacy that will be around much longer than I ever could to keep bringing goodness into the world.
I will not always get it right. I am human and will make mistakes and have lots to reflect on every year.
If you haven’t had a chance to do something similar to what I am talking about, I highly recommend it. It doesn’t have to be done at any particular time but whenever feels right to you.
Wishing everyone who celebrates a very happy new year! L’Shana Tova and G’mar chatima tova!