Reflections

Rosh Hashanah is a holiday of waking up. We awaken from the deep slumber of selfishness, conceit, and putting ourselves above others and awaken to something different. For some of us, the wake up call is a jackhammer. For others, it is a whisper. One is not better than the other.

No one and nothing is excluded. Not a single person. Not a single thing. This world we have inherited, are responsible for, and responsible to, needs every single one of us. We create it together—arm in arm, hand in hand—moment by moment, breath by breath.

Liberating ourselves from the small self and gaining-mind is the ultimate expression of atonement (teshuvah). True transformation requires us to step outside of ourselves, beyond our individual isolation, and wake up to the web of life that binds us together.