MY TURN--Monday was the first day of the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah. I can't remember anyone making resolutions to "lose 20 pounds" or start exercising for this holiday. It is much more of an introspective spiritual reckoning.
I've always considered Rosh Hashanah the first of three fresh starts. As a secular Jew I use it as a sort of reviewing of the year … seeing where I could improve. There is a certain tranquility that I seem to absorb.
I love the secular New Year on January 1st because that is the time to make all those lovely superficial resolutions. It is the time for making lists: I will find a new job; I will volunteer more for the good of my community; I will lose that proverbial 20 pounds.
Of course research has shown that most of us break the resolutions within the first month. But for that short time we really feel virtuous.
And finally for those of us who consider ourselves "internationalists" there is the Chinese New Year which seems to be a combination of the spiritual and the secular although money is the traditional gift.
So if we don't get a good start with Rosh Hashanah ... we still have two more opportunities!
I'm really not being glib. I am not going to discuss religious doctrine here. I will leave that to the Rabbi's and Talmudic scholars. There are some things about Rosh Hashanah that are applicable to everyone regardless of their individual beliefs. Some of them are particularly cogent to the times in which we are now living.
Since I don't have the market on either good ideas or essays I went to my source of choice ... Google. As usual there was more than one ever wanted to know ... about everything.
I thought that this piece from a 2014 Rosh Hashanah newsletter pointed out a rather ecumenical point of view that I thought was worth sharing.
"Every human being possesses unlimited potential for greatness and a unique ability to impact the world for good. So why isn’t life a constantly pulsating, runaway success?
Because to some extent we don't take life seriously. We get distracted, lulled into a game of how many Facebook likes and retweets we score. Taking life seriously means justifying each moment on Earth.
In today's social media world, our posts paint a self-portrait. Our lives are broadcast for everyone to see – how we spend our time, what arouses our attention, and what values we hold dear.
As such, each of us represents a unique "brand."
The CEO of your brand is, naturally, you.
As CEO, you have bottom-line responsibility for your life.
It starts with defining your unique purpose and contribution to humanity. You can do this by asking key questions:
- What is my unique skill set and circumstances?
- What are my core values?
- What fuels my passion?
- At the end of my life, how will this all add up?
Once you've determined a unique mission and goal, the next step is to devise a strategic plan to achieve that goal incrementally over a lifetime.
But we're getting ahead of ourselves. Because until you accept full responsibility as CEO, the idea of a life mission remains theoretical.
There's a certain comfort in being number 2 in the hierarchy knowing that "the buck doesn't stop here." It's easier to let others make the difficult decisions. Plus our egos crave approval and we don't want to stick our necks out.
So we avoid taking full responsibility.
Making excuses as a way to "justify" our shortcomings, for example: "I'm too fill in blank" (tired, hungry, old, young, slow, poor, etc.)
Blaming others with recriminations, and claiming to be a victim of fill in blank (circumstances, imperfect parents, bad luck, etc.).
To the extent that we make excuses and blame others, is the extent we relinquish the power of our choices to create our reality. This has serious consequences, in that "not taking responsibility" means we have abrogated some of life's most important decisions. In settling for comfort, that's the price we pay.
During the High Holidays (Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur) we are "judged" for another year of life, determining what resources, strengths and limitations our year will entail.
In other words, the New Year begins with zero-based budgeting, affording us no presumptive status.
On Rosh Hashanah, we stand before god – the Big CEO – and present a convincing case that we are serious about taking responsibility for our own life.
It's an auspicious time to gain clarity on these life essentials:
- Prioritize: I have defined my mission and set clear, achievable goals.
- Focus: I am grounded, organized and free of distractions.
- Discipline: I maximize use of my time, to consistently act toward my goal.
- Objectivity: I have a system to ensure that my actions are straight, balanced and free of bias.
- Patience: I take pleasure in my achievements, calm in the knowledge that everything is a process.
- Integrity: Perhaps most important of all, I live with the credo that no gain is worthwhile if it comes at the expense of my core values.
The High Holidays are the time to push out of our comfort zones, to stand up and declare: "I accept full responsibility for my life."
Regardless of the greeting card industry Jews don’t traditionally wish each other “happy new year”? Instead the Hebrew phrase “shanah tovah” which — in spite of the mistaken translation that appears on almost all greeting cards — has no connection at all to the expression “have a happy new year.”
Shanah tovah conveys the hope for a good year rather than a happy one. And the reason for that distinction contains great significance.
Researchers have found that a meaningful life and a happy life overlap in certain ways, but are ultimately very different. Leading a happy life, the psychologists found, is associated with being a "taker" while leading a meaningful life corresponds with being a "giver."
We are good when we achieve our purpose; our lives are good when they fulfill what they are meant to be. We know many people of whom it can be said that they had good lives in spite of their having had to endure great unhappiness. Indeed, the truly great, chose lives of sacrifice over pleasure and left a legacy of inspiration and achievement that they never could have accomplished had they been solely concerned with personal gratification."
I am sure that Rabbis delivering sermons in Temple's throughout Los Angeles will be discussing the plight of the Middle East immigrants. Pope Francis called upon every Catholic parish to take one Syrian family.
For Jews this is a real conundrum. They were refused entrance in World War II by most countries including, the United States. This is the reason that so many perished. Yet how do they take in and help families whose religious leaders advocate their destruction?
I received this targeted email from one of the U.S. organizations trying to urge the government to do more.
It said in part," Now it's America's turn to act.
"On Thursday, President Obama said he would allow 10,000 Syrian refugees to enter the United States. It's a step in the right direction, but it's a tiny fraction of what's needed. In fact, that number is 1/80th the number welcomed by Germany, a country far smaller than the U.S.
That's why members and our friends are launching AmericaWelcomes, an urgent national campaign to raise the number of Syrian refugees admitted into the U.S. to at least 100,000 and to encourage people in local communities across the country to open their hearts and extend a welcome.
Will you take a quick photo to send a message that residents of Tarzana would welcome Syrian refugees?
We'll make sure these pictures reach President Obama, the U.S. State Department, and the national press, making it unmistakably clear that Americans stand ready to embrace refugees and that we demand solutions to this crisis that are humane, dignified, and worthy of our shared human values."
And so you have my thoughts on this the first of my celebratory "New Year" fresh starts. I am glad that I don't have to make many of the decisions facing this great country. Whatever is done fifty per cent of the people won't like it.
In closing I would like to wish all of you regardless of your faith ... or even no faith ... L,Shona Tova ... a Good Year.
As always comments welcome.
(Denyse Selesnick is a CityWatch columnist. She is a former publisher/journalist/international event organizer. Denyse can be reached at: [email protected])
-cw
CityWatch
Vol 13 Issue 75
Pub: Sep 15, 2015
