On September 18, Erev Rosh Hashanah, (the holiday begins at sundown the night before) Jews around the world will be greeting each other with “tzom kal“( May you have an easy fast) and “chag Sameach” ( happy Holiday) The headline wishes “may you be inscribed and sealed (in the Book of Life) for a good year”. On Rosh Hashanah the blowing of the shofar, the ram’s horn symbolizes it’s time to open the book of life and examine what has transpired. We spend the next 10 days reflecting, and remembering. After fasting on Yom Kippur The shofar blows we close the book and begin renewed.
This my favorite time of year? During this 10 day holy period from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur we return to our authentic selves, to our relationships with family, community, and to the values and ideals that we strive to uphold. They provide us an opportunity to stop, look inward, and consider that which is most essential in our lives.These holidays come to teach us about the importance of stopping, taking stock of our lives, and spending quality time with friends and family.
Growing up, going to Hebrew school, the emphasis was on atonement and repentance. It wasn’t until I was in college that a rabbi explained teshuva or returning and reflecting. It is a time of remembrance. We reflect on our lives during the past year; what we learned, who we lost, what worked, what needs to be changed and so on. We make a commitment to do better in the next year. We dip bread into sugar or honey and promise each other a sweet year
This is such a fitting time as normally, it’s new beginnings, a new school year; the clean notebooks waiting for brilliance, the new books to be opened and the new friends to be made. This is when my mother did the intensive fall cleaning, putting away summer clothes, curtains and spreads, and bringing out the serious winter things. I loved the change. I do miss the cooler weather and the leaves changing
The reflection includes my business as I have a few more days of 3rd quarter before the final stretch. I am reviewing what has worked and areas that need to be improved. I am looking at ways to grow and new products to offer. I am analyzing my marketing and the various revenue streams What will you reflect on for your business? What changes are you ready to make to move to the next level?
It can be very difficult to set aside time for this kind of reflection on our own! We live extremely scheduled and busy lives. We are virtually always plugged in to one device or another, flooded with seemingly endless streams of communication and information. I encourage you to set aside even a couple of hours over the next week to reflect return to your roots. Now more than ever we need to connect in whatever way we can; remember who we truly are and move forward in all facets of our lives.
L’Shana Tovah May you and your loved ones be written in the book of life for the next year and may your life be sweet and filled with joy, health and abundance.
I’ll post my changes in the comments and hope you will post yours and we can brainstorm ideas.
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