Wednesday night marks the beginning of the Jewish New Year, the holiday known as Rosh Hashanah. According to Jewish tradition, this marks the 5772nd birthday of the world.
On this day, the Hebrew Scriptures tell us that God opens the Book of Life and writes down what fate will befall us in the year to follow.
However, it is not until 10 days later, on the holiday of Yom Kippur, that the book is sealed. Therefore, tonight and the ten days that follow are meant to be a time of reflection and repentance for our sins, misdeeds and broken promises.
One lesson imparted upon us by the holiday is that we are not perfect, and never will be, but we can all be worthy of God’s love and forgiveness.
Guideposts contributor Rhoda Blecker wrote a story a few years back about the unorthodox way she learned this important lesson:
“Every year at the High Holidays, we’re asked to reflect on our lives during the past year so that we can resolve to do better in the coming one. As I walked toward the synagogue for the first Rosh Hashanah service, it was hard not to think about all the medical and dental problems we’d had to deal with in the past twelve months. If there was anything I wanted to leave behind, it would have to be the messiness and chaos. I wanted a perfect next year.
I didn’t think I was being unrealistic. Yes, I was going to services without my husband, Keith, who’d had two teeth extracted that morning, but that was the last of the old year, after all, not the start of the new year. There was still a chance everything could be wonderful.
Ushers were handing out the special prayer books for the High Holiday services as we entered the sanctuary. I took a book without looking at it and found a seat with some other women. We chatted until the rabbi began speaking.
Then I looked at the prayer book I’d been handed. A large white label was pasted at the top of its cover.
‘The cover of this book is upside down,’ it read.
For a moment I was just startled. Then I began to laugh. The book was not put together right, but it still had all the prayers in it, and it was being useful, just like all the other books.
And I accepted that the next year would be what it would be.”
Rhoda’s life may have been upside down at times, and with all her family’s medical and dental issues, she certainly couldn’t be blamed for dwelling on the imperfections and problems in her life. But with a misprinted prayer book, she was reminded that God has a purpose for everyone. In the coming year, she’d just have to wait and discover what hers would be. Did she pick the book up by chance? Or was it meant just for her?
On this Rosh Hashanah, whether you’re Jewish or not, take the time to apologize to those you have wronged. And remember that however upside down you may feel, there’s always a way forward.
As we Jews say, “L’Shana Tova.” Happy New Year.
Do you have a Mysterious Ways story to share? Send it to mw@guideposts.org.
