Appreciating what we can control
The High Holy Days are about how we can change ourselves, not the world.
aving no control over the world around us is not the same thing as being out of control. And while it seems increasingly likely that the New Year will once again be compromised by COVID-19 restrictions, the questions of the season remain: the High Holy Days have never been about changing the world, but rather about how we might change ourselves.
We may not be able to change the reality of repeated lockdowns, or ignore the impact it has had on lives and livelihoods, but we can change the way we respond to it.
We can be overwhelmed by the frustration and disappointment that accompanies cancelled plans and postponed celebrations, or we can accept that this year has simply neither been the time nor the place for such occasions.
We can cover ourselves in sackcloth and ashes and mourn all that we have lost, or we can take the time and space that our isolation has provided and ask ourselves, as the Divine challenged Adam to do in the garden of Eden: Ayeka?
Ayeka? Where are we? Where do we want to be? And ultimately, who do we want to be?
These are the questions of the season. And this year, perhaps more than any other in our lifetime, we actually have the time and space to consider them.
Having no control over the world around us is not the same thing as being out of control.
Our tradition has always taught us that by focusing on that which we can control, ourselves, is a sure way to a Shana Tova.
Repairing ourselves allows us to better repair the culture around us. The way we act at work, at home or anywhere else can influence how others feel.
So as the New Year approaches, we need to think about our own actions and how we can create an inclusive, warm culture around us.
By being our best selves, we can show others that they can be themselves with no fear of judgement or rejection: flawed, quirky, emotional, quiet, passionate.
If we can be honest and speak from the heart, we will find that others will feel comfortable to do the same and our relationships will strengthen.
Having no control over the world around us is not the same thing as being out of control.
And so, in the mindset of all of this uncertainty, I ask: what change will you bring this New Year? Who will you be in the face of uncertainty? What will you affirm amid instability?
How will you make this New Year a good year?
Rabbi Lazarow has taken positions of rabbinical leadership at The King David School and Bentleigh Progressive Synagogue, and in 2013 was appointed Senior Rabbi of Temple Beth Israel (TBI).
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