Slichot 5767

Elul arrives stealthily in the midst of the summer. For those of us who do not pray at the synagogue daily, we miss the shofar calls reminding us that the New Year is coming. Fall begins with school bells ringing and tightened work schedules; the looseness of summer slips away as the dusk steals our precious summer daylight earlier by minutes each passing day. Initially fall is deceiving for the leaves stay green and the ninety-degree days linger, but the season is somehow different. The wind blows with increased strength and whirl, while the air grows crisper, the dew on the grass colder in the morning. As small clumps of leaves begin to change from green to yellow, so too does Elul morph into Tisrei. Rosh Hashanah charges in demanding that we take notice of the world around us. Fall is here whether we are prepared or not. Rosh Hashanah reminds us we are not in control of our world.

We are forced to wish each other Shana Tova, a good year. This seems like a simple enough wish for one another: a year of good year of health and happiness, of good things not bad. This Rosh Hashanah greeting forces us to be forward thinking and overtly optimistic. For families facing a recent tragedy it offers a promise that the New Year will be a better one even if the same words were uttered the year before. The New Year’s greeting reminds us that goodness is not one dimensional, but complex and individual. As the weather changes and serves as our silent shofar, we control what we can. We take charge of our actions and determine how we can make this year a Shana Tova. And we hope and pray that 5768 will be truly a good year for those we love. Shana Tova.

Last year’s slichot post can be read here.