Happy New Year!

Yes, you read that right. Sundown this evening will be greeted with shofar blasts marking the beginning of Rosh Hashanah, the high holy Jewish New Year. It’s a time for considering the past year in penitence – in preparation for Yom Kippur – and for anticipating the coming one with hope.

“According to Talmudic tradition, the Ten Days of Awe which begin at Rosh Hashana are the time in which God determines the fate of each human being. On Rosh Hashana, the wholly righteous are supposedly inscribed in the Sefer ha-Hayyim, or Book of Life, while the wholly wicked are inscribed in the Book of Death. The fate of all others hangs in the balance until Yom Kippur. Consequently, it is a time for introspection, for taking stock of one's behavior over the past year and making amends for any wrongdoing.”

Let us rejoice that our names have been written in heaven as we listen for the trumpet call announcing the final judgment and the New Age.

L’chaim!