Sound the shofar. Welcome a New Year, 5772

MAY YOU BE INSCRIBED AND SEALED

FOR A GOOD YEAR

L'shanah tovah . That’s the greeting commonly exchanged on Rosh Hashanah – commonly known as the Jewish New Year.

The sentiment is understood to mean "for a good year.” It’s the quickie shortening of the sentiment "L'shanah tovah tikatev v'taihatem" (or, according to the Judaism 101 website, to women, "L'shanah tovah tikatevi v'taihatemi"), which means –

"May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year."

In a Washington Post photo (Steve Jessmore - AP) 
Harel Cohen, age 6,
 blows a shofar,
typically made from a rams horn,
to commemorate Rosh Hashanah.        

In Hebrew, Rosh Hashanah means, literally, "head of the year" or "first of the year." The holiday is instituted in Leviticus 23:24-25, where Moses is instructed, “Say to the Israelites: ‘On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of sabbath rest, a sacred assembly commemorated with trumpet blasts.’”

Of course there is little similarity between Rosh Hashanah, one of the holiest days of the year for Jews, and the December 31 midnight bash followed by a New Year’s Day of endless football “bowl” games.

There is, however, at least one important similarity between the Jewish New Year and the “traditional” non-sectarian one:

• Many of us, regardless of religious convictions, use the December-becomes-January New Year as a time to plan a better life, making "resolutions."
• Likewise, the Jewish New Year is a time to look back at the mistakes of the past year and plan the changes to make in the days ahead.

The ten days starting with Rosh Hashanah and ending with Yom Kippur are commonly known as the Days of Awe or the Days of Repentance. This is a time for serious introspection, a time to consider the sins of the previous year and repent before Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.

One of the ongoing themes of the Days of Awe is the concept that there are “books" where a supreme deity records our names, writing down who will live and who will die … who will have a good life and who will have a bad life, for the next year.

These books are written in on Rosh Hashanah, but our actions during the Days of Awe can alter the divine decree. The actions that change the decree are repentance, prayer and good deeds (usually, charity). These books are "sealed" on Yom Kippur.  

This concept of writing in books is the source of the "May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year" greeting.

No matter the source or depth of your beliefs, the underlying concepts of Rosh Hashanah -- spiritual introspection, retrospection and resolve -- and/or December 31 secular “resolutions” have legitimacy and power. 

As the co-creator with my friend Eric Taylor of a very secular “How To Have Your Best Year Ever” program I’m fond of reminding folks that a “new” year begins whenever you decide to change things. 

And the start of the Jewish Year of 5772 fits that standard. 

Sound the shofar.  

Striving to be inscribed and sealed in the Book of Life. 

Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373

tgimguy@gmail.com   

P.S. Another popular practice of the holiday is Tashlikh ("casting off") in which the observant walk to flowing water, such as a creek or river, on the afternoon of the first day and empty their pockets into the river, symbolically casting off their sins. Small pieces of bread are commonly put in the pocket to cast off. This practice is not discussed in the Bible, but is a long-standing custom.