STAND STILL OR GET MOVING?

Rosh Hashanah is almost here. This Shabbat is the last Shabbat of the old year, 5771. The parashah we read is a double, Nitzavim Vayelekh, and the name of these two parshiyot contrast with each other beautifully. Nitzavim is a term that implies standing or fixed in some spot while Vayelekh is a verb meaning movement or walking. The fact that this double parashah is read just before Rosh Hashanah is eerie, for the two names essentially pose a question to us all. In the New Year, are we going to stand still or move, are we going to change or are we going to remain the same?

That question is easy to ask but difficult to answer. This is a time of year when Jewish educators and rabbis piously talk forgiveness, repentance, in short, about positive and courageous change in one’s life. Some people flippantly say that they are going to change but have no intention to do so. Others cynically say that they won’t change because after all, people don’t change. But after all the greeting cards are sent, the prayers recited, and the apples dipped, the most basic function of the New Year may remain unfulfilled: honest and enduring change.

Judaism is a tradition that believes deeply in the power of the human spirit. If we are our choices, and we choose every second of our lives, then the grandeur of our spirit moves us to make good choices with every breath we take. Do we resist those good choices? Quite often we do. Change might mean sacrificing some ego, giving up some long-cherished anger, or even losing face. But asking for forgiveness from one person whom you may have hurt in some past exchange, is worth at least two days of praying in a five-and-a-half hour service. Actually it’s worth a lot more than that.

There ought to be a holiday devoted to eating brisket. We can all get together and celebrate and that would be just lovely. But if that’s what Rosh Hashanah has become in your life, then you’re not doing Rosh Hashanah. Rosh Hashanah is the stuff that real-life drama is made of: facing our failures, confessing our shortcomings, and making amends. So what’s it going to be: Nitzavim or Vayelekh? Whether you remain the same or make the gutsy changes that life demands of us, is up to you.

L’shanah Tovah Tikateivu—May we all be inscribed into the Book of Life with abundant blessings, blessings that we may enjoy ourselves and blessings that we may be privileged to confer on others.