Rosh Hashanah >> rabbinic messages Shanah Tovah: What Do You Mean? H ebrew is more than just a lan- guage — it is a particularly meaningful way to transmit Jewish culture and values. One of the reasons is that words cluster around meaning, and the same Hebrew letters can be used in various ways. For example, we all show up at Rosh Hashanah ready to say, "Shanah Tovah (may you have a good year)." The letters SHin-Nun-Hay make up the word "year." However, the same three letters make the word for "retell- ing" or "repeating" (as in Mishnah). We cannot look ahead to a new year until we look behind us and assess where we've been. In fact, the beginning of teshuvah (repentance) is taking an hon- est look in the mirror. our own mistakes. Shanah Tovah, then, could be a nice Which leads to yet another meaning way to encourage friends or of our Hebrew word. SHin- family to "make sure you do Nun-Hay is also the word for a good job of reflecting on "change?' your past year:' More than wishing people "a Living as part of a com- good year," perhaps we are say- munity means supporting ing, "may you be changed for one another in the task of the better:' Self-assessment is religious living. And being only the first step of teshuvah. The ultimate goal of our High a good friend is more than sharing common interests; it Holidays is to determine what is about helping one another sort of person we have been grow and evolve. in the past year so that we can Rabb i Mark That is also the reason make the real and sometimes Mi Iler why teshuvah must include difficult changes that will lead others. Without forgiveness, to a better year ahead. In my own experience, I find that I we might not be so motivated to expose am more likely to improve some aspect of myself when I have people helping me, encouraging me, even nudging me along my path. So this year, when you wish someone Shanah Tovah, remember that it is not just a greeting ... it is a conversation: As you take stock of the past year, I am here to support you in making positive changes with the goal of creating an even better year ahead:' When they do the same for you, it is certain to lead us all toward a more suc- cessful future. Shanah tovah! ❑ Mark Miller is a rabbi at Temple Beth El in Bloomfield Township. What Does God Want From Us? W hat does God want of us ... and how can I do bet- ter? As we head into Rosh Hashanah, we are called by the sound of the shofar to ask of ourselves these two essential life questions. Our sages instruct us to perform Cheshbon HaNefesh, to take an account- ing of our souls, and to analyze our actions from this past year. What does God want of us ... and how can I do bet- ter? Throughout the generations, the lead- ers of the Jewish people have offered us their interpretation of that which God wants of us. "Do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with your God," Micah offers (Micah 6:8). "Keep justice and do righteousness:' adds Isaiah (56:1). The prophet Amos, speaking for God, estab- lishes the mission of the Jewish people as, "Seek Me, and you shall live" (Amos 5:4). The great sage Hillel is quoted in the Babylonian Talmud explaining, while standing on one foot, that the essence of Judaism is, "What is hateful to you, do not to your neighbor; that is the whole Torah, while the rest is the commentary thereof; [now] go and learn it" (B.T. Shabbat 31a). Now, as 21st-century Jews, what does God want of us? God wants us look to the mitzvot (sacred obligations) to elevate the sense of spirituality and intergen- erational connectedness of the Jewish people. God wants us embrace our mitz- vot by working tirelessly to ensure that our neighbors, both Jewish and gentile, have ample food, cloth- ing and shelter. And guided by our mitzvot, God wants us to seek to bring peace wherever and whenever there is strife, at home and throughout the world. This is what God wants of us. Now, the second question is: How can I do better? We are living in difficult times. Israel was engaged in a war of self-defense all summer. There are those in our own area who suffer from homelessness, hunger, poverty and violence, as well as illness, physical and emotional challenges, and tragedy. Fewer Jews are affiliating with synagogue life than ever before. Are we — each of us individually and all of us as a community — doing what we can to care for those in need, to strengthen the Jewish people, to stand up for the State of Israel and to bring healing to a broken world? Now is the time we reflect on our lives. The world needs the Jews, and the Jewish community needs you. How can we all do better? On behalf of Congregation Shaarey Zedek, I wish you a happy and healthy New Year 5775. ❑ Aaron Starr is rabbi at Congregation Shaarey Zedek in Southfield. God, Our Father N o matter what you do, think, choose or believe, Dad will always be Dad. He'll always love you. Care for you. Be there for you. You could disagree with him. Defy him. Rebel against him. Even reject and hate him. But he'll never lock his doors or his heart to you. He can't. You're his child. And he's Dad. He'll watch with pain and sadness as you trip and fall. Make mistakes. Insist on repeating them. Refuse to listen to him. And demand, without thanks, food, lodg- ing and money. He just never gives up on you. Even when he yells at you, it's out of love. It's because he doesn't want you doing 50 September 18 • 2014 appears in the daily liturgy, too. that bad thing. And to him, that's really bad. And it hurts him to rebuke you as Because "Dad" conveys so much, words much as it hurts you. can't even convey it. That's Now, were we talking about why we call God our "Father:' Dad? Or about God? Because He is to us everything Judaism is replete with com- that our fathers are to us — and infinitely more. parisons of God to the human father: the loyal and giving The teaching of the Baal Shem patriarch, the rock, the family Tov, founder of Chasidism, that man who's there for his clan's every Jew is seen and loved by every tragedy and triumph, God, personally and uncondi- tionally, as an only child inspires and who above all fiercely and endlessly loves his every child. us to embrace every Jew. And All that, and more, is what this belief comes to the fore at Rabbi Mendel we mean when we say Avinu, Rosh Hashanah. St ein far away. Upon becoming a man, the prince couldn't even speak his native tongue. Trying to enter the royal palace upon return, he couldn't communicate with the guards, who thrust him away. But the king heard the wordless sobs, recognized his boy and threw the gates open wide. The shofar is that wordless cry of our souls, calling out to our loving Father in heaven. At Rosh Hashanah, let's remember that we are God's children. We're home. And we want in. Ushanah tovah to all. our Father, in the Avinu Malkeinu prayer said repeated- ly throughout Rosh Hashanah. The phrase Rabbi Mendel Stein is development director at The classic Chasidic parable tells of the king who sent his pre- cious little boy to grow up among strangers ❑ Lubavitch Yeshiva - International School for Chabad Leadership.