A Tale of Two New Years
Just a few days ago the world celebrated New Year’s.
Listening to my co-workers and to the conversations on the street and in the media I had the opportunity to engage in my yearly reflection – thinking about the stark contrast between the Jewish observance of its New Year (Rosh Hashanah) and that of the rest of the secular world.
Imagine giving someone a choice. On the one side there is drinking, partying, festivities, watching a ball drop, singing auld lang syne and overall revelry. On the other side are all-day prayer, crying, sermons, ram’s horns, repentance and talk of death – lots of talk about death. Oh, it’s not all doom and gloom. As a special treat you also get apples in honey!
Seems to me most people would (and in fact do) choose what’s behind door #1. Sure sounds like a better party!
Nevertheless, I and countless others like me would choose Rosh Hashanah over New Year’s. Is Rosh Hashanah as fun as New Year’s? No. Definitely and resoundingly NO! But life is not about fun. Life is about what we can do to improve ourselves and the world. And for that mission, Rosh Hashanah is far better equipped than is New Year’s.
For many people, life is about having a good time and enjoying life to its fullest. While Judaism certainly encourages a person to enjoy life, it also teaches us not to make that our priority. It mandates that we keep a focus on spiritual growth.
It occurred to me there is a subtle yet fundamental distinction in the perspectives of these two New Years and it is very telling.
In Judaism we spend our New Year’s primarily looking BACK at the PREVIOUS year while in the secular world New Year’s is spent primarily looking forward and focusing on the UPCOMING year (think of the countdown in Times Square). Of course in Judaism as well as the secular New Year’s we spend time looking both at what was and what is yet to come, but it seems to me the emphasis is diametrically opposite in the two New Years.
In Judaism we reflect and make an accounting of how we performed in our service of G-d over the past year. As most of us have numerous shortcomings, we spend the day in prayer, introspection, repentance and all of the “fun” things I mentioned earlier. Only when we recognize that we have fallen short of our goals and that we have a ways to go can we shift our focus on the upcoming year to try and improve. We make resolutions to be better the next year.
In the secular New Year’s the focus is primarily about the upcoming year. Aside from some recaps of which celebrities died during the past year and what major political and natural disasters occurred, little time is spent in reflection. Certainly very few engage in analyzing how they did during the past year and in what areas they need improvement. Instead, people celebrate the fact that a new year is arriving. Time to move on from any disappointments of the past and move on to (hopefully) a better future. They break out the champagne, burst into song and welcome the new year. It is common for many people to make “New Year’s resolutions” just as Jews do on Rosh Hashanah. But many people are finished with their resolutions before they have even sobered up from New Year’s eve.
You see, without serious reflection on your past and truly recognizing where your weaknesses are and coming up with concrete steps for improvement it is hard to make future resolutions stick and make inroads on corrective behaviors.
As the famous saying goes, “Those who do not learn from the mistakes of the past are condemned to repeat them.”
The point of this essay is not to disparage anyone who wants to enjoy themselves on January 1. The point is to use the study in contrast between the New Years(es?) that the world celebrates and that of the one given to us as a gift from G-d to use as a tool in our spiritual toolbox.
Still trying to come up with a New Year’s resolution? How about – “This year I will study Torah 5 minutes a day so that I can make this year, and every year, a truly happy (and meaningful) New Year!”
Shabbat Shalom and Cheers,
Rabbi Yosef Koval
