Three Ideas to Help You Prepare for Rosh Hashanah

The predominant feeling of Rosh Hashanah is love, not fear. It’s a day of deep connection, not a day of stress and tension. It’s a day to feel God’s presence in our lives more than any other day of the year, except for Yom Kippur.

In Jewish tradition, festivals are not randomly chosen days; they are spiritual realities. They are seasons of the human soul built into the fabric of time at the start of Creation. With focus, growth is readily available.

The two days of Rosh Hashanah are my favorite days of the year. The opportunity for connection, uplift and insight spills over into the year ahead. It’s your chance to leave the past where it belongs and start again. They are days of spiritual rejuvenation, clarity of purpose, noble intent and inspired vision. Days to dream of a better future for yourself, and for the world. A dream so vivid that it will motivate you to bring it to fruition in the coming year. Rosh Hashanah is the time to dream that dream.

Here are three ideas that will help you take full advantage of Rosh Hashanah.

1. What Does Judgment Day Mean?

Rosh Hashanah is called the Day of Judgment. What does that mean? Many people think that the judgment refers to evaluating the past year. This is mistaken for many reasons. Firstly, if that were the case, there is nothing to be done about the past year. It is unchangeable. So you might as well stay in bed all day.

Rosh Hashanah has nothing to do with who you were in the past year and everything to do with who you plan to be in the coming year.

Further, the Talmud uses the metaphor of sheep passing before a shepherd to be judged. A shepherd does not judge sheep on their previous performance. He looks at them as they are right now.

Rosh Hashanah has nothing to do with who you were in the past year and everything to do with who you plan to be in the coming year. So give yourself time and space to get into a reflective mood. Find some time to quiet your mind and to consider who you are and who you want to be. Put aside what you think you know about yourself and start with a clean slate.

It’s an opportune time. Unmatched clarity is available to attain on Rosh Hashanah. Be open to it, and use the time to freely introspect about your life’s goals and aspirations.

2. Feeling God’s Love

The Hebrew month before Rosh Hashanah is called Elul. It is an acronym for the phrase is Proverbs, “I am for my beloved and my beloved is for me.” Elul is a time to try to feel God’s love for humanity more deeply and more intimately. There is no better way to be prepared for Rosh Hashanah than to know just how much God loves you. That’s the essence of the day.

You can only find that love in your own heart. It’s the birthright of every human being to know and feel this; it is programmed into your soul. If you do not feel it, it’s not a matter of inventing the wheel. You are looking, rather, for a long lost friend. The best I can suggest is spend some time alone with nature; feel God’s greatness,

His wisdom and beauty, and wait to be touched. If it doesn’t happen, keep trying. Connect to the idea that you are God’s precious creation; He loves you and is rooting for you.

3. It’s Unconditional

Throughout the month of Elul until the end of Sukkot, Jews recite Psalm 27 at morning and night. The Psalm is a spiritual work of art. If you take a moment to read through it carefully and slowly (don’t worry, it’s only 14 lines), opening your heart to what it says, you will find it pointing you to a deeper, Godlier place within yourself.

Feeling God’s unconditional love is comforting, hopeful, uplifting and inspiring.

It describes the soul’s yearning for spiritual connection and to be unafraid of what that life may throw at you. My favorite part is the description of God’s ironclad love and commitment – that even if I would behave so disgracefully that my parents would abandon me, God would never leave me. His love for me is unconditional and without limit. There is nothing I can do that would compromise that love. No matter how far I might have strayed, He is waiting with open arms to support and assist me.

This feeling of unconditional love is an incredible platform on which to build your spiritual life. It is comforting, hopeful, encouraging, uplifting and inspiring.

Rosh Hashanah is the time to dream of a better life, for yourself, your family and your world – and spend the year willing it to happen. With the dream of Rosh Hashanah and your committed efforts the rest of the year, anything is possible.