Rabbi's Messages

Measuring The Year

on Sunday, 23 August 2015.

In the Broadway musical “RENT,” the performers ask a very important question: How do you measure a year? They reject measuring in daylights, sunset, midnights, or cups of coffee, and conclude that we can best measure our time in LOVE.

It’s an interesting idea. There are a lot of ways that we measure our time in the 21st century: in the things we’ve accomplished, the books we’ve read, the progress we’ve made toward our professional goals. Jewishly, we might measure by the Torah we’ve learned, the simchas we’ve celebrated, or the relationships we’ve strengthened. These are the ways that we can tell what we’ve prioritized in the past year.

The High Holy Days are all about “measuring the year.” At this time of year, Judaism challenges us to look over the accomplishments of the past year, and plan for what we’d like to accomplish in the coming year. When we gather together in the sanctuary on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, it will be with the goal of working toward becoming our best selves.
I am looking forward to beginning 5776 with each of you. I pray that the coming year will be one filled with learning and accomplishment, and joy and celebration, for our families, for Israel, and for the world.

L’shalom,

Rabbi Micah Streiffer