CHOOSING G-DAt sunset on the eve of Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, G-d**will remove some of his light from the world. He will stillremain present in a basic way, of course, or the world could notsustain itself. But that presence will be remote, withdrawn. Then He will wait. The next move is ours.At around midday of the holy day, when Jews in every corner ofthe world acknowledge His sovereignty with prayers and theblowing of the shofar, G-d will once again agree to be our King.He will recommit to His relationship with our world.
And when Hedoes so, it will be with an entirely new level of light andpower. Entirely new possibilities - possibilities that neverexisted before - will enter the world. We will advance one giantstep closer to our ultimate destiny.But the first move has to come from us. We must renew ourcontract with our Creator if the world is to continue to exist.Once each year, the world must choose G-d. FROM TEARS TO TRANSFORMATION Why the blowing of the shofar, the ram's horn? What power doesthis primitive instrument have to bring down such an intense andessential light?
More than a simple horn, the shofar is an instrument oftransformation. Its sound is like a heartbroken cry, and itspower is the power of tears. Living in a physical world, subject to the many stresses andchallenges of life on earth and subjugated to the relentlessdemands of our body and our ego, we are not even remotely awareof our own true potential, Tears, . Our soul, with all of its unlimitedawareness, insight, creativity, love and power, is trapped andsuppressed. But when our defenses break down, when we come face to face withour essential smallness and vulnerability within this vastuniverse, we cry out to G-d.
And this cry - this intense awareness of our own limitations -is what sets us free. A broken-hearted cry can release your soulfrom its prison and leave you open to something completely new. This freedom, not coincidentally, is also connected, Tears, with thetrumpet-blast of the shofar. In fact, it is the blast of 'thegreat shofar' - the shofar of Redemption - that will herald ourultimate freedom and transformation at the End of Days.Weakness and power. Smallness and greatness. Isolation andUnity.
Slavery and freedom. How do they go together? And how isit that the very same sound can symbolize both?A WORLD OF OPPOSITES Kabbbalah explains that everything that exists is made up of twopolar opposites. The opposite of darkness is light. The oppositeof evil is good. The opposite of death is life. The opposite ofslavery is freedom. Wherever one is found, so is its opposite.They define each other. Without one, the other could not exist.However, these negative states have no intrinsic reality.Darkness is not a permanent condition.
Just like the first stepin throwing a ball is to move the arm backwards, the darkness isactually a prelude, a gateway, to a far more powerful light. That's why tears can be so transformational. Paradoxically, itis only in realizing our smallness, weakness and aloneness - thelimits of our ego-based existence - that we create an opening toexpand beyond our perceived limits and become who we were trulyborn to be.This possibility for transformation is intensely present on RoshHashana, when the world begins anew.
ON THE THRESHOLD OF A NEW WORLDOn this Rosh Hashana, in the year 5766, transformation is notonly more possible but more necessary than ever before, not onlyfor Jews but for the entire world. Every year on Rosh Hashana the world waits, suspended in thedark space between the old light and the new. Between two waysof being there is always an empty space, a space of transition.In this space we have the opportunity to let go of the old - thepettiness, the resentments, the past mistakes, failures andfears.
We can embrace a brand new way of being; a morepassionate sense of purpose. We can commit ourselves to a newlevel of kindness, respect and compassion for the people aroundus - those we already love, and those we could love if westopped being angry or afraid.In opening ourselves to life, we create the greatest possibleopening for G-d to inscribe us in the Book of Life for a yearthat is good and sweet in the truest sense.But on this Rosh Hashana the world waits at the threshold ofRedemption. In these unprecedented times an intense level ofdarkness hovers over the earth.
Our world is shaking. Terror,war, mind-numbing natural disasters and crisis in the MiddleEast cast a threatening shadow over our lives. These times arefrightening and challenging. But this darkness is nothing moreor less than the gateway to an entirely new level of light - anew reality. OUR TIMES IN ANCIENT PROPHECY These chaotic times were foreseen in great detail millennia agoby the sages of biblical times. A full discussion of theseprophecies is way beyond the scope of this article. But read thewords below and see whether or not you think they describe ourworld today:Insolence and self-centeredness will increase, there will beoppressing inflation, people will be addicted to the good lifeand the costs will be high, moral standards will dissolve,morality and wisdom will be denigrated, there will be unbridledirresponsibility on the part of authorities, centers of learningwill turn into centers of immorality, poverty will increase, theyoung will denigrate the old, families will disintegrate,leadership will be impudent.
The world will see a succession oftroubles, epidemics of terrible diseases, and internationalconfrontations. The face of the generation will be 'like theface of a dog'. Just as dogs are not embarrassed by anythingthey do, so too people will lose their sense of embarrassment. THE GREATER THE DARKNESS, THE GREATER THE LIGHT Against this challenging, chaotic backdrop, we are being calledupon to expand beyond our boundaries, to strengthen ourrelationship with our Creator and to actualize our own potentialas partners in Creation.
We are living through the time of transition between exile andRedemption. Out of the breakdown of the old and unworkable, wehave the opportunity to create something completely new. In fact, it is our destiny.ROSH HASHANA: IT'S YOUR CHOICE This Rosh Hashana each one of us has a choice. We can choose tostay unconscious, trapped within the prison of our fears,confusion, resentments and longings, remaining passive victimsof circumstance. Or we can use this opportunity to begin to fly.To align ourselves with our destiny.
To learn to be free. Freedom is a lofty concept, but it's lived in the choices youmake each moment. In your relationships. In your spirituality.In your commitment to a life of joy and fulfillment. In yourawareness of G-d's nurturing presence in the intimate details ofyour daily life. In remembering that you're here for a purposeand being willing to do something each day to make that purposecome alive. If you could create a new future, one not based on your fearsand past failures, who would you be?
How would you behave? Whatwould you dare to create? Who would you thank? Who would youlisten to and what would you share? What would you do to enhanceyour connection to G-d and your own essence? What part of youthat you've given up on would you start to nurture? What dreamsmight you make come true? Rosh Hashana holds within it an awesome power. The light of thepast is withdrawn and the light of the future has yet to comedown into the world and into your life. The Book is open. Whatwill you choose?