The Mystery of Rosh Hashanah

Ask most Jews what Rosh Hashanah is, and they will tell you that it’s the Jewish New Year.

And while this is true, there’s more to it.

Rosh Hashanah is the birthday of the world. It’s a celebration of existence.

Even God has a backstory.

Before creation, God was everything. God was One and All was God. Ain Sof—the Transcendent, Unfathomable God.

But to be All can’t possibly be enough. It’s the giving that brings meaning, and without a receptor to receive, God lacked meaning, value. Being everything made God nothing. God of nothing.

God was lonely. And so, God began creating. After each stage in the creation process, God said, “It is good.” There were galaxies, solar systems, stars, and planets. There was a special planet called earth that had become filled with living creatures, formed from the very elements of earth, male and female, able to reproduce according to their kind. And there were angels! Celestial beings to ceaselessly sing God’s praises!

At last, God was not alone. But God was not satisfied. Good was not good enough. God was still lonely.

All the things that God had made were good, but none of them were anything like God.

Every creature behaved according to its instincts without question. The bird knew to make its home in the tree, yet the bird didn’t know that the tree was beautiful. The cougar knew to make its home in the mountain but the cougar didn’t know that the mountain was beautiful. There was not one creature who could converse with God, be something like God, a free thinker who could challenge God and stimulate the Mind of God with a two-way relationship.

Even the angels were not enough. They were merely messengers, servants, spirits without form, with no choice but to do the task they were created for. Their love was compelled.

God’s most selfless act.

As God fantasized about such a creature, a blueprint formed in the mind of God. Crafted of the elements of earth and imbued with the spirit of God, this creature could be a true friend. And so God created Adam. At last, God declared that it was very good.

But to God’s disappointment, the creature Adam was not satisfied. Crafted with intelligence, it realized that it had some of the qualities of God but was not God. It had some of the qualities of the animals but was not an animal. It had no equal.

Even though the creature was enough for God, God was not enough for the creature. Genderless, unique, the creature noticed it was the only one that was singular, and it longed for an equal to itself. The creature was lonely.

And so, God separated the creature into two. Like the animals, there would be two versions, one of each gender. They would have each other and they would be able to reproduce. They would diversify and in time, they’d form families and communities. They could love God, and they could love each other.

This was perhaps the most selfless act of all time for God.

God knew that love compelled isn’t love, it’s an illusion. God needed to set them free and hope that they would find God, hope that they would love God.

god’s gift

And Ain Sof, the Transcendent Unknowable God, knew that in order for the humans to be able to relate to God, God would need to descend to meet them part way. God would need a name through which God could be known to humans. And so, God took on THE NAME, and a name by which God would be known to them. Adonai. Adonai gifted them with free will. And waited to see if they would choose innocence or culpability and responsibility. We know how that went.

The humans saw the trees and the mountains and the rivers and the seas and all that moved within them and about them, saw that they were beautiful, and fell in love with God. And the humans sang a love song back to God and there was music. And God was satisfied at last. God said it was Very Good.

It’s been a tumultuous relationship over these many millennia. We’ve loved, we’ve argued, we’ve fought with our God. We’ve broken up and gotten back together. Sometimes we’ve behaved like friends, sometimes we’ve behaved like children (often badly behaved children), and sometimes we’ve even seen in each other, our heart’s true desire.

But regardless of our current state, today, on Rosh Hashanah, we come home. From wherever we are, we return—perhaps contrite, perhaps with tears. And we’re promised that we’ll be received with open arms.

look up, stretch out, realize!

Rosh Hashanah is when we celebrate existence. Our existence. We remember to be in awe of existence. We rejoice with God, celebrate our mutual love. And God takes the position of physician, looks us over, examines our deeds, our thoughts, our hearts, and determines what tonics, what medicines we require, for the sake of our bodies, but more so for the sake of our souls. Some of those medicines taste sweet. Others are very bitter. But there’s hope. Even the most bitter of decrees can be revised with prayer, with turning back to God, and with charity towards one another. Because God also takes the position of loving parent, watching at the gate, waiting for us to come home.

How often, as we move through our busy lives with our minds fixed on schedules, responsibilities, and commitments, do we slow down long enough to ponder the amazing reality of the world through which we move?

Look up. Read the stories that the clouds are telling as the winds cause them to shift and morph above us. Hear the laughter of the trees as their limbs and leaves are tickled by the breeze that dances among them. Notice the scent released by the blades of grass as they bend beneath your feet. Hear the calls of the birds, the hum of the insects, and think about what they might be saying to one another.

Stretch out for a moment, with heart and mind, and see if you can sense that this world and all it contains is not separate from us. We are all of one source—wind and sky, rock and soil, plant life, bird and insect, fish and animal—and consider that because we are all connected, we can tap into that connection and communicate from a part of ourselves that is beyond intellect. Inhale, exhale, and listen. Perhaps they’ve been talking to us all along, texting messages that we’ve neglected to read.

See through your Real Eyes and Realize the miracle of existence.

How extraordinary it is that any of this is here, and that we are, also, here!

Realize, Rejoice!

and celebrate!

Click here to learn about the Rosh Hashanah Seder.

And here, for musings on the strange and awesome ceremony of Tashlich.

Click here to learn about the Symbolic Foods for Rosh Hashanah.

Click here for my Holiday Menus, which will lead you to my Rosh Hashanah menu, with links to the recipes to make that menu. It’s a journey, my friends…

L’Shana Tova!