ENDINGS AND BEGINNINGS – Rosh Hashana – 2026 – Loren Judaken
Rosh Hashana beckons us
with the promise of a new beginning,
a journey of possibility, reinvention and renewal.
An open road with a distant horizon line
that only we define.
But we cannot venture forward
without first glancing back.
How did we arrived at our current station,
and what is this baggage we’ve hauled
mile after mile, year after year?
Some of our own making,
from heeding the voices in our heads.
Some inherited from previous generations.
Some from the good-intentions
of those who love us, or society at large.
These days of awe are a liminal space.
We get to reflect, to decide what of our past,
of who we were, we want to carry forward
through the inviting doorway, across the threshold
of our new beginning.
A deep ambivalence pervades our thoughts.
Can’t we retain everything we know and trust,
everything that is comfortable and safe.
Or must we finally discard some of the relics,
the outdated stories, well-worn habits, obsolete excuses, even people.
To make room in our luggage for courage,
for change, new perspectives and opportunity,
To discover or reinvent ourselves, to become anew,
To transform the blossom into the beautiful bloom
our bud always hinted was hidden under the baggage.
