A word of Torah:
The Talmud talks about a number of new years. Obviously, Rosh ha-Shana as the beginning of the calendar year is one. Another is the month of Nisan which is the first month of the year. Beginnings are opportunities to start again. Rosh ha-Shana calls us to change/do teshuva. Pesah reminds us to strive to free ourselves and others from slavery. One could argue that Pesah emphasizes the communal dimension of change. Freedom affects a group of people or a society. In contrast, Rosh ha-Shana emphasizes the personal nature of change leading to a new beginning for an individual. One is external—one internal.
One difference between personal change and societal change, is that personal teshuva is up to each of us. Most of us have little control over our society, but potentially have a good deal of control over ourselves. Still, many things can stand in the way of personal change. The way we were raised, the long-standing patterns of our actions and the addictive quality of some of our behavior can be substantial obstacles to change. Yet, change rests in my hands and ultimately only I can make it happen. It is why the sages created a lengthy period (almost 40 days) for us to engage in teshuva.
I want to suggest that while there is some truth is this differentiating between Pesah and High Holidays, that ultimately, freedom and change are two aspects of the same process. The Sefat Emet teaches that the Torah is all about freedom. He points out that Moses gives the people all the details for the preparations for the night of liberation. He begins those instructions in Exodus Ch. 12 by telling them:
“This month shall be the first of all the months” (ha-hodesh hazeh laham rosh hadashim). For the Sefat Emet the word hodesh means new. He suggests that every month is an opportunity for renewal. While there are moments in the Jewish calendar that are more opportune for renewal, he believes that in actuality any moment could be one of radical change for a person.
He like other Hasidic masters also believed that each day is a new day. They stressed the words in the morning liturgy that stated that God in God’s goodness renews each day the works of creation (ha-mehadesh be-tuvo be-khol yom tamid ma’ase bereishit). The Sefat Emet said humans too can be a new creation (beriah hadasha). He was optimistic about the ability of humans to change no matter their past. It is all about enlightenment, that is, seeing clearly the truth about the world and yourself. Our task is to use the potential goodness inherent in the ongoing creation of the world and in our selves to become new and renewed.
Teshuva is a gift of a radical freedom from the past.
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