Rabbi Andrew Warmflash: Finding joy in helping others this New Year

Courtesy Rabbi Andrew Warmflash

Rosh Hashanah, the joyous Jewish celebration of the New Year, is followed eight days later by Yom Kippur, a solemn day of fasting and soul-wrenching introspection. What is the connection between them?

According to an ancient rabbinic tradition, Rosh Hashanah marks the anniversary of God’s creation of humanity. It is the birthday of the world and all of us. Birthdays are times of celebration, but they can also be times of introspection. As we grow older, we begin to wonder how much time we will have left in this world, and how we can best use that time. This leads some people to make "bucket lists" of all the places they want to go and things they want to experience while they still can.

While these feelings are understandable, such bucket lists can be a distraction from the deeper questions that we ask ourselves on Yom Kippur, questions about the meaning and purpose of our lives, and how well we are living up to our responsibilities. Surely, God put us on earth to do more than rack up experiences. Life is a gift to be enjoyed, but God also calls us to serve a greater purpose.

The Jewish tradition teaches that God’s creation is incomplete and that we were created in God’s image to be God’s partners in perfecting the world. To cite just one example: God has created a world in which natural disasters occur all too frequently. It is our role to use the blessings that God has given us to help those whose lives are jeopardized by these tragic events. This year, it seems particularly imperative that we do what we can to aid the victims of the powerful hurricanes that have pounded our coasts. If regularly helping others in need isn’t on our bucket list, we aren’t doing what we were placed on this earth to do.

Sometimes the need for our help is so overwhelming that we feel that we can never meet it. How, then, can we celebrate the New Year in joy? The answer can be found in the ancient words of Rabbi Tarfon: “The task is not yours to complete, but neither are you free from doing your part.” We have to do what we can, and then rejoice in the satisfaction that we are doing our part in realizing God’s creation.

May we all be blessed with a sweet, joyous and meaningful New Year.

Warmflash is the spiritual leader of the Hewlett-East Rockway Jewish Centre.