A year of great contrast

Editorial

When we sit down to apples and honey this Rosh Hashanah, I want rich clover honey, with its complex sweetness, and very tart Granny Smith apples, with a lemony bite. Why? Because the contrasts between the pleasant and the difficult seem particularly marked this year. The good things are very good, and the challenges are very steep.

The growth in Jewish institutions is sweet, indeed, but it is leavened by the perpetuation of Jewish internal divisiveness.

The service our teenagers and young adults provide through community outreach makes us all kvell, but the rate at which they intermarry with non-Jews threatens our longevity as a people.

The love we feel for Israel grows deeper and more meaningful but brazen terrorism makes daily life in Israel increasingly difficult.

These contrasts, and many more, add to our responsibility this New Year. We are individually responsible for our own prayers and soul-searching. That's by the Book. But I think we must absorb the personal and move on to the communal.

From assimilation to terrorism, from growing anti-Semitism to painful internal differences, we have a lot of issues where we hope the New Year will bring change and improvement. Step 1 is to do what we always do on Rosh Hashanah: reflect, pray, evaluate and prepare to move forward.

Step 2 is to make actual changes in our own lives that fit with these goals. What does that mean? Well, there isn't much sweetness in giving out unsolicited advice, so I'll just make a few suggestions of things we could all do to make a difference, person by person, in the New Year.

Buy Israeli products. In Israel, if you can, and at home or on the Web if you cannot. Israel's economy needs protecting as much as its borders, and you and your credit card can do that without taking the risk that the café you're visiting might blow up any moment.

Build a sophisticated foundation of understanding to underlie your instinct to support Israel. Know enough about the facts of the situation to defend Israel in your conversation and to take effective action to be supportive. Write letters to the editor. Respond to rumors and nonsense with solid information. Speak up.
Visit places where Jews are respected, and not places (like Europe) that seem to be welcoming that old devil anti-Semitism back with open arms. Tell your friends why you aren't going to places that have outlawed kosher slaughter or decided not to recognize academic credentials from Israeli universities.

In fact, the honey that sweetens even the tartest apples starts with you, and your family. Let your children know that your Judaism matters to you, and tell them why in a way that they will remember. Given the traumas afoot in Israel, North America and worldwide, let's try not to waste this Rosh Hashanah. Don't let it be just a day for new clothes and a forced annual march to synagogue followed by a big dinner at Bubbe's. Let's try to make it the pivot point for the actions we can take, person by person, to help heal the world. One kid at a time. One truth spoken at a public forum. One hand outstretched to a fellow Jew. One dollar of tzedakah. One moment of connected prayer.

If the joy and depth of meaningful worship and action amid a community that matters to you seems to elude you this Rosh Hashanah, I hope you find it. And when you find it, I hope you share it.

This is a guest editorial by Erica Rauzin, a freelance writer living in Florida.

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