“Hashkiveinu” – “The lying down we are provided”; by the God of our ancestors and by the Almighty Presence that holds our universe together giving us a communal sense of peace.
Four words at the top of page 36, and recited at every evening service, Hashkiveinu provides us with so many muse-worthy themes on which we may lay our struggles to rest.
There is so much more in these words, and the words of this evening’s service that allow us to transform our ideas of who we are today into who we want to be tomorrow and beyond.
Rosh Hashanah – The Head of the Year should be more than a catch phrase for a time of strong Jewish identity. Rosh Hashanah should be a time when we can get inside our own heads and evaluate our “why”; Why are we here tonight? Why am I in this community? Why do I keep returning to this place? Why did I decide to examine my identity and choose to align myself with our congregation as a cultural, historical, moral, ethical, spiritual foundation?
I hope you will continue to be curious; to ask the “why” questions daily, and especially when you come here. The answers to your “why” questions may lay some confusion to rest or may help you to resolve some inner dispute. But I hope that you will always keep asking the “why” questions, because, in Judaism, the answers may provide some sort of satisfaction for a current topic of interest, but as humans, our wonderment is only put
off for a short time. We need to refresh our bodies, so we are able to perform our daily tasks. So too, with our curiosity. Our “why” questions are answered for now, but our conditions change tomorrow and may render today’s answers inadequate and in need of revisiting.
Among the many types of “why” questions we face daily, it seems appropriate to focus on our collective “why” for Rosh Hashanah. Why is Rosh Hashanah so valuable to us personally and as a community? Why does our liturgy tell us we may “lie down in peace”? Maybe our sages are telling us that we need to keep these touch points going so we can do a sort of “values check” not only individually but collectively. You see, there are four “New Years” that we Jews observe throughout the year:
Our first New Year into 5786 – 2026 – will be Rosh Hashanah L’ilanot – New Year for [Planting] Trees (the 15th of Shevat). Our second is Passover, the New Year for the timing of Festivals (1st of Nisan). The third is the Rosh Hashanah L’masar B’heimah – New Year for Tithing (literally our livestock on the 1st of Elul), our fiscal year in Elul. And our fourth is the Head of the Year – Rosh Hashanah (the 1st of Tishri).
It’s only after we plant our seeds, acknowledge the work we are doing to keep our world sustainable and then assess the progress we have made over the past year, that we can come together tonight and “lie down” with a confident feeling of wholeness, of peace.
For all of you here, whether you’ve ritualized these four New Years or not, you had to experience seasonal changes and challenges for you toeither resolve or reconcile, enabling you to turn a new page in your Book of Life.
Let’s look at what it is that we are cultivating and marking with these four interconnected check points. Since Rosh Hashanah is at the Head of Our Year, and since we all tend to point to this season and set of days as our most significant for communal accountability, we may set aside the material and look to our mental and spiritual status.
One of the best ways to assess our current mental status and growth is through a “values check”. Rosh Hashanah and the rituals supporting this time, gives us a chance to look at our personal and collective values. How many of you have done a values check lately? I propose to you that our major and minor holidays are masterfully laid out so that you can use them as personal values checks. This year, I will tie in the holidays and their associated biblical texts and liturgies, to help give you some prompts as you check in on yourself. Something like a non-invasive, self-directed mental and spiritual scan.
Let’s try this right now. This time last year, if you can remember. What thoughts might you have brought with you at last year’s Rosh Hashanah service? Let’s be more general. How old were you last Rosh Hashanah? If you observe your birthday with the lunar calendar, then you are a year
older than last Rosh Hashanah. Think about this then. The average person makes between 70 and 100,00 decisions a day. Multiply that by 365. Yeah, this past year you made approximately 25,550,000 or more decisions. Now what are the odds of you being placed in the same situations last year to make those decisions as the year before that? And what are the odds that you will be making the same decisions in 5786?
The decisions we make help to shape our values.
For purposes of having a shared definition, I am using the Oxford Dictionary as a definition of values:
“A person’s principles or standards of behavior; one’s judgment of
what is important in life.”
As we accumulate experiences, get older, our values adapt or change depending on the decisions we make influenced by the circumstances we encounter.
Children: moral values like honesty, kindness, respect, and compassion; social values such as sharing, cooperation, and empathy; and personal values such as responsibility, perseverance, and gratitude
Young adults: autonomy, social justice, and authenticity.
Young professionals: Unlike previous generations that focused on loyalty and job security, younger workers are more driven by a sense of purpose,
flexibility, and a supportive workplace culture that aligns with their personal ethics.
Mid-life: shift from emphasizing self-enhancement to focusing on self- transcendence, generativity, sustainability and community
Older adults: conservation, relationships, independence, and, while placing less emphasis on self-enhancement through power and achievement, older adults actually represent the happiest group among everyone else.
Some of you may recall that I posted a survey on our website asking questions like; Why are you a member of CBS? What is your sense of the composition and chemistry of our current CBS membership? What do you see as our strengths and deficiencies? There were a couple of other questions as well, but I’d like to help us see where our collective values are as a congregation going into this next year.
To help us see what values are currently being expressed, I will list ten shared values among the respondents. Tonight, you will hear the first five and tomorrow the next five.
- Torah – Guidance / Instruction
- Menuchat Hanefesh – Inner Peace
- Kavod – Respect
- Chesed – Compassion / Generosity
- Tzedek – Justice
Many of you come here to learn the why, how and what of Judaism. Some of you come here because you’re Jewish. Regardless of reason, it starts with the Torah and builds from there.
Inner peace is something many of you expressed and that CBS is a place that provides that sense of wholeness just by existing.
Respect is an important value at CBS. Everyone in this diverse community comes here out of respect for what CBS represents but also looks for respect for their personal values, contributions and expressions.
Chesed or compassion and generosity follows respect. CBS represents one of the places in our lives where compassion is a norm and generosity is part of our culture.
And justice. This is a place where a light will be directed at the unjust, and paths toward justice may be laid out if only at times as an aspirational form.
Between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur (you have ten days), I would like all of you to keep a values log. Write down five values that best drive you today. After I finish listing the ten values that I gleaned from the survey, see if any of them align with your current values. Rosh Hashanah 5787 will begin on September 11, 2026. Put those five values into your calendar for next year. Next year, just before Rosh Hashanah, look at the values you listed and see if they’re the same, or not. If you can keep this going for a few years, you will be able to track your personal growth on
an intimate level. For those of you into fitness, think of this as the Vo2- Max – for your values. By identifying your personal values, you may be better able to find your place in your world. Read our texts and liturgies. Listen to each other to learn about other’s values. Be curious with each other. When you come here, start with why, then ask the questions that help us all connect before we discuss the issues that may cause us to disconnect.
There is a difference between unity and uniformity.
When we are united by our shared values, we will be able to forge a future where all who come here can create moments to be valued and shared. We can open minds, find comfort in standing as one People as we have for thousands of years knowing that our diversity is what keeps us growing together. We will stand and invite our children to stand with us so they will see what it is like to be a part of a living legacy of Torah, Respect, Inner Peace, Compassion and Justice.