5786 Years Ago, the World was created: let’s play our part to Ensure it Lasts Another 5786 years

On the eve of Yom Kippur, a man once stopped the Berditchever Rebbe Rabbi Levi Yitzḥak (1740–1809), on his way to the synagogue, and said:

“Rebbe, I have little to reproach myself for. I have committed no grave sins. But God — He has much to reproach Himself for. He has taken away children, made mothers weep, permitted wars and massacres. It is He who should repent, not I.”

In some retellings, the Rebbe turns to his disciples and says:

“Why did you let him go? A person who can speak so honestly with God must stay near us.”

I do not consider that story blasphemous. Rather, it reflects a faith deep enough to call God to account, and it points us toward a more realistic, 21st-century understanding of the High Holidays.

These days are not meant to crush us with guilt or lull us into denial; instead they summon us to confront our shortcomings with honesty and courage, forcing us to ask the questions we often avoid.

Rosh Ha-Shanah today is a both a celebration — we have survived another year-and a pressing challenge, especially those of us approaching the boundaries of our lifetime: what mark we are going to leave on the world?

A popular Hebrew proverb teaches that every person should strive in life to build a home, plant a tree, and write a book.

These are not necessarily literal tasks but metaphors for legacy.

To “build a home” is to nurture family across generations.

To “plant a tree” is to create something lasting that nourishes those who follow.

To “write a book” is to look at the story of our lives, and ask what lessons- from both our accomplishments and our failures- we want to pass on to our children and grandchildren. n

Another story that comes to my mind, is about a person lost in the jungle who after many days of wandering sees another human being from afar. Breathless and anxious, he runs up to him and says: “Surely you know the way out.” But the other replies: “Friend, I too am lost. The only thing I can tell you is which way not to take.”

So it is with us. By reviewing our own journeys, we may not always know the way forward, but we can guide others — pointing out the paths that lead nowhere, and those worth trying.

On the eve of Rosh Hashanah 5786, together with wishing you a year of health and renwal I share the question that was in everybody’s lips this past year: “How long will this go on? When it will end?”

Of course, I don’t know an answer. Though this year I wrote four books circling around this question, and consequently I have some hunches about the kind of world we are going to leave to those that come after us, I must paraphrase the biblical sage Kohelet (Ecclesiastes):

There is a time to sit on the bleachers, a time to be tourists, a time to observe what others do. But there is also a time to examine the foundations of the home we have built; to check whether the tree we planted still stand; to reread the story of our life and ask whether we retired too early from it- and if there are still pages we can add.

So, let’s make this coming year a project of involvement, not to withdrawal. Let’s be sure that we leave behind a legacy we can be proud of, a gift to the world whose birthday we celebrate at Rosh ha-Shanah

שנה טובה

Shanah Tovah,
Rabbi Moshe Pitchon

Community Engagement