L’Shanah Tovah! It’s about to be a new year in the Jewish calendar! It’s a special time of year for those of us who celebrate. I have fond memories of growing up and going to synagogue with my parents for the High Holidays. I loved the shofar, apples and honey, sponge cake and prayer. As I grow older though, the holidays have become more of a time of reflection. I’m not perfect. Nobody is. So I look back at the things I could have done differently. I also reflect on the things I have. I have a lot of stuff. It’s good stuff. I’m lucky to be able to say I have stuff (or clutter as I guess you can call it). I mean do I really need all these shoes and clothes?! I have three bags of clothing and shoes that I’ve been meaning to sell for months. However, in honor of the New Year I will donate them to those who need it. It’s a move to de-clutter my life of things I don’t need.
What one always needs is family and friends. I am eternally grateful for those in my life. I would not be in this amazing city if it wasn’t for the love and support of each and every one of them. They have each left a handprint on my heart. I have met my close friends here in New York through my love of Broadway. I have Priscilla Queen of the Desert the Musical to thank for that. It’s the friends ... the family ... the random messages I get throughout the day, from family and friends I have all over the country, that remind me of all I have to be thankful for.
This is the time of year I also begin to look back at what I’ve given to others. I like to make people happy. I love to sprinkle love and happiness around. Whether it’s moving a story at work to affiliates around the country that I think will put a smile on someone’s face, giving Valentine’s to the homeless, giving random gifts, or just making someone smile with my “jazism’s.”
More importantly though, Rosh Hashanah is a time ... at least for me ... to give thanks. I am thankful for where I am. Sure, there are things about my life that I need to work on and change. There is a balance I need to find and something “magical” that happens every day that ... when it happens ... I need to stop and say, “That was a magical moment.” Every day there is something magical that we need to acknowledge.
So as the High Holidays begin I’d like to share what a Rabbi recently wrote. “May we be inspired by the Jewish tradition’s message that each of us has the potential to renew our lives in meaningful ways, repair that which is broken, and together, build a world of justice and peace. Jewish tradition demands that we live exemplary lives of hope and kindness, stepping in to the breach and shining the light of goodness where there is darkness. In the spirit of this season we pray for peace and safety for everyone.”
