Happy 5770

I’m not ordinarily an observer of holidays—religious or secular. There are so many of them, and most seem irrelevant or inappropriate to my life. So, they come and they go and, at best, they may tack an extra day onto the weekend, giving me more time to work. But there is one holiday that matters to me, one that seems worthy of celebrating, albeit in my own unconventional manner.

The holiday is Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year and the start of the High Holy Days. If one is Jewish, this day holds enormous meaning. I was trying to find an official explanation of that meaning and came across this opening line of an editorial in a weekly newspaper, the St. Louis Jewish light.

“As the shofar sounds on Rosh Hashana to open the Gates to Heaven, we have a duty on earth, to open our hearts and minds to the great potential of working together in lovingkindness.”

What struck me about this sentence was the word lovingkindness, which is fundamental to the teachings of Buddhism. There are many books on that word (my favorite is by Sharon Salzberg), and people spend days at meditation retreats just focusing on the practice of lovingkindness, or Meta. It suddenly occurred to me that, if we reduced the basic teachings of all of the great religions of the world to one idea, it would surely be lovingkindness.

Believe it or not, making that connection was epiphany for me, a simple explanation for the meaning behind this ancient holiday. This is an idea I can embrace, contemplate, and, yes, even celebrate.

Today, which happens to be Rosh Hashana—the start of year 5770—seems an appropriate time begin.