As we enter the holiness of Rosh Hashana, we ask G-d to bless us all with a New Year of blessing. Those beloved words, "Rosh Hashana,” are as sweet as honey in our hearts and so comforting to say. Rosh means "head” and Shana means "year,” so literally Rosh Hashana is the "head of the year.”

Yet there is much more in the concept of the Jewish New Year than simply referring to a different calendar date. The insight comes through probing the hidden message of the three-letter root of the Hebrew word "shana”—year. They are shin, nun, and hey. The three root letters of "shana” share the same root with the word "shinui” meaning "change.” Thus we can think of "Rosh Hashana” as the "Head of Change.”

With a transformational understanding of Rosh Hashana we ask ourselves the question, "What is really going to be new and different about this year?” If change lies at the very heart of the Ten Days of Repentance which begins on Rosh Hashana and ends on Yom Kippur, then the rituals of T'shuva are the spiritual technology of growth.

Each year as a family we ask these questions: What do we feel good about as a family? Where did we fall down? What goals can we set for the coming year? We also empty out our tzedakkah boxes and decide among us—so many important causes—where the end of the year contributions will be distributed.

The Shofar tells us, "a year is waiting to begin”; the attitude and quality of that year, however, depends upon us. When we make a decision to change for the better, then truly this coming year truly be new.

Shana Tova Tikateivu—May you be inscribed in the Book of Life for a sweet, healthy, and peaceful New Year.

Rabbis Nancy and David