Fittingly the Book of Genesis ends just as the New Year comes in. While this is just one of five books of the Torah we have yet to complete, perhaps there is wisdom in this ancient Jewish ritual in how we can approach both the end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024. A champagne toast not only to Taylor Swift and Barbenheimer, but to Joseph and Jacob as well.
First, Genesis-Bereishit ends not in a happy note, but in a bittersweet one. Sure, our ancestral clan is reunited, but also stuck in Egypt. For those of us who have read ahead, this is not a good thing. Hundreds of years of slavery lie ahead in Exodus. Similarly, this year is not just about an economic turnaround in the US, but about October 7 as well. The fate of our country and our homeland lie in doubt as we enter the New Year.
Second, this is just the middle of the story, not the beginning or end. Coming to the end of 2023 might feel like an accomplishment, but as with any high school or college student, there is still a semester to go. We celebrate this moment, knowing January 1st is just one day after December 31st.
Lastly, the rabbis tell us we will need strength for the path ahead. Chazack, Chazack, VeNitchazek, “Strength, Strength, May We Be Strong”, we tell one another as we conclude one chapter in our lives and begin a new one. Exodus will bring sweetness along with terror, it will bring inspiration along with loss and doubt. To a good year ahead, a sweet year, a just one as well. Ken Yihei Ratzon, May God Make It So,
Shabbat Shalom and Happy New Year,
Rabbi Alex