Sep 24 16 Tishrei
Jackie Schoch
Happy New Year to Everyone!
This Beginning of a New Year will be a special beginning for me as your President of Sha’are Shalom and I hope you will enjoy the adventure as much as I will.
You see the word “beginning” is generally associated with “new” and “new” is often linked to “Young”. We turn to Botox, plastic surgery, pills in search of the fountain of youth. Younger is better, stronger, more valued. This bothers me.
Initially, I thought it might be my own discomfort with the aging process, since I am soon to be 64 and cannot ride that bike as fast as I used too. But, I’ve come to believe that our fixation with youth is a form of self-loathing on a massive scale. The more we overvalue the young, the more we undervalue ourselves. Where is our thirst of wisdom, our respect for tradition? How can we have a future if we have no regard for the past?
So the “Beginning” is not about new! It is not about young! The Beginning is about the challenge and courage and triumph of attempting a fresh start at any age. It is about learning from experience to improve ourselves. It is about looking honestly at where we belong in the great continuum of life and deciding how to make the best contribution we can at any age.
It is about acknowledging where we come from, respecting where we are, and having faith that our future is a blessing waiting to unfold.
So I hope you will join me on the Beginning Of This New Year in helping to make our Sha’are Shalom a Great Place to Worship, To Learn, To Play and of course To Eat.
So if somebody comes up to you and ask, “Could You volunteer to help?” Please “Start your New Beginning” by saying Yes and then watch your blessing unfold.
Shabbat Shalom.