Shalom L’Kulam!
I hope this finds you all well. First and foremost, thank you very much to our Hebrew school parents and students for a wonderful Hanukkah party.
Alongside our loving non-Jewish friends, neighbors and family members, we recently celebrated the civil New Year of 2017. Like most people, it got me thinking.
In Hebrew, the word for month is חֹ֫דֶשׁ (chodesh). The word for the adjective “new” is חדש (chadash).
Look at how similar the two words are. I doubt this is simply a phonological, grammatical, syntactical or linguistic phenomenon. Rather, I believe there is a great deal of intention in this similarity.
We can always change. It’s never too late to be the person you want to be and are capable of being.
We don’t have to look any further than the fact that the beginning of each new Hebrew month, ראש חודש (Rosh Chodesh), is greeted with psalms of praise and rejoicing known as Hallel, as well as special Torah and Haftarah readings.
In other words, each new month marks a new time, a rebirth and a renewal in our lives.
For me, this also means it is never too late — never too late to change, to improve, to reinvent yourself, to not be bound by or stuck in the past.
So many of us think we can’t change our ways even if we wanted to. But the fact is, we can always change. It’s never too late to be the person you want to be and are capable of being.
So the question is, who do you want to be in this new year?
Blessings to all and see you soon.
Kol Tuv,
Aaron
Student Rabbi Aaron Rozovsky will serve UHC Terre Haute throughout the 2016-17 academic year.