My to-do list for the High Holy Days is long and challenging. It involves a series of tasks: organizing my HHD binders, reading and rereading my sermons and editing them yet again, planning Rosh Hashanah dinner, figuring out what tie to wear… Lots of quotidian tasks to check off.
But there’s more to contemplate as we move into the new year than what cut of brisket to buy. As I scan this familiar checklist, I realize something essential is missing. The to-do list needs to be expanded to include matters of the spirit. As Socrates said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.”
I know that Socrates wasn’t Jewish, but this statement is so… so Jewish! Both Greek and Jewish wisdom traditions understand that self-reflection isn’t merely a philosophical exercise—it’s a sacred duty. Each one of us is gifted with a body and a soul. And we have the extraordinary power of consciousness. Which means we are not prisoners of the superficial world; we are not held captive by the day-to-day tasks alone.
As this Jewish year of 5785 draws to a close, we are invited to contemplate larger truths. We can enter the deeper waters of meaning and substance. This is what they call liminality—living in the shifting ocean between “who I was” and “who I might become.” It’s turbulent water, which is why we’re tempted not to wade in, to avoid this sometimes frightening dimension of truth and joy and failure and disappointment. It’s easier to stay on the surface, skimming along with our practical concerns.
But the most beautiful aspects of our lives emerge when we go deep, when we can acknowledge the totality of our being. What would it mean to ask ourselves: Where have I grown this year? What relationships need tending? What dreams have I deferred, and why? It’s all here: the truth and the lies, the sacred and the profane. To avoid examining our lives is to leave the best stuff on the table. Don’t miss the opportunity to be more present in your own body. Don’t miss the chance to see just how amazing you are.
This is a time to forgive others and to forgive yourself. It’s not a natural act—forgiveness takes tremendous courage and true transparency. But it is so worth it.
So I’ve added another item to my to-do list: “Examine life—with courage, with compassion, with curiosity.” I hope you’ll add it to yours too.
Before Shabbat 