A completely new you: the promise of the high holidays

In a few days, we’ll all gather in our synagogues for the yearly prayers and rituals we usually call the “high holidays”. For some of us, it’s a time of great importance, when we’re judged by G-d, determining the year we’ll have. For others, it’s a time for a family reunion or vacation.

According to The Holy Zohar and the writings of The Holy Ar”i (Rabbi Isaac Luria, a great 16th century kabbalist), a deep cosmic process occurs on these days, a process that effects each one of us.

The goal of this process is to allow us to re-choose who we really are.

Am I a prisoner of my reactive nature? My impulses? My fears and phobias? Must I forever be controlled by my limited thinking? By my narrow belief system?

Am I really the person I think I am, or can I reveal a totally new me after the holidays?

The kabbalists describe a fascinating, soul-level procedure, which starts on Rosh Hashanah and continues throughout the 21 days of the holidays of Yom Kippurim, Sukkot, and Simchat Torah.

This divine process starts with dormita, Anastasia like falling asleep. This is followed by nesira – sawing or cutting off all the negative imprints of the past, all our soul-level memories.

This process takes exactly 10 days – from Rosh Hashanah until Yom Kippur. The rest of the holidays are the healing phase, embraced by the light of mercy (chassadim) of the Sukkah for seven days.

Simchat Torah is the day when we’re introduced to our new identity – our renewed soul.

This fascinating process is a cosmic gift for all of us, yet, it’s up to each one of us to determine how successful it will be.

So, how can we effect this process? How can we become proactive participants in it?

Step number one is to be aware of the process. King David writes in Psalms (89, 16), “Blessed are those who know the sound of shofar.” The great Tanah and author of The Zohar, Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, explains that knowledge or awareness of what’s happening is an essential stipulation of this process. It’s up to each of us to learn and deepen our understanding of the holidays (as well as other areas of our lives). We shouldn’t take things for granted or accept them just because it’s our tradition, religion, or because that’s what we always do.

Step two is about developing a sense of urgency about our transformation. On a scale from one to 10, ask yourself how strongly you’re yearning for a change.

My teacher and mentor, the kabbalist Rav Berg, used to ask, “How many days in the past year were you really happy? Wouldn’t you like to have more of those days in the coming year? Can you imagine yourself happy every single day of the coming year?”

The month of Virgo, Elul, which proceeds Rosh Hashanah, is designed to assist us with our inner preparation for this transformative process. In this month, we’re guided to perform three major tasks as part of this preparation. They are teshuvah (repentance); tefilah (prayer); and tzedakah (charity).

What’s the secret of those three tasks?

1. Teshuvah means “to return”. This means we need to go back to our original “setup”, before we accumulated and burdened ourselves with the wrong, unenlightened, layers. We can start this process by asking ourselves some of the following questions:

• Who am I in my core?
• What do I really want out of life?
• Do I live the life that truly makes me happy?
• If I could change some of my qualities/beliefs/behaviours, what would I choose to change?
• What do I regret doing or not doing enough in the past year?

Dealing with those questions in a serious way will prepare us for the transformation of the high holidays.

1. Tefilah: this means that I know I cannot transform myself without the support of a higher power. I’m asking the creator to support me in my efforts to transform.
2. Tzedakah: my teacher and mentor, Berg, used to say, that we need to demonstrate our desires via actions. If you really wish to become a more kind, loving, generous, patient human being, you need to act upon it now. Find proactive ways to share with others this month – whether it be through time, energy, wisdom, or money. This will generate a more powerful and meaningful process during the holidays that will affect your entire year.

Following some of the advice given here will generate a positive new beginning for all of us this coming New Year.

Let’s all wish each other – and the entire world – nothing less than a blessed, peaceful, and meaningful year.

Shana tovah!

• Yosef Shneor is senior kabbalah teacher at The Kabbalah Center in Israel.