Don’t count time, make time count

I’ve been counting the days. Have you?

Since Shemini Atzeret, 7 October, together with millions of Jews around the world, I have been counting. Five days, 100 days, 250, and as I sit here typing these words on my screen, it has now been 345 days since that horrific day. We write it on a piece of tape stuck to our clothing as we pray.

I’m not sure I have ever been so conscious of time, so acutely aware of its fleeting passage, knowing how much can happen in a day, a week, a month, or 345 days. Every day is another day of families torn apart, of entire communities displaced, of babies held hostage, of husbands and fathers on the frontlines, away from their families. Every day, every moment matters.

Everything that happens in life is meant to teach us a lesson, to give us tools and insight to become better people. But what do we learn from this agonising counting of time while we wait and pray for miracles?

Many view time as linear – a straightforward line stretching out into the distance, moving us further from our past and into the future. But in Jewish thought, time is not a line. Time is a spiral, cycling back to the same moment each year, but just a little higher and deeper. This is the spiritual rhythm of the Jewish calendar. Every holiday returns us to the same spiritual energy as the year before, but we experience that energy in a new way, with the insights, tools, and growth we accumulated over the year.

Rosh Hashanah is a time to reflect on the year that has passed, an opportunity to ascend the spiral and look back on the full circle of yet another year. And as we count time, we must ask ourselves, are we making time count? Are we making the most of every day, every hour, every moment?

So much can happen in a year. So much has happened this past year. And yet, sometimes, we let time slip by without truly noticing its passage. What can you do in one minute? It may seem like not much. But those seemingly insignificant moments accumulate into something profound – 525 600 minutes, to be exact, which make up an entire year.

Rosh Hashanah isn’t just the beginning of a new year. It’s the anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve, the first human beings and therefore, the birthday of all of humanity. It’s the day G-d decided that human beings are essential to His master plan.

And every year on Rosh Hashanah, G-d looks at us to see what we did with the past year He has given us. It’s a time when Hashem looks at how we’ve used the precious gift of time and asks: have we used the time well? Have we fulfilled our potential? Have we made the most of it? Have we filled each day with meaning and purpose? Have we used our time to uplift others and make the world a better place for those around us?

We all have regrets, missed opportunities, and moments when we didn’t live up to our best selves. But Rosh Hashanah isn’t about feeling guilt or shame for what we didn’t accomplish. It’s about recognising that every moment is an opportunity to do better because every moment counts.

One of my favourite Rosh Hashanah messages is that we are given a new chance each year. Hashem offers us the opportunity to leave behind anything in the past year that we don’t want to carry into the year ahead. All those wasted moments, my lack of appreciation for the preciousness of each moment, I can let that go. Time is a gift, and it’s never too late to start making it count.

In today’s fast-paced world, we often become so consumed by our to-do lists, jobs, and the constant stream of obligations that we forget to pause and ask ourselves: what am I doing with my time? Am I using it in a way that aligns with who I am, my values, and what I want to be doing here in this world?

Rosh Hashanah reminds us that life is more than just crossing tasks off a list. It’s about how we show up at each moment. Are we kind? Are we compassionate? Are we making the time for the things that truly matter?

The shofar’s blast is a wake-up call. It pierces through the noise of daily life, calling us to attention and urging us to pause and reflect. It’s a sound that demands that we reconnect with the present, the now.

As you stand in shul this Rosh Hashanah and listen to the shofar this year, ask yourself, how has this past year changed me? What did I do with the time I was blessed with between last Rosh Hashanah and today? Did I live intentionally? Did I strive to make a positive impact on those around me? Did I grow, learn, and become a better version of myself?

And focusing on the year ahead, ask yourself: how can I make my time count? What will I do with this time that Hashem has given me? How will I use it towards the purpose for which G-d created me?

We have to realise that each moment is packed with potential, and each new year brings infinite opportunities to start fresh. But it all starts with us asking ourselves how we can make every moment count. We need to be mindful of how we engage with every moment and infuse it with purpose.

Life is busy. It’s filled with obligations, distractions, and countless demands. Rosh Hashanah is a reminder that we can – and must – create sacred space within the flow of time. We must carve out moments for connection, prayer, reflection, acts of kindness, and growth. Not just in the moments that we designate for holiness when we go to shul, light Shabbat candles, or put on tefillin. But every moment of our day is an opportunity, a chance to align ourselves with our higher purpose, to use our time in a way that makes the world a better place. When we view time through this lens, every minute becomes meaningful.

As we reflect on a year where, as a Jewish nation, we counted, let’s commit not just to counting time but making time count. Let’s pray for a year when we count simchas and celebrations, moments of meaning and connection, days filled with growth and purpose, and time filled with peace and security for Am Yisrael.

• Rabbi Motti Hadar is the rabbi of Pine Street Shul.