Bringing sweetness and kindness to life

Rabbi Ammos Chorny

It is hard to believe I am sitting at my computer in the middle of July thinking already about the High Holidays. But, as everyone knows, every year, when we ask ourselves when the New Year will fall, regardless of the date, we always feel it’s a bit too early; and this year will be no exception! With that in mind, I have to prepare for the High Holidays as early as mid-summer, and I find myself thinking about my yearly column in the Federation Star.

Tradition, tradition! These are the familiar words of the song from “Fiddler on the Roof.” How true it is that “tradition” and family customs endure, even when fundamental Jewish laws and mitzvot are sometimes relegated to a secondary plane. Covering mirrors at a shiva house, moving to a new home on Tuesday and eating bagels and lox at the post Yom Kippur “Break-the-Fast” meal are often more rigorously observed than more essential Jewish directives. Since these traditions are so entrenched in our collective psyche, it is important that, as rabbis, we look for creative ways to reinterpret them, imprinting contemporary meanings to them, so they can be envisaged under the unique light of Jewish insights and ethical values.

The tradition of eating apples and challah dipped in honey can provide living thoughts and special lessons for life: Why honey? Why not candy, M&M’s, Sweet ’N Low (especially, if you are calorie conscious) or some other sweetener? One answer is that while all of the candy in the world may infuse sweetness, honey has one additional and unique special characteristic — it is naturally sticky! Symbolically, we are saying that our noble resolutions and affirmations for the year ahead will not fade like a spiritual suntan but will “stick with us” throughout the year.

A second interpretation pertaining to the use of honey as an expression of our wish for a sweet New Year, may perhaps be more realistic and practical. Yes, honey is indeed sweet. But it comes from bees, creatures that can sting. The sweetness you are praying for, can be accompanied by a sting, some form of pain and anguish that, as an inevitable part of every life, always accompanies our routines. Dipping apples and challah in honey acknowledges that while we ask for sweetness, we must also be prepared to deal with the “stings” that are an integral part of life.

For the most part, the American approach to life is based on a foundation of total confidence and assertiveness: “I can do it.” In fact, the last four letters of the word American, are “I can.” Yet, as Jews, we are a bit more humble, realizing that we need God’s help in order for our most fervent wishes to materialize. The last four letters of the word Jewish are “wish.”

The bottom line is that eating apples and challah dipped in honey is only a symbol. Each of us must, every day in every way, bring sweetness and kindness into the lives of every person with whom we come in contact, thus, ensuring we make Shana Tova Umetuka a reality rather than a mere wish.

I wish you a happy, healthy and prosperous 5783.

Rabbi Ammos Chorny serves at Beth Tikvah.