Starting Anew
September 23, 2025
Honoring the past, facing the unknown, and living in alignment with our values today
🕊️ A New Year, A Heavy World
Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, invites individuals and communities into a time of reflection, renewal, and repentance. It is not just a holiday—it is a sacred pause. A call to look back on the year that was, take account of who we’ve been, and ask how we want to move forward.
This year, however, that reflection carries deeper emotional weight.
October 7, 2023, marks the anniversary of unthinkable acts of violence—the attack by Hamas on Israeli civilians that took over 1,200 lives, including children and elders. The brutality of that day has left lasting scars. Many were taken hostage. Many remain missing. The pain is raw and ongoing. The resulting war has devastated families, reignited longstanding traumas, and amplified political polarization.
Violence has escalated not only in the Middle East, but across the globe, including the U.S.A.—in the form of political extremism, rising hate crimes, and online radicalization.
The human toll of this violence is immeasurable. It is a painful time for many.
And while this blog is not a space for political debate, it is a space for honoring the complexity of our emotional worlds and our shared humanity. When we hold grief and horror without turning away, we can also hold space for hope, repair, and the courage to move forward.
🔁 Looking Back, Looking Forward
The Jewish tradition of teshuva—commonly translated as repentance—doesn’t just mean “feeling bad.”
It means returning. To what matters. To who you are. To your values. It’s an annual reminder that no matter how far we’ve strayed, we can begin again.
Modern psychology offers a similar invitation.
In Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), we’re encouraged to pause and notice when we’re living in alignment with our values—and when we’re not (Hayes et al., 2012). Not to judge. To notice. To choose again.
That’s not always easy. The past can’t be changed. The future remains unknown.
What we do have is this moment.
🧭 Questions for Reflection
Think of the year you’ve lived.
Think of the next step you want to take—not the next thousand.
When did I live in alignment with what I care about?
When did I drift? Why?
What conversations am I avoiding because they’re hard?
What conversations have I had that revealed truth, beauty, or connection?
What makes me proud of this past year?
What do I need to grieve—without rushing to fix?
What might it look like to start again?
Values aren’t about perfection.
They’re directional.
Each small act is a vote for the kind of life you want to live—and the kind of world you hope to shape.
🪔 A Note on Holidays
Whether it’s Rosh Hashanah, Ramadan, Lunar New Year, or Halloween, holidays are not just “one day.”
They are ritualized reminders of what matters.
They give us space to slow down, reflect, and anchor ourselves in meaning. They remind us what is sacred—to us individually, to our communities, and to the wider human family.
The act of beginning again—of returning to what matters—is universal.
🌍 Learn, Reflect, Support
You don’t need to belong to a specific culture or religion to learn from it. Reflection, grief, renewal, and hope are all human experiences. Here are a few resources to help deepen your understanding and support healing globally:
Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA)
JFNA supports Jewish communities across North America and Israel through disaster relief, advocacy, and social services. They also provide trauma support and resources during global or local crises.
🕊️ Human Rights & Hostage Support Organizations
Parents Circle – Families Forum
Israeli and Palestinian families united through shared loss, advocating for dialogue and peace.Hostages and Missing Families Forum
A grassroots initiative supporting the release of hostages and providing trauma-informed support.Doctors Without Borders / Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)
Providing emergency medical care across the region, committed to humanitarian neutrality.**Please research organizations before donating. These are recommended for their transparency and humanitarian focus.