Dvar Torah for Rosh HaShanah
September 17, 2020
Aviva Seiden, Middle School Faculty
Perspective.
It is one of my favorite concepts because it is helpful in multiple ways. It teaches empathy, how we try to see situations from someone else’s perspective. It teaches that we as humans are one piece of a bigger picture when we try to put our personal situations into the larger world perspective. It teaches the importance of being able to shift our thinking to gain new perspectives and understandings.
In Hebrew there is an expression גם זה יעבר, which translates to the common English expression this too shall pass. It is an expression I love. I have always seen it as optimistic. No matter how bad things may be, it’s temporary. This time will pass, and hopefully, a better one is ahead.
Then Covid happened. And it seemed like the perfect opportunity for גם זה יעבר. There are a lot of challenges for all of us right now, and it is helpful for me to think of them as temporary. But in a conversation with a friend several months ago, when I shared this perspective, she shared hers, another Hebrew expression: גם זו לטובה, this is also for good.
If I am being honest, my first reaction upon hearing this perspective was to be offended. How could someone see what is happening in the world right now as for good? I was angry and I couldn’t let it go. I pictured someone walking into a shiva house and saying גם זו לטובה (“this is for good”) and I struggled to get past how wrong it felt. However, when I started to think of it as a perspective, and not as a response, my thinking shifted. I began to realize that I was understanding the point incorrectly. It isn’t that the bad things are good. It isn’t meant to diminish anyone’s pain, or condescend to say “don’t be sad, this is for good.” It is a perspective on its own, that from bad, good can come. We have the power to look for the good that comes from the challenges we are faced with. It takes the passiveness of גם זה יעבר (this too shall pass) and puts it into action. We don’t have to sit back and wait for the hardship to pass. We can choose to see good, despite it. These perspectives, though they initially felt contradictory, are both optimistic in nature and can actually coexist.
For me, Rosh HaShanah has always been about new beginnings and fresh starts. It is the most optimistic moment on the calendar. As we take stock of the year that has passed and look toward what comes next, I am challenging myself to be actively optimistic. I don’t have to wait for the bad to pass, if I can find the good starting now.
Wishing you a year filled with health, joy, and apple pie.
Shabbat Shalom and Shanah Tovah!