Tishrei is Here!
Happy New Year, y’all, we made it. Stay open to newness and celebrate — it’s harvest time! Time to begin again, refresh, shake it off, move on, and put our best feet forward. The Jewish New year has some partying to it, but, really, this time of newness is about hard, internal, personal work. We spend most of Tishrei seeking perspective on our past actions, touching in with morality, and promising to be the best possible versions of ourselves, moving forward. We perform Teshuvah, a hard word to explain, but which means something like “returning to self, letting go, forgiving, owning past actions.”
To do Tishrei right means entering this month from a place of compassion — for self and for all those in our communities. It means keeping in mind and in heart the ultimate Divine Oneness of the world. During this month, we also set ourselves the task of leaving behind old patterns. Tishrei is here to teach us that we can change. Spoiler alert: it’s not easy, this business of change; we humans are fallible beings. We make mistakes. This is why Jews start the New Year with purification and forgiveness that flows into letting go. From this spiritually “clean” place, we move on.
This year, we have rotated the sun 13 moons — one time extra because it was a leap year. Now, it’s time to begin those 12 cycles again. If we stay open to newness, we can move towards our dreams. This month of Tishrei reminds us we can change. Be honest, live authentically, let go. The dark corners of ourselves are also Divine. We are invited now to see them as part of us, and see ourselves as whole.
At The Well is Ready to Roll
Let’s get this party started! Are you ready to wake up to your body and soul? At The Well is. We’re pushing forward and gathering together to create spaces where we can witness and support each other in authentic ways. We’re saying yes and paying attention to our spiritual tradition. Oh, and we’re getting ready to reread this little thing call the Torah, a book filled with good ideas passed down via a long game of telephone from our ancestors. It’s time to learn, grow, participate, wrestle, move, shift, and heal. We’re just beginning. What will you start today to make this New Year meaningful? Pick something, commit to it, and start working! What if we all did?