A New Year. A New Perspective.

I follow two calendars in life:  The Gregorian calendar and the Jewish calendar. The Gregorian calendar is what we all use for home, work, scheduling, some holidays, etc. The Jewish calendar, a lunar calendar, reminds me of the Jewish month, Jewish year, when Shabbat (the Sabbath) begins and ends, and every Jewish holiday. Jews use it all over the world and it is the official calendar of Israel.

This year, Rosh Hashanah (Rosh = head, Hashanah = the year), the Jewish New Year, began at sundown on Sunday, September 25^th. Rosh Hashanah is one of the holiest days of the year. Traditionally, we eat apples and honey, in hopes for a sweet New Year. Yom Kippur (Yom = Day, Kippur = Atonement), the Day of Atonement, follows 10 days later. In the time between these two major Jewish holidays, we have time to reflect on everything and everyone in our lives.

What do we do in a year that is new? Whether utilizing the Gregorian or Jewish calendar, it is traditional to pause and reflect; to think of the past and look forward to the future. We resolve what to and not to do. We make resolutions – promises to ourselves that we hope to keep. Though Rosh Hashanah – the Jewish new year — may not be everyone’s holiday, there is always space to start over and begin again with a fresh perspective, both personally and professionally.

At the MMFF, during this time of reflection and new beginnings, I think about work I have done in the past year, work I am currently doing and the work I will do. I consider what I know, and what I have yet to learn. Where did I fall short? What can I improve? Where can I do better? What am I happy with and how do I turn challenges into opportunities for growth? How can I be kinder to others? What are ways for me to be calmer and let things go? What is in my control and what is not? How can I help increase the joy in my work with staff, family members and our partners? How can I continue to be my authentic self, as I continue to change and transform?

There is the story of Zusya, a rabbi who lived from 1718-1800 in Poland. He stood in front of his congregation and shared that upon his death he will not be asked, why he was not like Moses or other great leaders. He will be asked, why weren’t you the best Zusya you could be?

Just like the beginning of the year, we can begin again. Start anew. Refresh and invigorate the work that we all do. In this new year, I will strive to embrace exactly who I am now, who I may be in the future, and bring the best of me to my work at MMFF.

Lisa Soble Siegmann is a Program Partner at the Max M. & Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation. She is a well-known Jewish educator in the Detroit Jewish community, who previously taught and inspired Jewish families, congregational school, day school students, teachers, and directors.