CHULA VISTA, California — Our lives involve a constant series of rebirths that affords us the opportunity to expand our horizon and vision of the world around us. Whenever we wake up on the first day of the New Year, it behooves us to think about what we must accomplish and achieve while we travel through time.
Let us use this time to set goals and make new promises to our soul that each of us will boldly live our lives and realize the God-given potential that we each have.
For 2021, let us pray that everyone will rediscover the sweetness, joy, tranquility that seemed to vanish this past year because of COVID-19.
Most importantly, it is vital we live our lives with truth and banish all thoughts of negativity that squander each day’s spiritual potential for growth and personal development—whether it is in the privacy of our lives, or in how we relate to those around us who count on us to be present and aware of them and their challenges.
Let us pray that God gives us the strength to overcome the obstacles we have faced from this past year. For those who are out of work, may God give you the inner strength to triumph and forge ahead. Each of us must work on becoming a true friend toward those who need and depend upon us.
Jewish tradition has said, we must each realize the Messianic vision for a better world beginning with each of us. There is no supernatural agency that is going to do this for you. Spiritual reliance is a central pillar of Jewish growth and evolution. The arrival of the New Year ought to teach us that God is God only when God is OUR God and not MY God. Let us realize that none of us own truth, it is ultimately OUR truth that must prevail, and not my truth.
Let us work to make our little world more enlightened and more compassionate.
Here is a little meditation to do as the New Year arrives:
Soon in your hand will be placed a priceless gift. Look at it closely. There is no price marker stamped on it. It cannot be weighed, because no scale can balance its value. A king’s ransom in comparison is as nothing yet it is given to beggar and prince alike. The giver asks only that it be used wisely and well.
This jewel, rare and unique, is not displayed in any shop window. It cannot be purchased, cannot be sold. No other treasure holds the possibilities this gift offers none can surpass its golden splendor.
Of all gifts, this is one of the most precious. It has been offered many times before; today, from the depths of a limitless love it will be given again. It will be left to you to find the golden thread running through it. Only with great care will the jewel retain its luster.
Carelessness, ingratitude, and selfishness will tarnish the brilliance, break the unspoiled thread, mar the perfection.
Guard it closely, lest through weak fingers it slip away from your hand. Look often at its faultless beauty. Accept it as it is offered from the heart of the giver. Consider it is the most treasured of possessions, for of all gifts it is by far the greatest. It is the gift of the New Year.
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Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel is spiritual leader of Temple Beth Shalom in Chula Vista, California. He may be contacted via michael.samuel@sdjewishworld.com