General Intention For The New Year

The New Year in Hebrew is called Rosh Hashanah, which means the head of the year, its beginning. The year ahead of us depends on how we start it, what goals we’ll set, what intentions we have, on our plans.

This is why we have to clearly understand why we need this year, why we exist, and what we really need to achieve.

Fortunately, we live in the world that demonstrates to us its uselessness and absolute insignificance. This is why it is much easier for us to navigate in it than it was 100 or even 50 years ago.

What can we wish for ourselves for the new year? We see how throughout all of history, humanity has constantly erred. We have tried to do something and erred; again we tried and again missed, and so it has been every time.

We cannot make one correct step. In the wisdom of Kabbalah this is explained very simply: Humanity doesn’t know its past, from where it came, and towards what it is going.

The idea is that we descended below from the world of Ein Sof (Infinity) into our world, and now we must ascend upward again. But we are not conscious of the descent nor of the future ascent, and so we are found in a pitiful state.

Kabbalah tells us that if we want to be different, we need to work on the unity of our people, meaning on what Abraham did in the past in ancient Babylon, when he called to all who were interested in uniting and gathered them into a single unique group called the people of Israel.

Israel, means “Yashar-El” (Straight to the Creator) and is also “Li-Rosh” (I have a head), meaning that I am going head first. Rosh Hashanah means the same thing—head first.

It means that I begin to understand that I will always be mistaken and will receive a blow with every step forward, even with the smallest step, if I don’t know the program of creation and the way that it is leading me.

This way is concealed from the ordinary person, and if I don’t progress towards where nature is leading me but go in the opposite direction, nature will drag me back by the neck and push me in the right direction. This is the way of suffering. A correction like this is very cruel.

So it is up to us to understand the program of creation and to begin to apply it correctly; this is what the wisdom of Kabbalah teaches us.

The application is very simple; it is summed up by connection and unity. This was said to the people at the time of receiving the Torah at Mount Sinai: “Do you want to be as one people with one heart, to be found in full Arvut (Mutual Guarnatee) for this, not doing to your friend what is hateful to you and loving your friend as yourself?”

All of these Mitzvot (commandments) deal with our people, within which we need to unite correctly. And in the connection between us, we discover the Creator, the upper world, the next stage of our development. The more we unite, the more we ascend above our world and begin to feel the next level of existence, the next dimension.

In principle, this is our role. Kabbalah gives precise instructions about how to do this and teaches us according to the original Kabbalistic sources.

I hope very much that the old year that has ended will teach us how to properly treat the new year, and from this day on we will learn to direct ourselves towards clear and correct development in harmony, in the connection and union between us.

If the Jewish people will do this, then it will influence the entire world positively, will annihilate anti-Semitism, and will bring humanity to prosperity by raising it to the next level of existence. Everything depends on us; only we determine the future of the world.

Let’s do this so that this new year will be good as has been determined for us from above, so that we can bring the entire world to the new state, and as it is written in the Torah, we will become a Light to the nations, we will realize ourselves in the best way. This is our destiny. Let’s ascend in this year to level of eternity and wholeness.
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From KabTV’s “Holidays. Rosh Hashanah” 8/6/15