Lilli Jennison’s Rosh Hashanah Message for 2025

Shanah Tovah U’Metukah.

As the shofar sounds and we step into 5786, I’m reflecting on what this new year means to me. Rosh Hashanah is a time of sweetness, renewal, and hope — and this year, I feel all of that in such a personal way.

The greatest joy in my life right now is my niece, Riley. At just a few months old, she has already brought a kind of love and light into our family that words can hardly capture. Starting the new year with her in my arms, feeling her tiny warmth and seeing her smile, fills me with hope for what lies ahead. Riley represents the future — innocent, beautiful, full of possibility. Every snuggle reminds me why we fight for a world that is safe, loving, and filled with peace.

Of course, Bagel deserves his mention, too. He’s not just my dog — he’s my sweet baby boy, and my comfort. Bagel has a way of sensing when I need him most, whether it’s curling up next to me or trotting proudly into the room to make us all laugh. Between Riley’s baby coos and Bagel’s tail wags, my days are bursting with sweetness.

This year is also a new chapter for me in another way: I’ve stepped more fully into my crystal business. What began as a personal passion has grown into something I can share with others, a way to connect people through beauty, energy, and light. Every crystal carries its own story, its own healing energy, and sharing that feels like passing along a little spark of hope. I’m excited to see how this path continues to unfold in the coming year.

But while my life is filled with joy, I cannot enter the new year without also acknowledging the pain carried by our people. I think constantly of the Bibas babies — two tiny, innocent lives stolen in violence and cruelty. Their deaths were more than a family’s loss; they became symbols of heartbreak for the entire Jewish world. At the Jewish Life Festival, I brought orange hearts to hand out to vendors in their memory. A simple act, but a way to keep their light alive. Each heart was a reminder that even in loss, we carry forward love, resilience, and memory.

This mixture — joy and sorrow, hope and grief — is the essence of Jewish life. My grandfather, a Holocaust survivor, taught me that. Because he survived, I am here. Because he survived, Riley is here. His survival was an act of defiance against hatred, and his love for life was his greatest victory. His story reminds me that even in the darkest of times, we choose life. We choose to laugh, to build, to dream, to pass on traditions, to welcome new generations.

And so, my message this Rosh Hashanah is one of balance: may we hold our joy close, celebrating every blessing — Riley’s snuggles, Bagel’s love, the spark of new beginnings. And may we also hold our responsibility close: to honor memory, to demand justice, and to protect the future of our people.

“Never again” cannot be just a phrase we repeat. Never again must be a promise we live, every single day. For Riley. For the Bibas babies. For my grandfather’s memory. For every generation to come.

May this year bring sweetness, strength, and peace into all of our lives. Shanah Tovah.

Lilli Jennison is the Creative Director for Atlanta Jewish Times.