Lou Ladinsky’s Rosh Hashanah Message for 2026
Lou Ladinsky shares his thoughts and inspiration for this year's High Holidays.
A Rosh Hashanah Message of Hope and Unity
When I think of Rosh Hashanah this year, two songs come immediately to mind, “What’s So Funny About Peace, Love, and Understanding” and “We Are the World.” Two songs with relevant lyrics about our world today. With the world so divided and uncertain these days, these songs ask us to reevaluate our thoughts. “(What’s So Funny ’Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding” asks us to resist cynicism and to defend compassion, trust, and harmony as strengths rather than sentimental dreams. Peace begins in the way we speak to those closest to us. Love takes shape in patience, generosity, and forgiveness. Understanding grows when we listen before judging. “We Are the World” reminds us that humanity is interconnected and that a brighter future begins when we accept responsibility for one another. Unity becomes real when we recognize that another person’s dignity, safety, and well-being are bound up with our own.
With the shofar blasting us into a new year, Rosh Hashanah invites us to pause temporarily and look back at the year behind us. This is a season of teshuvah — of returning to our highest values, repairing what has been strained, and opening our hearts to new beginnings. The holiday does not ask us merely to hope for a better year; it calls us to help create one. We can’t repair everything, but as individuals we can repair some things. With everyone joining together, we can enforce positive change in the world. Our tradition teaches that renewal is always possible: we can turn, begin again, and make choices that move the world toward wholeness again.
May this new year bring sweetness to our homes, peace to our communities, and understanding around the world. May we remember that we belong to one human family, and may we answer the shofar’s call with open hearts and willing hands.
Shanah Tovah U’Metukah — may we all be inscribed for a good, sweet, peaceful, and meaningful year.
Lou Ladinsky is the Distribution Manager for Atlanta Jewish Times.