Rabbi Lauren Cohn's 2021 Rosh Hashanah Message

I’m not sure why, but I’ve always liked the expression “comparing apples to apples.” However, the only time I ever recall actually comparing apples to apples is when I was in first grade in religious school. We had a class taste test of red, green, and yellow apples and then we graphed them.

Once, all I knew about the High Holy Days was apples and honey. And as my Jewish education evolved, my connection to the Jewish New Year deepened. When I was eight, I remember eating my great-grandmother’s matzo ball soup at Erev Rosh Hashanah dinner and thinking just maybe I could love the soup as much as I loved my Nannie. In seventh grade in religious school, I remember learning that the shofar was our alarm clock to make sure we were ready for Rosh Hashanah and to do the work of apologizing to others for our mistakes and wrongs. When I was in high school and learned that God cannot forgive us for sins committed against another; it is those we have wronged from whom we must directly seek forgiveness. I was awe-struck that Judaism could be so reasonable and fair.

For all of us and each of us, the High Holy Days are steeped in memories and connections to our younger selves, to Jewish learning, and to our families – past and present. As we eat apples and honey and delicious home-made soup, may we be ever present to all that we have with insight, learning, and love. And a special wish for this year: that we work toward High Holy Days in the future when we have created a world filled with more justice, understanding, and compassion.

Rabbi Lauren S. Cohn, RJE, is a community rabbi in Atlanta and the rabbi of Temple Beth El in Anniston, Texas.