Rabbi Michael Bernstein’s Rosh Hashanah Message for 2025

On Rosh Hashana of this year the number of days since the assault on October 7th will reach 717. We have had almost two full years of knowing that there are still people living under cruel captivity that had been stolen away on that day. And almost two full years that thousands of lives inside and outside of Gaza have hung in the balance of decisions made by powerful men in rooms to use the words of Rachel Goldberg-Polin, prophetic spokesperson for so many suffering family members of the hostages. Her message is simple, unwavering, and urgent: Bring them home.

So, what should the message be to those of us outside those rooms?

For me, the answer has two parts which are interrelated: lend our voice and support to those who seek to end this season of violence even though we know that the real work of finding a lasting resolution lies ahead of us. And second, gather in places that affirm the best of what Jewish community can be. The High Holidays provide the impetus for both. We connect with each other and our community in the same room. We are lifted by the same melodies and absorb the same words – words that ground us in core beliefs, call us to be responsible for our actions, and, most urgently, inspire building a world embracing human possibility even in the face of the cynicism, degradation, and malice that seems to prevail so often.

Outside the walls of our sanctuaries, we may feel powerless to effect change in an unjust world. Yet within the sacred precincts of the Days of Awe, wherever we celebrate them, we know that we have been created for just that purpose. Hayom harat olam! May this day on which the world is reborn bring with it the immediate end to the ordeals suffered by the hostages and all the lives that hang in the balance.

Michael Bernstein is the rabbi of Congregation Gesher L Torah, a dynamic community where Judaism is personal.