Happy New Year! (x2)

September brings with it two New Years—the Jewish one, better known as Rosh Hashanah, and the beginning of the new school year. I love how, for most of the world at least (sorry, Australians), the school year and the Jewish year dovetail so nicely. Rosh Hashanah heralds the beginning of the school year; Shavuot always signals that the end is near. In between, the holidays move us through: from Sukkot to Chanukah, from Purim to Passover. And just like that, summer is upon us again.

It’s no coincidence that the two parallel each other; there are many of historical and agricultural reasons that both the school calendar and the Jewish calendar are organized in this manner. But I’ve always felt that Rosh Hashanah and the beginning of the school year have a special connection. In Israel, many schools require children to wear their white school shirts on the first day. The streets full of white-clad children on that first day was so strongly reminiscient of men and women walking to synagogue on the High Holidays, dressed in white. The First Day, after all, requires our finest.

And while it can be daunting to mentally and spiritually prepare ourselves for the solemnity and introspection of the High Holidays, thinking about how we approach the school year can help us get into the proper mindset.

Think about how you felt on the first day. Or how you feel (or felt) sending your children off on their first days. We start off the school year with a mixture of apprehension, excitement and motivation. We resolve to concentrate in our classes, do well in our studies and make our parents and teachers proud. We resolve that mistakes we may have made last year will not repeat themselves this year. We feel a mixture of respect and awe for the principal (Principal?), rising when he or she enters a room. Channeling these visceral feelings and strong memories helps us better understand the proper frame of mind for the High Holidays.

This is not just a Rosh Hashanah-themed exercise, though. Jewish thought places great emphasis on using our everyday relationships and experiences to build a closer relationship with God. Once, a friend who was engaged mentioned that she needed to speak to her fiancé morning, afternoon and evening. Another friend piped up, “Now I understand why there are three prayer services every day!” Just like we “can’t live” without speaking to a friend or loved one multiple times a day, so too should it be with God. And while it may be difficult to fathom something as vague as “love and respect for God,” we do very much understand what it means to love and respect our parents. It becomes doable, then, to channel those feelings toward our relationship with the One Above.

I have put a great deal of time, effort and mental exertion into preparing three children for a new school year. Whether I make it to services this year or not, I will try to carve out some mental space during Rosh Hashanah to use those feelings to prepare myself for my own New Year.