The Hebrew month of Elul is here. It precedes the month of Tishri, the first day of which is Rosh Hashanah. Therefore, Elul is the runup to the New Year 5787, and time to prepare for everything that it requires of us, personally and communally. Like any annual event, arriving just as it starts doesn’t do justice to the day’s opportunities and experiences. Instead, preparing for it makes arriving a special and sacred experience that awakens our senses. Even if the prayers, round challah, and honey are familiar, the New Year 5787 has never occurred before until now.

I remember when my wife planned to visit her grandmother who lived in assisted living. Her plan was to make it a surprise. Kindly, I suggested that if she surprised her, she might find her grandmother in bed, hair unkempt, and without makeup she liked to use to make herself look pretty. But if she told her a week early about the visit, then her grandmother could get herself all made up, and she’d likely tell her friends that her special granddaughter was coming. She’d beam with pride all week. Thankfully, my wife did call ahead to announce her arrival days later. It worked perfectly. Her grandmother basked in anticipation, talked about it all week, and then burst into cheers when my wife walked in the door with flowers and gifts.

So, why should the New Year be any different? Jewish customs are filled with ways to anticipate the arrival of the New Year. Some will hear the shofar in morning services or at home and prepare (or order early) holiday foods for the New Year. Some will also prepare personally. Reading and studying Psalm 27, for instance, is a meaningful way to consider more deeply what the New Year can be and how the Ten Days of Repentance, between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, can facilitate change. I highly recommend the book, Opening Your Heart with Psalm 27: A Spiritual Practice for the Jewish New Year, by Rabbi Debra J. Robbins, published by CCAR Press.

All of us should approach the New Year with questions about how to make this year different or better than last year. Perhaps we’re eager for a fresh start. Perhaps we don’t want to change anything. But there’s always room for some personal improvement. No life is perfect. Mitzvot are our means to improve our life and enjoy a sweet New Year. But where to begin?

Taking a cue from Rabbi Hillel, we can begin by taking personal responsibility for ourselves. He taught, “If I am not for myself, who will be for me?” Even those who are dependent on caregivers play a role in their own daily routine. It begins with gratitude for such caregivers and for friendship that grows between them. Those who are independent have many more reasons to live with gratitude for ways they can choose their daily agenda. The goal is to bear responsibility for ourselves, first.

Hillel also taught, “If I am only for myself, what am I?” There’s always room for recognizing the good in others and events. It’s a Jewish soul trait called hakarat hatov, to recognize the good as a way of living. It’s more than saying thank you; it’s about living with gratitude and using such recognition for the good.

Finally, Hillel taught, “If not now, when?” Teenagers might feel invincible and young adults might believe that their lives will never end, but eventually, even they, if they’re blessed to reach maturity, will come to know that life is short. Every day is a gift to use to make a positive difference. The tools are mitzvot, and the purpose is not the reward inherent in doing good deeds, but in the result: renewed friendships, deeper love, self-awareness, and greater peace between us.

It sounds like hard work. But it isn’t, really, especially when we are intentional with our time and enter the High Holy Days prepared with an open heart and soul to find our way again in the New Year 5787.

L’Shalom,