The Rosh Hashanah holiday is a holiday that tugs at the heart of every Jew. Regardless of denomination, most Jews find themselves in the synagogue for some part of the Rosh Hashanah day. Have you ever seen a synagogue that isn’t full to capacity on Rosh Hashanah? A Jew’s conscience is aroused on this day.

What do we do with  the spiritual  awakening that we feel during the day? Do we act upon it  and resolve to better ourselves, or do we ignore it  and go back to our daily routine, forgetting about those moments of inspiration until Rosh Hashanah next year?

Most of us would answer, “Of course I wish to better myself this year.I’d love to be a better spouse, friend or neighbor. I’d love to feel closer to G-d.” Yet, most of us would admit that somehow our best intentions are stymied as time goes on. We don’t hear the call of the Shofar exhorting us to improve ourselves all year. We allow our daily concerns to dull our gnawing conscience. These idealistic goals and ambitions many times remain just that, never brought into reality.

So how do we make sure that this will be a year of true personal growth?

Let us spend a moment focusing on the essence of Rosh Hashanah. Even though it is the beginning of a new Jewish year, we don’t celebrate in the same way as January 1 on the secular calendar. No  sparkling ball will descend in Times Square at sunset this Friday night, nor will thousands of revelers count down the seconds to the new year. Rather, Rosh Hashanah  is a solemn day. It is a time of introspection and personal growth.

The Rosh Hashanah prayers focus on one theme: we proclaim that G-d, the Creator of the universe, is our King and we are His subjects. We re-anoint G-d, so to speak, as our King each Rosh Hashanah. Why must we anoint Him again, you may ask, if we did already last year and previous years too? And why does the Creator need us to anoint Him, anyway? He is, after all, the Creator of the world!

The Rabbis explain that, of course, G-d is the ruler of the world even if we don’t proclaim Him as King. Rather, we do it for ourselves, to accept our subservience to Him. We accept Him as King to remind us that we have a purpose in life, to serve G-d to the best of our abilities. Everything that we undergo has a purpose; sometimes we understand why and sometimes we don’t. Nevertheless, there is a reason for everything that occurs in our lives: to help us grow and fulfill our distinct missions. Rosh Hashanah gives us the opportunity to zero in on our status as human beings, created in the image of G-d, who are here  for the purpose  of enriching this world with spirituality as His subjects.

Consider for a moment if you were to meet with your boss once a year, the anniversary of the day you were hired. It would be a very short meeting, because the boss  would ask you only one simple question: “What are you going to do for me this year?”   Obviously, you will have spent many hours contemplating your answer in order to please  him. You may even have done things during the year to show that your sincere  desire to create  a favorable impression even before you walk in the door.

This is what occurs on Rosh Hashanah. Rosh Hashanah is the birthday of humanity. Tradition states that man, Adam, was created on this day. G-d takes a reckoning of his “workforce,” the human race, on the anniversary of their creation. Are they leading purposeful lives? Are they contributing to humanity in a meaningful way? Is Judaism relevant to them? When we proclaim in our prayers that G-d is our King, we express that, “Yes, we do consider ourselves Your subjects. We wish to conduct our lives accordingly, leading a life of purpose and personal growth.”

We can maintain this focus even after Rosh Hashanah by  making a commitment to self improvement in small, but meaningful ways. We don’t have to resolve to undergo a “total  spiritual makeover,” as it’s futile to undertake such an unrealistic ambition. Rather, we can resolve  to take simple, but meaningful steps to show ourselves and G-d that we take life seriously. For example, you can be a better friend, neighbor, spouse, etc. by  undertaking one specific thing, such as saying, “Good Morning” each day. How many lives will be brightened just because of your sensitivity, showing  people that  they  matter!  It doesn’t cost anything to say a few kind words, yet the dividends are enormous.  

In the merit of our steadfast commitment to personal growth, may G-d cast a favorable eye upon us, and all Jews, this Rosh Hashanah. May we all be inscribed in the Book of Life for a happy and healthy new year.