Ohef Sholom Temple - Norfolk, VA
RSS
  • About
    • Our Clergy
    • Our Staff
    • Our Values
    • OST Board & Foundation
      • Constitution & Bylaws
  • Visit Us
    • Library & Archives
    • Judaica Shop
    • Sanctuary and Chapel
    • Our History
  • Membership
    • Join Our Family
    • Membership Application
    • Pay My Dues
  • Youth & Family
    • Religious School
      • Facebook Group
    • Scholarships
    • Youth Programs
    • B’nai Mitzvah
      • Mitzvah Project Spotlight
  • Adult Engagement
    • Adult Education
    • Committees & Auxiliaries
    • Men’s Club
    • Sisterhood
    • Repairing the World
  • Life Cycle Events
  • Worship
    • Services & Programming
    • Virtual Worship
    • Sermons
  • Calendar
  • Give
    • Donations
    • Endowment
    • Memorial Plaques
    • Tree of Life Leaf
    • Tree of Remembrance Leaf
  • Connect
    • Social Media
      • Facebook Page
      • Facebook Group
      • Instagram
      • YouTube
    • Temple pOST Bulletin
    • Become a Candle Lighter
    • Become a Shalom Greeter
  • My OST

We should be focused on lifting ourselves up instead of knocking ourselves down.

urjnetworkadmin September 29, 2011 OST Blog

This week, I received an email from one of the many Jewish organizations who have me on their list. The subject line was the usual Rosh Hashana salutation and well wishes. Indeed, the email began in the familiar fashion – “as the year comes to a close, it is natural for each of us to take stock…” However, as I kept reading I was very surprised. Normally, that sentence would end with a call for introspection, self-reflection and an analysis of where we went wrong, how we failed, and how we can improve.

Instead, in this particular email, the author concludes the sentence by saying, “it is natural for each of us to take stock of our accomplishments.” The message continued by listing a series of achievements and milestones the organization celebrated this past year. At first, I reacted cynically and thought to myself, of course, it is much more convenient to focus on success rather than on failure, but what a distortion of the essence of this time of year.

However, after thinking about it for a moment it occurred to me, that maybe they are on to something. Of course Elul, Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur are a time to consider our shortcomings and how we can grow, but should that necessarily translate into guilt, negativity and a feeling of failure. Perhaps we would do better to identify our successes, our achievements and with pride, reflect on what went right this past year, so that it can be repeated and expanded to other areas of our lives.

Our main task on Rosh Hashana is to be mamlich Hashem, to coronate God as King. In the process, we should recognize how fortunate and blessed we are, not only to be His loyal servants, but as His children to be princes and princesses, members of the royal family. Indeed, we preface Avinu before Malkeinu in our prayers. We should be focused on lifting ourselves up instead of knocking ourselves down.

Spend time these two days thinking about what went wrong, why did it go wrong and how can we prevent it from going wrong again. But don’t forget to take as much time to focus on what went right and feel pride in the accomplishments and achievements of the past year. I believe giving ourselves positive reinforcement will propel us forward to have an evening greater year ahead.

Shanah Tova,

It’s not too late to get ready. True greatness is not the ability to obey your thirst, it is the capacity to resist your thirst.

Related Posts

OST Blog

Let’s be like Avraham and Sarah and change the world one person at a time.

The Rabbinical Council of America (RCA) is the umbrella professional organization of over 1,000 Orthodox Rabbis from North America and Israel.  In my capacity as Vice President, I had the privilege of participating in a one day officers retreat this week to discuss the current state of Modern Orthodoxy and to strategize a vision for a bright and inspiring future.

OST Blog

You only get one opportunity to make a first impression.

After months of planning and design, this week we finally unveiled the new BRS website – www.brsonline.org We are very proud of its great features including a FAQ section for people who live here, those looking to move and those visiting.  We have videos, podcasts, a blog, photo galleries, and much more.  We have also […]

OST Blog

We are a people only because of the book

Imagine the following scene playing out on CSPAN:  On a specific day of the year, the Supreme Court justices together with the member of Congress take copies of the United States Constitution and dance around the floor of the House of Representatives while singing, clapping and lifting the law books high in the air.   With […]

Recent Posts

  • JOSTY
  • Office Staff
  • Library/ Archives Committee
  • Environmental Stewardship Subcommittee
  • Giving with Gratitude

Archives

  • June 2018
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2010

Categories

  • OST Blog
  • Photo Galleries

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Contact Info

Ohef Sholom Temple
530 Raleigh Avenue
Norfolk, VA 23507

Phone: (757) 625-4295
Fax: (757) 625-3762

information@ohefsholom.org

  • Ohef Sholom Facebook Ohef Sholom Facebook
  • Ohef Sholom Instagram Ohef Sholom Instagram
  • OST Religious School Facebook OST Religious School Facebook
  • Ohef Sholom Friends Ohef Sholom Friends
  • OSTY/JOSTY OSTY/JOSTY
Yom Shishi, 11 Iyyar 5785
© URJ 2025