Rosh HaShanah: How Will We Choose To Live?

Rabbi Ariel Platt 

Rosh HaShanah, the Jewish New Year, begins on Friday, September 11, 2026 and continues through sundown on Sunday, September 13. Rosh HaShanah is a time to pause, reflect on the year that has passed, and look ahead to the year we hope to create.

At the heart of Rosh HaShanah is the powerful image of the Book of Life. In Unetaneh Tokef, one of the central prayers of the High Holy Days, we hear the words: “On Rosh HaShanah it is written, and on Yom Kippur it is sealed…” We imagine ourselves standing before the Book of Life, reflecting on the year behind us and the life we hope to have in the year ahead.

In the Amidah (a central Jewish prayer), we offer this additional prayer:

“In the book of life, blessing, peace and abundant prosperity, may we be remembered and inscribed before You… for a good life and peace.”

I find the wording of this prayer particularly meaningful. We don’t simply ask to live; we ask for a good life. And that makes me wonder: What makes a life good? What makes a life meaningful? And perhaps just as importantly, how are we choosing to live the life we have been given?

As I reflect on my own year, the most important lesson I have learned is this: Live your life as fully as you can. Don’t wait for the perfect moment. Don’t wait until everything is figured out. Make time for the people you love. Find joy where you can. Take the opportunities that matter. Be present for the ordinary moments. Be yourself, with all the imperfect, complicated, beautiful pieces that make you who you are.

It reminds me of Linda Ellis’s poem The Dash, which reflects on the small line between the dates of our birth and death. That dash represents all the time we spend alive—the relationships we build, the people we love, the choices we make, the memories we create, and the way we spend our days.

In the end, it is not what we own or accomplish that gives our dash its meaning. It is how we live and how we love.

As we enter a new year, perhaps the Book of Life is also an invitation: to think about what we are writing into our lives, and what we want the next chapter to hold.

May we all be inscribed in the Book of Life for a year of life, blessing, peace, and abundance. And may we make the most of the precious dash we are given.

Shanah Tovah! May it be a good year.

Values in Action: Share a Little Sweetness
Start the new year with a small, thoughtful gesture: send someone a greeting card to let them know you’re thinking of them and wishing them well.