Why is this Rosh Hashana different from all others?

Rabbis typically have to dig deep this time of year to come up with an inspirational message for the high holidays. We comb through the relevant texts, search for incredible stories and formulate a coherent message that will hopefully capture the minds, and awaken the hearts and souls, of our congregants. We reflect on the previous year and implore our listeners to take these days of prayer seriously. We speak about common motifs such as the Book of Life, hopes and dreams for world peace, health and happiness in the year to come. We wish each other a Shana Tova — A Sweet New Year.

This year, we don’t have to try so hard to describe the feeling of being in the hands of God. Try this thought experiment with me. Close your eyes and remember where you were last Rosh Hashana, September 2019. Think about what you prayed for. How you hoped the year would go. Perhaps you prayed for a year of professional success, for health and for all good things for your loved ones and your community. But the truth is, it all seems silly now in retrospect, since we had no idea what was in store for us this year.

The whole world turned upside down. We lost everything we took for granted. We gasped at the numbers of deaths, the hospitals running out of ventilators, and the doctors who died of suicide.  Entire industries collapsed. Disney World, Broadway, sports stadiums, concerts, restaurants, air travel — everything came to a screeching halt. The world is forever changed. A whole generation of children learned new words like pandemic, social distancing, pods, contact tracing and coronavirus. We were forced to accept a new reality.

It should be clearer to us now than ever before how vulnerable we are. How little control we have. How desperate we are for the simple things in life and how dependent we are on God.

We have no idea what is in store for us this Jewish New Year. We have no idea where our lives will be by this time next year. The worldwide pandemic rages on, perhaps the most confrontational presidential election ever is set for November, and as we try to pick up the pieces and scrape a normal life back together, let us not miss this opportunity to turn our voices to heaven and pray to the master of the universe for protection, salvation and blessings. Wishing everyone a sweet new year!

Rabbi Haimoff is the associate rabbi of the Jewish Center of Atlantic Beach.