News from Rabbinate

A Fresh New Year, Adorned with Mud

The new year begins, and for us, the Hebrew month of Tevet unfolds. On one hand, the civil calendar urges us to start with a fresh burst of energy, but on the other, the Hebrew calendar, with the arrival of Tevet, grounds us in the "mud."

The names of all Hebrew calendar months originate in Akkadian, and the month of Tevet was called Tebitu in that ancient language Tebitu —a word that evokes sinking, likely inspired by the heavy rains and deep mud characteristic of the season. For me, Tevet is a muddy month. While the world resets its clocks and envisions a clean slate, the Hebrew calendar plants its mud-soaked soles onto that blank page, reminding us of our personal "mud," the mud of memory, and the mud of history—the messy, challenging elements through which we tread and carve out new paths.

On the 10th of Tevet, we mark Yom HaKaddish HaKlali —the General Kaddish Day—a memorial for all Jews who perished in the Holocaust, whose dates of death remain unknown, and for whom no one is left to recite Kaddish. This day and its history are, for me, part of the 'mud' we must step into each year—a reminder to face, navigate, and reckon with it, along with other painful chapters of history. We are called to neither ignore their weight nor allow ourselves to sink entirely into their depths.

I wish us all a fresh and vibrant new year, adorned with mud—a reminder of where we’ve been, where we are, and where we strive to go.