“On Rosh HaShannah one must act wisely and only think good thoughts. One should only keep in mind that God will be good to us. One must be happy on Rosh Hashannah, and yet one must cry. The first day of Rosh Hashannah, one must speak as little as possible. The Rebbe said that a great leader must be even more careful about this.”
The question is how can one be happy and cry at once? Perhaps the answer lies in speaking as little as possible on Rosh Hashannah. Many people in the broad Jewish community around the world follow this. By removing the distraction of unnecessary chatter, you have time through the holiday to go through cycles of high and low emotion, moments of happiness and moments of sadness. Moving up and down through the emotional scale through the day builds a platform for teshuvah and connection to God.
Is this something you have done in the past or might contemplate doing? Can you share a story?
Adapted from Rabbi Nachman’s Wisdom
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