Why We Celebrate Rosh Hashanah

Rosh Hashanah, as I have explained in other essays, rose from minor importance to the major status it enjoys today because our people needed  an occasion to celebrate the vital ideals inherent in Genesis’s Story of Creation (Genesis 1:1-2:4).

For me the Tee shirt pictured captures that message:

Translation:

“And God said …”

Then all the scientific stuff

“And there was light.”

In other words:

Genesis does NOT tell us HOW the world was created.

But it tells us a great deal about WHY

• However it was done God initiated it
• It was not an accident. The creation of the world is purposeful and meaningful.
• Therefore our lives have (or at least they should have) purpose and meaning.
• We are the only creatures created “in God’s image.” That does not mean we look like God. It means we have the most power to affect our environment and the quality of life in society for better or ill.
• Once each week we need a day to step back and think: “How am I using my talents to make a better world.

Yes Genesis tells an awful lot about WHY we are here and what God wants from us! Why we are here and what God wants from us are the reasons we celebrate Rosh Hashanah!