New Year, New Chances

As we begin a new year in the Jewish calendar, we traditionally use this opportunity to look back on the past year, take stock of our lives, apologize for our mistakes, wipe the slate clean and start over.

This is a chance for us to be grateful for our blessings and say, “Thank you.”

It is a chance for us to look back upon our mistakes and say, “I’m sorry.”

It is a chance to nod with retrospective approval of our good deeds and say, “I’m going to do that again.”

And above all, it is a time to give ourselves and our loved ones a second chance.

No matter what your beliefs or your faith, the Jewish value of atoning and being given another chance—the meaning behind the holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur—is applicable to all of us. It is a universal value, a human value.

The Erev Yom Kippur starts with a prayer called Kol Nidre in which the entire community asks for forgiveness for our mistakes … for the coming year. How about that?! Our sages knew that we would continue to be imperfect and that we should ask for forgiveness for future actions.

In that spirit, I wish to do the same. We are trying hard to make your experience at the OFJCC a meaningful one, but we know we still have some challenges. I hope you’ll forgive us for any inconveniences and keep making us your second home—and your second family.

Shana Tova. May you have a happy and healthy new year.

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Zack Bodner

Written by Zack Bodner

Zack Bodner spends his days as the CEO of the OFJCC and his late nights waxing poetic on the Live Fully Blog. During the in-between hours, he and his wife ro-sham-bo for who does the dishes and who puts each of their three kids to sleep. On the weekends, Zack schleps his brood from soccer to baseball to drama to dance and then back to soccer. He can often be found asleep in one of his kids' beds after reading bedtime stories to them.

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