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Sermon for 1st Day Rosh Hashanah
2008/5769
by Rabbi Geoffrey Hyman

From this New Year through to the end of Succos there is one Berochoh that we will recite a lot, the berochoh of Shehechiyonu: “Blessed are you, the L-rd our G-d, king of the universe, who has kept us alive and sustained us; and has enabled us to reach this very moment”.

We’ll recite it both nights over the Yom Tov candles, during Kiddush, for the Shofar blowing, for new fruit in season - eaten on the 2nd night Rosh Hashanah; for new clothes that we wear over Yom Tov. It will be said at the Kol Nidrei service and for the candles, during Sukkos for the Mizvos of the Sukkah and the lulav and esrog, and again for candle lighting and Kiddush.

It is a berochoh that we make when we encounter a special moment of enjoying something new - both spiritually and physically. So what is its real significance?

My dear congregants, it is the very moment that we pause - we stop, think and appreciate the very moment that we are about to experience and we say thank you G-d for this very moment in our lives. That is awesome!

But let me tell you that one day, some years ago, I heard this Berochoh said in a way I’ve never heard it before.

It was 8 years ago during my time as Rabbi of the Welwyn Garden City Shul, and it was a Yom Kippur afternoon - suddenly the doors to the shul opened and in came an elderly member who had suffered a number of severe strokes. Before his illness he had been in shul every Shabbos, he loved shul and missed it so much. And now on this very Yom Kippur afternoon, mustering all the strength he could find, and aided by his son, he schlepped himself into the Shul and there and then in full voice, with enormous intensity, he recited the Berochoh “Shechiyonu vekiymonu, vehegeonu lazman hazeh”! And it has been from that day on that the berochoh of Shehechiyonu took on a new meaning for me.

It taught me to try and appreciate what we have in life - for it is really a berochoh for “Enjoying Life”!

And so it is throughout our prayers on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur the key word is Chayim - life. Chayim is an interesting word because it is in a plural form. Some suggest that it carries the meaning of Chay-Yom - live for each day - and enjoy life.

And so we sing: Zochreinu lechayim, kosveinu besefer hachayim! We ask G-d to remember us for life and to write us in the Book of Life. Even when we drink alcohol, wine or whisky we don’t raise our glasses and say “cheers”, we shout “Lechayim” - to life!

In the Mussaf service we have the great composition of Rabbi Amnon of Mayence, “Unsanei tokef” and we say “mi yichyeh umi yomus” - who will live and who will die, for it is the Day of Judgement. We pause and reflect; we stop and think how life is so frail and how we fear the unknown. No doubt we look back and reflect on a year gone by, to its travails and successes, the good and the bad, the tzoros and the simchos and so we wonder about the future, what will the New Year bring? But we should never lose the ability to say a shehechiyonu.

For life is so full of wonderful opportunities and magical moments - that is Shehechyanu and there is no better time to reflect on that than today. But the beauty of shechiyonu is that we so often say it on what we could call the simple pleasures of life, the new fruit, on putting on a new garment or carrying out a beloved mitzvah in its season. That is the beauty of life and that is true appreciation of life. Witnessing G-d’s creation, combined with our striving to reach spirituality.

Let us pray and hope that we will always have much to recite Shechiyonu over. May G-d sign and seal us for life, together with all Israel. May only peace fill G-d’s earth - so that all nations on earth will dwell in harmony.

May G-d grant us all a sweet New Year, Amen.