Happy New Year

Happy 2026! The ball dropped at Times Square, so it’s official. A fair question may be, is what happened 2026 years ago? The answer really is nothing. While officially the number of years on the calendar is to mark the birth of Jesus, the vast majority of Christian scholars admit that Jesus was not born in year 1 CE. They seem to think he was born anytime between 4-6 BCE. (The notion that he was born on December 25 is also highly unlikely as that date was chosen centuries later and was mainly chosen to align with the Roman holiday that celebrated the god of Saturn that occurred in December.) The number of years on the Gregorian (named after Pope Gregory) Calendar of 2026 stands in stark contrast to the Jewish calendar which counts the years from the creation of Man. As we our liturgy on Rosh Hashanah says, זה היום תחילת מעשיך. Translation: “this day was the first day of your handiwork. (The primary handiwork of G-d was the creation of Man.) To be sure, Jewish law recognizes secular dates as to some significance and even can be included in official documents. The Mishna in the beginning of Rosh Hashanah writes of the concept of ראש השנה למלכים or Rosh Hashanah for kings. Many official documents and contracts were dated to reflect how many years that particular king was in office. The dating of documents and contracts that had Halachic validity were called Minyan Shtaros. The counting of years related to how long a king reigned included gentile kings. We find sources for this in Tanach (Hebrew Bible). For example, the Book of Ezra cites specific events related to how many years King Cyrus reigned. Which brings us back to January 1 as a New Year. While this actual day doesn’t really commemorate anything, it has nonetheless become a fixture on our calendar. It can be used as an opportunity for one to be thoughtful about embracing goals that enhance one's physical, emotional or spiritual well being. As we are entering the second quarter of the Jewish year of 5786, it may be a good time to check in to our inner self and ask the uncomfortable questions as to how our aspirations and goals are aligned with our practical lives and daily schedule. If the catalyst for this inner conversation is the New Years designated on January 1, then so be it. Have a Peaceful Shabbos, Rabbi Yaakov Fisch