As we are between the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah) and the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) I thought I would write about something very important to me. Traditionally this time of year is a time of reflection and repentance, looking back at our deeds of the last year. Indeed it is often referred to as the Ten Days of Repentance. It is a time to look within ourselves. It is a holiday that emphasizes teshuvah which is usually translated as repentance. Literally, teshuvah means to “return” or “to turn around”. It is not enough to turn yourself around, you need to turn around your relationship with others to seek better connection and communication, to increase empathy and compassion. It can also mean to turn around our relationship with the earth, with nature, with our fragile planet. This is particularly appropriate as Rosh Hashanah is also considered the birthday of the world, a celebration of the beauty of the world in its natural unspoiled state, a state that no longer exists either physically or morally. The world today is beset with problems both natural, geopolitical and economic. What can one person, or one company do to turn this around.
This leads to the concept of Tikkun Olam which means repairing the world. It’s meanings are varied, depending on which branch of Judaism you follow, which philosophers you like, if you are into Jewish mysticism (Kabbalah) or how liberal or conservative are your political beliefs. The basic premise is that the world is broken and it is up to us, through our actions, to try to repair the world.
How can one repair the world? One act at a time. A word of kindness. A gift of charity. Visiting the sick. Mourning with the bereaved. Celebrating life’s pleasures and trying to ease the pain and burden of the people with which we come into contact.
I have tried to take this one step farther and incorporate Tikkun Olam into my daily business practices. My company, Maxi Container makes charitable donations of product to many groups. We have donated recycling containers to a Detroit School, donated containers to a project to collect backpacks and school supplies for children who cannot afford them. We have donated rain barrels to cities, schools, the Sierra Club Great Lakes Program and the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy.
We make this philosophy part of our business model by promoting sustainability through the products we sell and how we conduct our daily activities. We recycle the paper, plastic, cardboard and Styrofoam generated at our office. We have replaced inefficient lighting in our warehouse with more efficient lighting, reducing our electrical usage by 50%.
During this time period between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, I will have attended a friend’s funeral and a family member’s funeral. I will have mourned with both friends and family. I will have also celebrated the Holidays with friends and family both at my temple and in the home. I will have spent time with my wife, children and grandchildren, as my oldest granddaughter prepares to start Pre-School. This juxtaposition of life and death of celebration and mourning, of the sacred (prayer) and the profane (business) just proves to me, even more, that we each can take actions every day of kindness and help repair the world.
I wish all my friends and family, and anyone who reads this blog, a happy and healthy New Year. L’shana Tova.
Tags: Family, Jewish, New Year, Religion, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur
