I have been fascinated by the Royal Family since I was a kid; Princess Diana was my icon. Like millions of others, I have watched countless hours of footage about Queen Elizabeth since her passing. In a world that lacks role models and leaders with values, the Queen leaves behind an unparalleled legacy of leadership and service. As President Herzog of Israel said, “Her Majesty lived history, made history, and with her passing, she leaves a magnificent inspirational legacy.”
We celebrated my son's wedding this week. As parents, Gavin and I are conscious of our choices and their impact on our children. We hope that our children and their spouses will create a legacy of serving God, living meaningful Jewish lives, learning Torah, and passing on their Jewish values and heritage to the next generation.
On Rosh Hashanah, Jews from all over the world celebrate God's creation of the world. We celebrate by appreciating that life is short, time moves quickly and we cannot rewind or redo. So we have to appreciate each day as a gift. We achieve greatness through the actions and contributions we do here on earth.
I simply love the idea that our life is the single greatest work of art we will ever make. Rosh Hashanah is a time that man can make himself. When we reflect on Rosh Hashanah we step back from our life like an artist stepping back from his canvas, seeing what needs changing for the painting to be complete.
What’s so powerful is that there is no need to wait for a specific life-altering moment in order to reflect on and strengthen our values to understand what we want to contribute to the world. In these last days leading up to Rosh Hashanah, as we look at the year that has passed and set goals for the future, it’s the perfect time to think about what we are living for. May we, inspired by the late Queen, also merit to "live history, make history, and leave magnificent inspirational legacies" in this world.
Shabbat Shalom and Shana Tova