By: Jill Katchen
Director of Donor Engagement
At Tashlich on Rosh Hashanah this year, I was asked to think about what I wanted to cast away as I entered the new year.
Four words came to me: Fear. Hopelessness. Overwhelm. Inaction.
They felt connected. Fear can lead to hopelessness. Hopelessness can leave us overwhelmed. And overwhelm can make it easier to do nothing at all.
So, I symbolically cast them away, twice (just for emphasis)!
Of course, Tashlich doesn’t magically make those “sins” disappear. There is plenty in our lives and in our world that can make them very real. But I’ve been thinking about the other side of that question:
If those are the things I want to let go of, what do I want to carry forward? Trust. Hope. Connection. Action.
This week’s Torah portion, Ha’azinu, begins with a powerful instruction: Listen.
Moses is nearing the end of his life. He knows he will not accompany the Israelites into the Promised Land. He knows they will face uncertainty, make mistakes, and sometimes lose their way.
And still, he invests in their future.
He asks them to listen. To remember. To take his words to heart.
There are fear and uncertainty in Ha’azinu, but there is also hope—the hope that even when we lose our way, we can return. We can remember what matters. We can choose what comes next.
For me, what comes next is:
Trust…Trust in myself most of all. I will put on my oxygen mask first so that I can be clear-headed, strong, and calm, and support, listen to, appreciate, encourage, and lift up my friends, family, colleagues, donors, and Jewish community.
Hope… not the belief that everything will turn out exactly as I want, but the belief that what we do, how we behave, how we treat each other, and how we vote, still matters.
Connection…listening more, appreciating people more—and telling them. Investing in relationships. Showing up for one another. In my work at JEWISHcolorado, we call much of this stewardship, but really, it is about helping people feel heard, seen, valued, and connected.
Action… choosing to do even one thing, when overwhelm tells me there is nothing I can do.
Maybe that is one of the lessons of Ha’azinu. Moses cannot control what happens next. He cannot walk the road for the next generation. But he can teach, listen, remind, love, challenge—and trust others to carry the story forward.
I know the fear, hopelessness, and overwhelm I cast into the water at Tashlich won’t disappear forever. But when they return, I want to remember what I chose to carry with me instead.
As we approach Yom Kippur, perhaps each of us can ask ourselves not only what we want to leave behind, but also: What do I choose to carry forward?
G’mar Chatimah Tovah and Shabbat Shalom
Please email Jill Katchen at jkatchen@jewishcolorado.org with questions or comments.