On Rosh Hashanah and saying “L’Shana Tova”

I went to services at Emanu-El yesterday for Rosh Hashanah. The customary greeting is “L’shana Tova” - have a good year. 

The rabbi’s sermon focused on this greeting and why we say it. His essential thesis: The world is in shambles, the economy sucks, the ice caps are melting, Israel is on the brink of being destroyed by its neighbors, too many people live under the poverty line, there’s no work-life balance anymore, public schools in SF are failing… essentially on both a macro and micro level, things are a mess.

So where do we, as Jews, get the optimism to say “L’Shana Tova” - have a good year? Is it optimism? Naiveté? 

The rabbi says it’s chutzpah, something we’ve always had and is intrinsic to our people. It’s the chutzpah to believe this year CAN be a good year and it will be, in spite of the tumults around us. But in order to do that, we need to be a blessing. Not do blessings over things, but actually be a blessing in the world. Make a difference. Do something. Because if we do nothing, then we can’t truly say, and believe, that this year will be a good year. 

Be a blessing. Make a difference. Have a good year.