This year ends with Hanukkah and starts with Hanukkah. How strange to have the concept of Jewish rededication and our secular notion of resolutions come together for the first and second day of 2025.

With these two things coming together we might make resolutions about how we can rededicate ourselves to our Judaism, our values, and our spirituality. Maybe this is not the year to decide to exercise more but rather go outside more. Instead of a new diet what about a diet that is fueled by the ethical treatment of animals. Join a Jewish dance class or meet up group. Go to a Jewish museum or create something inspired by Jewish text and/or practice. Imagine the possibilities if every resolution was modified to include your own sense of what it means to be a Jewish person.

Statistics say that most resolutions are abandoned in the first two weeks. I think it is because they are often a radical departure from what we are currently doing. Instead of radical change we should commit to consistent modules of change. For example, orange juice; orange juice (like most juice) is high in sugar and not generally recommended but an orange is high in fiber and a better option. You don’t have to give up orange juice, you just add the fruit. You could also use orange zest to flavor a meal. It is a small creative adjustment as opposed to drastic implementation.

Change mostly happens gradually. Sometimes there is a dramatic change but that is jarring and takes time (often painful) to normalize. When change happens slowly it weaves naturally into the fabric of your life. We age each day, the stars shift in the sky and the tide rises and falls without exclamation.

What is true about positive change is also true about detrimental change. The negative things we say to ourselves, and others add up. Weight gain is typically slow, muscle loss is gradual, tv time grows and isolation increases. What we do becomes who we are until we decide to do something different.

Last month, I heard someone talking about donations. They were saying that if you want to incorporate giving into your life, but you are not wealthy, start with $18 a month. The act of giving becomes a habit that represents your values, and it expands as you develop. This is also true of saving money, start small and build on what you have. The practice of yoga begins with stretching, and walking leads to running and jumping. If you really want to change something in your life, start slow and be consistent. Make peace with gradual and in time you will be transformed.

Happy New Year!

Rabbi Sarah Rensin
(503) 226-7079 ext. 740
rabbisarah@jfcs-potland.org