Dear Zachary Cole,
Having arrived in the midst of 2020, it has been such a joy and a relief to watch campus return to life with the arrival of the Fall semester. There is laughter, there is energy and there are so many students. Students have returned with a desire to make the most of their time learning and growing at Emory. Their intense desire to gain new understandings, to develop meaningful friendships and to feel deeply connected is on full display as I walk around campus. With all of these new beginnings, it feels easy to pivot to the celebration of our new year.
Each year, as Rosh Hashanah approaches, we imagine a world that is different from the world that we have known. The promise of a new year starting is the promise of renewal, of growth and change. Yet, this year, we are also aware of the ways in which things have not yet fully changed. We are still in masks, we still must maintain distance from people and places that are important to us and the world is still grappling with the devastation of an ongoing pandemic.
Beyond COVID, we have also experienced the persistence of antisemetism and the chronic nature of racial injustice. When the new year arrives and we are feeling stuck, it is comforting to be reminded that we are not the first generation to celebrate amongst times of challenge. Rabbi Chaim of Sanz, a great Chasidic master, used to tell a story in relation to the High Holy Days. He taught:
