Two Pockets, Two Lessons, One New Year

As the shofar’s call approaches and we step into the sacred space of a new year, we are invited to hold two truths at once: that our lives matter beyond measure, and that we are but a small part of a vast and unfolding universe.

Rabbi Simcha Bunam of Pzhysha (Poland, 1765–1827) taught:

Everyone must have two pockets to reach into, according to their needs.

In their left, a slip of paper reads: For my sake was the world created.

In their right, a slip of paper reads: I am but dust and ashes.

With one pocket, we are reminded that each of us is holy, created with a divine spark, worthy and deserving of infinite love and blessing. The world is ours! We feel as if we can accomplish anything!

In that pocket, we find the courage to lean into hard conversations with friends and family, to dismantle the walls that divide us, and to build bridges of true connection. We recognize that even if we cannot take on every cause, we are essential to the social movements that matter most to us. In that pocket, we carry the conviction that showing up authentically, with compassion, is itself a sacred act.

With the other pocket, we remember that we are human — fragile, imperfect, made of dust, and returning to dust. There is so much that needs to change, and much we cannot change.

With this pocket, we hold the truth that much of life is beyond our control, and the world will spin with or without us. We remember that the actions of those around us matter too, and that nothing we do exists outside of that larger context. We feel our smallness, and we know that in our smallness there is holiness.

Our tradition teaches us wisdom that runs through the very heart of the Rosh HaShanah liturgy. When we hear the words “hayom harat olam” (today the world is born), we are invited into the pocket of infinite worth, remembering that our lives are precious in the vast story of creation.

When we recite Unetaneh Tokef, one of the holiest prayers recited during the Days of Awe, we are called to face life’s fragility and uncertainty. With its piercing words of “who shall live and who shall die,” we touch the pocket that keeps us grounded in humility and perspective.

This Rosh HaShanah, we embrace the ancient wisdom of our tradition. We ground ourselves in our infinite worth while acknowledging with humility our inherent smallness in the larger universe.

May we carry this lesson into the new year.

May we approach each challenge and opportunity in the coming days and months with this important, balanced perspective.

May this be a good and sweet year. Shanah tovah u’metukah.