Rabbi Stiefel's Monthly Article

Rabbi Sharon Stiefel

Current September 2025

Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur

When I was in high school, I took a philosophy class. Our final assignment was to develop and present our credo--a belief that strongly influenced the way we lived our lives. I chose to share my “eat your vegetables first” philosophy. When sitting down to a meal, I ate my vegetables first, (I guess I didn’t like vegetables as much at seventeen as I do now!) and then saved the best—the spaghetti--for last.  By extension, this mindset had me doing hard work before going out to play. 

When approaching the High Holidays from this perspective, it appears that Yom Kippur (the vegetables) should come prior to Rosh Hashanah (the spaghetti). It would make sense to do all the hard work of repenting and repairing relationships and then go on to celebrate. Why begin with the apples and honey and end with no food? It’s like eating dessert first! In other religious traditions, individuals first repent and then, once purified and forgiven, they celebrate renewal. Why do we begin with Rosh Hashanah? Why are we celebrating the new year with old business still hanging over our heads? The order of the High Holidays doesn’t seem to make sense.

But our tradition takes other factors into consideration. We begin with Rosh Hashanah so we can be reminded of our strengths. It’s like the first part of a thorough performance review. Our strengths are highlighted at the beginning and only after that are areas we need to improve discussed. Knowing that we are valued and have done good things makes it easier to accept the more critical parts of the evaluation. 

The High Holidays are structured much like that performance review, and for much the same reason. Rosh Hashanah is a reminder of our best, most noble behaviors and the majestic possibilities within ourselves as creatures created in the image of G-d.

However, on Yom Kippur, we scrutinize ourselves more thoroughly.  We examine our flaws, our limitations, our failures, our vanities. Rosh Hashanah builds up our self-esteem and gives us the fortitude to confront our faults.  If Yom Kippur preceded Rosh Hashanah, the process of looking at ourselves so closely would be devastating. So, the Yamim Noraim are wisely structured to let us see when we are at our best before we confront our flaws and contemplate our need to improve.

Finally, let us not forget that Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are followed by Sukkot. After the spiritual purification we experience on Yom Kippur, we can experience the joy of the Sukkah: the gift of time and space to savor life anew. Sukkot is the real dessert of the holiday season!

May our celebration of Rosh Hashanah provide us with the nourishment we need to tackle the changes we must make on Yom Kippur. And may we approach the year of 5786 with hope and joy.