This Rosh Hashanah, we’re reflecting on how we can invite Jewish joy into our lives in the upcoming year. The best way to start? A prayer for Jewish joy, written in community. We asked Kveller readers to contribute to this meditation. When you need a quick hit of Jewish joy, remember these words from the Kveller community:
This year
May we find Jewish joy in unexpected places
Like a holiday endcap at the grocery store
With the right food for the right holiday.
This year
May our kindness expand our human experience
in beautiful and unexpected ways.
This year
May Jewish grandparent names skyrocket in popularity
(may we all get to snuggle a baby Esther
or a baby Reuven).
This year
May you build the Jewish family you want and deserve
Or find the blessing in the one you have
(And may you remember to call your mom
or your dad
or your Aunt Judy).
This year
may the fine people at the Hallmark channel
make a Hanukkah movie that isn’t bad
But that also isn’t good
Because there’s Jewish joy in complaining.
This year
May one thousand more pickle-flavored products be released
May bourekas continue to trend
And may the challah come out perfectly every time.
This year
May we recreate the camaraderie of a Loehmann’s dressing room
The promise of a bat mitzvah dance floor
And the delight of a preschool class dipping apples in honey.
But not the stickiness
May we never feel the stickiness.
New Year, More Kveller. A few dollars keeps Kveller joyfully, honestly free.
