High Holiday Prayerbook
We're all familiar with magazine and newspaper spreads on the last day of the calendar year. We learn what's in and what's out, who is no longer with us among the famous and the forecast of higher-ups for the year ahead. We note important current events of the year gone by and read the recollections of those in power about the note-worthy happenings in the universe. But, by and large, it's not our universe but that of someone else who is larger and more noticeable and usually has better hair and skin than we do.
And then we get to the Jewish New Year and suddenly we read in our prayers that God notices each and every one of us. Like sheep passing through a small opening in a corral, we each come under theological inspection: "You open the book of records and...the signature of every person is in it." While this may seem terrifying, it is also comforting. It means that we matter, each and every one of us: "You count, number and review the soul of every living being" - not just those who seem to be more special. The message couldn't be clearer. We are each created in God's image. And so each of us must undergo an annual spiritual performance review.
In the world of supervision, we spend time working with people because we care about their development. We believe that everyone has the capacity to improve, and our recommendations are there not only as professional responsibilities but also as a manifestation of the profound belief we have in the capacity for change and our respect for humanity. Otherwise, why bother?
And many supervisors don't bother. They hardly meet the people they supervise, and some barely know them. They think they know enough to make judgments. Or they believe that you leave well enough alone. They either don't care enough, don't feel enough ownership in the job or they don't believe they can make any difference in the performance of someone else (and usually don't believe that they can improve either).
Offices all over the world house two kinds of supervisors: those who invest in people and those who do not.
We have all kinds of images of God in our High Holiday prayers. God is a King and a Father, a Potter and a Judge, a Shepherd and a Witness. God is also the Ultimate Supervisor. God examines our deeds, writes them down metaphorically and recalls that which we forget.
It's this last expression that can be the most frightening. Over time our memories fail us; we don't remember infractions and breeches of trust. We forget the needless gossip we spoke, and the hurt we caused. It all becomes blurry. But reminding us of wrongs shouldn't scare us; it should make us feel genuinely loved.
In a performance reviews dishonesty does damage. When we give someone the false impression that they are doing a great job or failed to deliver in detailed ways we deny them the opportunity for growth and potential promotion. We all know people who have been passed from one job to another because no one had the guts or the integrity to tell them the truth. The book of Proverbs says that if you correct a wise person he will love you, but if you correct a fool he will hate you. We all need feedback. We need people to remind us when we are betraying our best selves, professionally and personally. A colleague of mine often says that the most important thing she learned in her degree in social work is that people crave feedback and generally get too little of it.
Rosh Hashana is our annual performance review in the realm of the spiritual. Did we treat those around us with dignity? Did we care for the most vulnerable? Did we have enough patience with our children? Were we forgiving enough to a spouse? Did we make our colleagues feel good about themselves? Did we show appropriate gratitude to God for the many, many blessings in our lives? We stand, each and every one of us, to be counted. Our deeds are recorded, not to frighten us, but to let us know that we each matter profoundly.
Wishing each of you a year of meaning, health and peace.
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