On the Yamim Noraim we make a balance of the year gone by.

    During the Yamim Noraim we take stock of the year that has just passed.  We revisit our roots, we take the courage to face the adversities of life, upright like the trunk of a tree, we raise our arms and our faces to the sky, as if they were branches in the wind, and we look forward to a better year, one in which we can harvest the fruits of our labors.

    During the High Holidays, we are like trees.

    During these Yamim Noraim we have learned from the Tamar of the judge Deborah, from the Eshel of Abraham Avinu, from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, from the tree of Gopher wood with which Noah built his ark, from the Kikaion of Jonah, from the bush of Moses which burned and did not turn to ashes, and from the Tree of Life.

    We  learned from the Tamar of the judge Deborah, and we said that when one hurts someone hurts himself, but when we smile and caress our soul smiles and muffles up of joy.

    We learned from the Eshel of Abraham Avinu, and we said that to stretch out our hand to a man who needs it dignifies us as Jewish and as humans, it makes us feel closer to G-d.

    We spoke of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, that reminds us that we are the ones who decide how we want to live our lives.  We must stop looking around and take reins of our life, being responsible for it. 

    We spoke of the tree of Gopher which Noah used to build the ark, and we said that each one of us have within us the trees of Gopher to build our own ark and choose a new direction for this new year just beginning.

    We talked of the Kikaion of Jonah, and we said that we all have the blessed opportunity to continue building a community that gives us the possibility to live like Jews, proud to belong to this wonderful people.

    We learned of Moses' bush, which burned but was not consumed, and we said that there are so many missions as people in the world, and when we carry them out, we satisfy our souls and make our contribution to bettering the world.

    We learned of the Tree of Life, and we said that in our memories live the beloved ones we remember today.

   On these Yamim Noraim we learned about some of the trees of our Jewish tradition.  May G-d bless us, that we may be inspired in His millennial wisdom and apply it to live more fruitful, genuine, and meaningful lives.