The Year 5775

As of Rosh Hashanah, we have entered the year 5775. Out of all the years in history, this specific one— this number 5775—appears in the Zohar and in the Torah. So what’s the significance?

Interestingly, the numerical value of 5775 is the same as that of the Hebrew words “sha-ah ata,” which means “now is the time.” The point is that now is the time to create a difference in the world, in ourselves, and in the people around us. So how are we going to do this? What is the path to peace?

As I mentioned on Rosh Hashanah, we don’t need to transform ourselves into angels or righteous beings overnight. No, the idea is that we practice exhibiting a slight change in our behavior and consciousness towards others by extending the force of kindness.

Now you may think that this doesn’t sound so hard. Being kind is easy, right? And it’s true: It is nice and comfortable to be kind. Well, most of the time. Except when it’s not, and let me tell you, the moment when it is not easy being kind is when it counts.

If there is one thing we can all agree on, it is that Light doesn’t come from Light; Light comes through darkness. And the darkness we need to overcome is the darkness of our anger, the darkness of our ego, the darkness of the pursuit for ourselves alone. To counter this kind of darkness, we need to come up with a strong force of Light, and one of the strongest sources of Light is the kindness that manifests when we push beyond our comfort zone to give a little more than we expected.