Affirmation of life is the spiritual act by which man ceases to live unreflectively and begins to devote himself to his life with reverence in order to raise it to its true value. Albert Schweitzer, On Receiving the Nobel Prize.
Rav Yitzak Blazer told a parable of a king who disguised himself to mix with the common people. A man sat on a public bench with the king for a long time, but only after the king had left did the man realize who had been sitting next to him. Realizing that he had missed a great opportunity, the man went away saddened. Rav Blazer reminded his hearers that the Days of Awe, the ten days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kipper, are the days of reflection in which all of our deeds, thoughts, and motives are examined in the presence of God, who draws near to us. How foolish to miss so great an opportunity.
To live reflectively is to begin a life of meaning. The German philosopher, Martin Heidegger, reminds us in Being and Time that life has meaning not only because of what is but also because of what might have been or what might still be. Heidegger goes on to describe for us both authentic and inauthentic modes of being, the difference being a measure of how one’s life reflects the dynamic relationship between the actual and the possible. The authentic life is one in which we live in constant awareness of the tension between who we are and who we can become. It is here in the specifically human dimension of self-awareness that meaning is born.
Few of us have a single, defining moment in our lives. For most of us, life is full of meanings. We are lovers and friends, mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, workers and volunteers. Each dimension, each role and relationship adds another layer of meaning. The task of self-reflection is to find the meaning in the moment.
Kairos is the classical Greek term for a time of decision. It carries within itself the idea of irreversible change. Whatever decision is made, whatever direction is chosen, the life of the person or nation will be changed forever. Kairos is the moment of destiny. To live each day as a succession of kairos moments is to reverence life; it is to live fully into the potential that lies in each moment, each decision; it is to live a life of wisdom. The liturgy of Rosh Hashanah reminds us that wisdom is both a response to God and a gift from God: “help us to make it … a year of faith and wisdom to meet the perplexities and perils which may beset us.”
God meets us in the kairos moments and transforms the ordinary into the sacred and raises life to its true value. The seasons and festivals of the year give us pause for self-examination and renewal, but the authentic life reminds us daily of the presence of God and the transforming power of a life lived in response to God. We may begin by repeating the Rosh Hashanah prayer, “We have chosen You. And You have chosen us.” But may we, both Jews and Christians, in this season of the year and all of the days to follow recognize the presence of the king beside us and learn to say, “We have chosen You because You have chosen us.”
