Three Things We Must Renew Daily

By: Chaim Barzel
September 21, 2022
Dusk view of the Old City of Jerusalem (Shutterstock.com)

We have all made New Year’s resolutions: to eat healthier, to get to sleep earlier, to make up with an old friend, etc. That is because the new year is a time of renewal. A new year means the opportunity to start over, and this year we want to do things right… or at least better.

Rosh Hashanah, the Hebrew New Year, marks the renewal of the world, since it was on this day that the creation of the world was completed. The previous year has ended and new one is about to begin, bringing with it a renewed spiritual reality. God forgives us for our sins, allowing us to renew our relationship with Him. God renews the world and everything in it, and we have the opportunity to renew our own inner worlds as well. 

But not only do we renew ourselves yearly, Sivan Rahav Meir points out that according to the Sages, there are three relationships we must renew daily. If we don’t, God forbid, we are missing out on the purpose of creation.

The relationships we must renew every day are with the Bible, the Land of Israel, and our family. Here’s why:

The Bible

In his goodbye speech to the nation of Israel, Moses says:

The Biblical commentator known as Rashi explains that the reason Moses said that God is commanding the Jewish people to keep His laws “this day,” even though the Torah had been given almost 40 years prior, is because “every day, you shall regard the commandments as if they are brand new, as though you are just today being commanded regarding them!”

How do we do this? The answer can be found at the beginning of the Book of Joshua:

Investment in time to study the Bible is the way to renew your relationship with it. Take time every day, consistently. Even five minutes daily has more impact than 10 hours only once a week. Because it’s about the consistency, the day-to-day. 

The Jewish people’s iron faith and resilience over the millennia come primarily from daily dedication to Bible study. No matter what. 

This faith and resilience are available to anyone who dedicates themselves to their relationship with the Bible. Even if you already enjoy your Bible study, you can reach even higher levels of commitment and understanding by reviewing it consistently, day and night.

The Land of Israel

The next relationship that requires daily renewal is the relationship with the Holy Land. 

The Land of Israel is not just another nice place on planet Earth. It is God’s land, the land He watches over from the beginning of the year until the end of the year. It is the Land that God gave to the People of Israel to live in as a holy nation. Jerusalem, the heart of the Land, is the center of the entire universe.

The whole world is nourished from the divine abundance that emanates through the Land of Israel. The more we are connected to the Land of Israel, even just having fleeting thoughts about it, the more we partake of this abundance. This can be accomplished by reading about the land, supporting worthy causes in the land and, of course, visiting the land.

By keeping the Land of Israel in your life every day, you are renewing your relationship with the Land “from year’s beginning to year’s end,” just as God does. And if you haven’t visited yet, jump on a plane! 

Our Family Relationships

The Ten Commandments teach the importance of family relationships. In the Ten Commandments the focus is on our relationships with our parents, but relationships with children and spouses must constantly be enhanced as well. In fact, relationships with family are so important they must be tended to every day. 

Does there need to be a radical renewal of family relationships every day? No, but we do need to constantly try to improve them. 

For some of us, the renewal could be going out with a spouse, spending quality time with the kids, or calling our elderly parents. For others, it could be as subtle as changing how we think about a family member or holding back from reacting negatively to a comment.

However you try to improve your family relationships, know that putting in the effort is as important as success. God gives credit for the efforts independent of the results.

The so-called civilized world around us is constantly putting down what’s truly important. It devalues the renewal of relationships and tries to fill us with an unending stream of new, but meaningless, things. It actively attempts to ruin humanity’s relationship with the Bible, the Land of Israel, and with family. It wants us to live stale lives with fake newness.

They say the Bible is just an old book, the Land of Israel belongs to the Arabs, and a family is not worth having. But we know these are lies. 

The truth is that renewal is found through nurturing quality relationships. When these relationships are maintained and strengthened, we are living the way God wants. And so, this Hebrew New Year let us make a resolution to focus on renewing our relationships with the Bible, the Land of Israel, and our families.

May we all be blessed with a joyous and meaningful New Year. And may it be a year of renewal and redemption for the entire Creation. Amen.

Chaim Barzel

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