Where I Stand — Brian Greenspun: A Rosh Hashana greeting

Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2005 | 7:55 a.m.

L'Shana Tovah. Happy Hew Year.

That is the traditional greeting among the world's Jews as we celebrate Rosh Hashana. It is a greeting of hope, of optimism and of promise. And if ever there was a time when hope should be on the rise, optimism strained to the limit and promises fulfilled, this could be it.

Right now it might appear that the world is in quite a fix. Iraq has not turned out the way President Bush told us it would. Israel and its Arab neighbors have not reached the level of peace that was promised a decade ago. Al-Qaida is on the run, broken apart by cooperative military and policing efforts and, yet, still proves deadly on a regular basis. Mother Nature has tested and continues to test the world's ability to cope with natural and man-made disasters. And the level of optimism about the future around the globe is stable at best and, more than likely, heading slightly downward.

So, what else is new?

If you look at the history of the Jewish people and compare it to what confronts us as a world today, you would probably conclude that things aren't all that bad. And you would be right.

That doesn't mean that our life and times should not be a whole lot better, because they should. It means, rather, that there are always challenges from one generation to another, and today's problems, while dramatic and quite dangerous, are still manageable in the grand scheme of things.

That's the optimistic part. The hope part comes with a belief that however we are muddling our way through the global problems with which we are afflicted, we are making progress even though it may not seem that way.

And there is promise.

According to Jewish tradition, Rosh Hashana marks the beginning of the High Holy Days. We start with the celebration of the new year, and we end 10 days later with the observance of our most holy day, Yom Kippur. That is the Day of Atonement in which Jews ask God's forgiveness for our sins and, if we are so forgiven, that we be inscribed in the Book of Life for the coming year.

I can't tell you for certain that we are doing this exactly as we should be doing it, but I can say that since we are celebrating our 5,766th year, then, as difficult as the last five millennia have been for the Jews, we must be doing something right.

The news Monday that Prime Minster Ariel Sharon and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas have rescheduled their on-again, off-again summit meeting to try to get the peace talks moving is not only a hopeful sign but an optimistic one, given the violence that has ensued following the Israeli pullback from Gaza.

For certain, if the world has learned anything about peace efforts in the Middle East, it is that it isn't easy, and as much as people might hope it were otherwise, it ain't going to happen anytime soon. What can happen, though, is that both Israelis and Palestinians can move closer to the time when trust is built sufficiently to allow both sides to take the leap of faith needed for real peace to occur.

Sharon's unilateral withdrawal from Gaza may prove to be that one bold and courageous step on Israel's part that will galvanize responsible Palestinians' will to do what is required to enjoy peace and prosperity with Israel, rather than another generation of bloodshed and misery. It has never been the case nor is it readily apparent today that the Arab countries surrounding Israel, and who profess such love for their Palestinian brothers and sisters, are very interested in securing a lasting peace with Israel. If they were genuinely so interested, I believe peace would be at hand.

But when there is a cessation of violence, there is hope. When the two sides are talking and not fighting, there is a promise of a better life, not only for Israeli children but for the children of the Palestinian people who have lived long enough in the squalor and hopelessness that have been their lot, courtesy of their Arab brothers.

So there is a reason to be optimistic while at the same time understanding what is realistic. The simple truth is that there need to be more people of good will who want peace than there are those who find benefit in the status quo of violence.

The same holds true in this country, and this is where I am charged with being hopelessly optimistic. I do believe there are an overwhelming number of Americans who possess the good will sufficient enough to overcome the partisanship and the bickering and the relentless politics of destruction that have defined our political process for the past couple of decades -- all to the detriment of a growing, prosperous, well-liked and generous United States of America.

So call me old-fashioned. Call me Pollyannish. Call me hopelessly optimistic. But those are some of the traits that this time of prayer and reflection should bring out in all of us. I can hope, can't I?

So, for my Jewish friends and for all people of good will, L'Shana Tovah. May you be inscribed in the Book of Life.