by Sherri Goldman
The High H
olidays, or Jewish New Year, is a time for reflection. Every New Year gives us a moment to look back over the past year to see what was successful and what in our lives can use some improvement. It’s a time of year to give ourselves the opportunity to grow and make ourselves better in all areas of life: family, friends, community, work, etc. For me, the High Holidays is always a time of introspection and meditation, a time for personal planning and goal setting.
Every summer, the Mayyim Hayyim staff gathers at the beautiful Cape Cod home of our 
Vice President, Diane Black, for our staff retreat. It’s refreshing to take time away from the office to form bonds with one another, contemplating our purpose and motives in doing our best work at Mayyim Hayyim. Add in a delicious lunch, walk on the beach, a fun, creative art project, and you have a unique opportunity to talk, work and play. We re-focused and re-energized ourselves as a team – the Mayyim Hayyim Team.
Thinking ahead to the New Year, our staff had the opportunity to spend a lot of time on reflection at the retreat. As Mayyim Hayyim celebrates its ten year anniversary this year, we focused on Sarah From’s Five Questions for New Year’s Reflection, a powerful tool to help us evaluate how we, as a staff and individually, can bring Mayyim Hayyim forward into this New Year and into our next ten years.
Five Questions for New Year’s Reflection
- Looking back over the past year, when were you at your best?
- What has changed within you this past year and what is just beginning to change within you now?
- At the end of this year, what is weighing you down? How can you shift your experience or perception of that which is weighing you down?
- Imagine that it is 12 months from now and you’ve had a fantastic, fulfilling year. How did you make that happen?
- In the coming year, what are the critical areas for your learning and growth? What are your first steps for attending to these areas?
Looking out at the beautiful Cape Cod Bay, I thought about what I could learn in this New Year and decided on ways I could challenge myself personally and professionally. It’s hard to start ascending a new learning curve, but I realized that moving myself forward requires getting out of my comfort zone.
As the High Holidays approach, we can all ask these questions to reflect on the past year and the year ahead. If you can’t meditate on these questions at the beach on Cape Cod, stop by Mayyim Hayyim to reflect in our beautiful garden, art gallery, or in our mikva’ot.
Wishing you peace and joy in the New Year!
Sherri is responsible for managing Mayyim Hayyim’s financial and building management operations. Sherri holds an M.B.A. from Suffolk University and is a registered Notary Public in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Sherri also serves as Treasurer of the Medfield Music Association, supporting music education in the Medfield Public Schools and Treasurer of the Sisterhood at Temple Beth David in Westwood.