While different countries and states have different frequencies of mandating vehicle inspections, many prescribe an annual inspection. Once a year, you need to take your car to an inspection facility where they typically will run a series of tests and judge its fitness to continue another year on the road.
Are your car registration and insurance up to date? Does the car brake well? Is there any obvious damage to the undercarriage or are there previously unnoticed fluid leaks? Are the various lights working? Do you have the requisite safety equipment in the car? And the issue that started the inspection mandate, are your car’s emissions within acceptable limits? If everything checks out, your car is deemed safe to drive and you get permission to continue driving it for another year.
This theme aligns well with the traditions of the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashana – this year on Sep 23 and 24, starting on the evening of Sept 22 – all Jewish holidays start on the evening before – perhaps a topic for a future article).
Rosh Hashana has a number of concurrent themes.
One theme is to commemorate the creation of the world and the Creator. God is the one who got creation going and at least once a year we should acknowledge that in a pronounced way. That belief is taken a step further and we declare that God is not only the Creator, but also basically King of creation and we are His grateful subjects. Crowning God as King on a yearly basis reinforces that relationship of King and Subject. However, the relationship has two sides. We as subjects need to demonstrate loyalty, commitment and obedience. However, God as King, also implies that He is looking out for us. Ultimately, we believe that God wants what is best for each and every one of us and we lean on His attribute of Mercy while accepting that the world also runs on the attribute of Justice.
Understanding that God is both King and Judge leads to the next theme of Rosh Hashana and this period and that is one of introspection (and the connection to vehicle inspection). We are meant to take a step back from our day-to-day lives and inspect our lives in the context of the last year.
This introspection can parallel some of the activities of the vehicle inspection. Did we fulfill our various expectations and commitments (registration and insurance)? Did we demonstrate self-control (brakes)? What in our lives, in our actions, in our relationships is damaged and needs repair (undercarriage review)? What good initiatives have leaked out of our lives (fluids)? Are we following proper safety practices whether it’s physical, mental, social or emotional for ourselves and our dependents (lights, safety equipment)? Are we careful not to contaminate our environment with foul inputs, in what we say, in what we do, in how we act (emissions)?
The highlight and the biblical command of Rosh Hashana is to hear the blowing of the Shofar (a ram’s horn). The sound the Shofar makes is a uniquely spiritual sound. In the right environment it will “wake” the spiritual side of a person. One of the suggested effects is to wake a person from their spiritual slumber and ask them to look inwards, to think deeply.
One of the more moving prayers during the High Holidays liturgy of both Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur is called Unetane Tokef. There we wonder as to the decree God will pass during these Days of Judgement for the upcoming year. Who will live and who will die? Who will be healthy and who will be sick? Who will be rich and who will be poor? Who will succeed and who will fail? We acknowledge that all is in God’s hands, but that He judges us, in part, based on our actions, based on the decisions we make in our life. In general, when we do good, we should be rewarded. When we do bad, we suffer (I’m not getting into the ancient theological discussion as to why bad things happen to good people – perhaps when I think of an automotive connection).
At the end of that morose liturgy, we declare that repentance and prayer and charitable deeds will remove any harsh decrees.
Perhaps unintuitively, while it is a day where our judgement for the year begins, it is also a day (two days really) of celebration. We have festive meals and wish each other a good year, or more literally “a good writing and signing” – meaning our decrees for the year should be written and confirmed for the best.
There is a tradition at the evening meals to have apples dipped in honey and wish each other a good and sweet year, as well as other symbolic foods that engender other blessings for the year.
May we all pass our annual divine inspection with flying colors and may it be filled with blessings for the coming year.
