It is customary at this time of year to offer each other the warm and hopeful greeting, “Shanah Tovah,” wishing everyone a good and sweet new year.

But this year feels different. This year, the words feel hollow. They fall desperately short of the reality within which we are living. How can we joyously celebrate? How can we wish someone a Happy New Year when our hearts are heavy with grief, when our world seems to be unraveling, and when the future feels so uncertain, when we are literally at war?

This year we are confronted with the reality of an entire year of war, destruction and tragedy. We have watched as violence has escalated in Israel and Lebanon, as people have been murdered, held hostage, and faced the constant threat of death. The suffering we have witnessed is overwhelming.

And it is not just in the Middle East — communities around the world have been shaken by acts of Jew hatred at a level we haven’t seen since the Holocaust. Some of us have personally experienced acts of hate, as well as our children and grandchildren, friends. It has been a year where we have woken up, day........

© Santa Clarita Valley Signal