by Rabbi Mikhail Salita

Rosh Hashanah is not just the Jewish New Year. It is the birthday of Adam, the first human being. But before Adam was created, the animals were already here… first the birds, the fish, the wild creatures… and only then — humanity. As if G-d wanted to remind us: life came before us, and we were born not to own the world, but to care for it.

When Adam opened his eyes, G-d said to him, “Here is the garden, here are the trees and the animals. Take care of them, for besides you, there is no one else who can.” From that moment, our mission was clear — to guard the garden, not to destroy it.

There is a beautiful Midrash. When Adam ate from the Tree of Knowledge, the harmony of the world was broken. Even among the animals, everything changed. The cat became a hunter, the mouse its prey. The mouse, they say, began to speak lashon hara — gossip — about the cat to Adam. Adam........

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