The summer has come to a close, the kids are back in school and Rosh Hashana is just around the corner.

Most years, when I begin thinking about Rosh Hashana, my mind goes immediately to the theme of coronating God as King through the sounds of the shofar. These ideas are especially emphasized in the Musaf prayer. There we talk about accepting His dominion over us, submitting ourselves to His will, standing before Him in judgment, and acknowledging that He and He alone is the One who rules over the world.

But this year, I can’t stop thinking about something else.

Zichronot. Remembrance.

In the middle section of the Musaf Amidah on Rosh Hashana we speak about God’s memory:

“You remember the deeds done in the universe and You recall all the creatures fashioned since earliest times. Before You all hidden things are revealed and the multitude of mysteries since the beginning of Creation, for there is no forgetfulness before Your Throne of Glory and nothing is hidden from before Your eyes. You remember everything ever done and not a single creature is hidden from You.”

I’ve said these words countless times but this year I am suddenly struck by how incredible they are.

Because even though human beings forget – God doesn’t.

Memory is one of the things that makes us who we are as people. It reminds us where we have been, the choices we have made, the relationships we have built, the journeys we have taken, our accomplishments, our mistakes, our failures and our successes.

Through memory, I can return to formative places I haven’t been in decades. I can curl up again on the couch in my parents’ bungalow in the Catskills. I can walk through the rooms of my childhood home. I can wander the streets of Great Neck where I grew up. I can be back davening in my father’s shul.

I can remember people I loved. I can think about things I said and did that make me proud. I can cringe about the decisions I regret. I can return to events that I want to reexperience.

Until it isn’t –........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)