Rosh Hashanah invites us to look in the mirror. That sounds simple. It is not. It takes courage and integrity to make a true accounting of oneself. In Hebrew, it is called cheshbon hanefesh – an honest appraisal of whether we are fulfilling our potential and living with decency, morality and purpose. What is on track? What needs recalibrating? Where have we grown, and where have we merely grown older?
However, Rosh Hashanah is not primarily about accounting of the individual. Personal reckoning intensifies afterwards, culminating on Yom Kippur. Rosh Hashanah starts the year by raising our sights to the bigger picture – the community and national mission of the Jewish people, asking us to consider our place within it.
It is a time for communal and national accounting. As Anglo-Jewry approaches Rosh Hashanah 5787, this demands no less courage, honesty or soul-searching.
Nearly three years have passed since the horrors of October 7 shook us out of complacency. Thirty-five years have passed since Rabbi Lord Sacks became Chief Rabbi and placed Jewish engagement and continuity at the heart of our communal agenda. He confronted Anglo-Jewry with a question that pierced the soul of our community: “Will we have Jewish grandchildren?” He answered: “Yes, if…”
A generation has passed. We owe it to his memory, to our parents and to our children, to examine more closely how we have answered.
There is much to celebrate. Our schools, shuls, youth movements, Israel experiences and educational organisations are driven by remarkable people. I have been privileged to work alongside many of them throughout these 35 years. Countless young Jews have been inspired, educated and embraced.
But affection and loyalty for our institutions must never prevent us from examining their impact. Outside the strictly Orthodox community, assimilation and intermarriage continue to rise. Antisemitism may temporarily awaken Jewish identity, but hostility alone cannot sustain Jewish life. A Jewish future cannot be built solely on the fact that others hate us. It must be rooted in knowing who we are, why we are here and why our inheritance is worth cherishing and transmitting.
We have reached a point of profound inflection, perhaps even a final opportunity to make changes before another generation drifts irreparably beyond our reach.
This Rosh Hashanah, I would humbly propose a communal commitment to action this coming year. That every institution and initiative receiving communal or philanthropic investment for Jewish education or experience should engage in professional, independent evaluation.
Schools, synagogues, youth movements, Israel tours and outreach organisations should ask challenging questions. What lasting difference are we making? Are those we reach more likely, years later, to live engaged Jewish lives, build Jewish homes, participate in community and assume responsibility for the Jewish future?
This is not an academic exercise, nor an attempt to create crude league tables. Education deals with human beings, not factory outputs. Not everything precious can be measured. But neither can that become an excuse for measuring nothing or allowing educational institutions to avoid honest appraisal.
Rabbi Sacks taught that Judaism is a religion of responsibility. Responsibility means having the courage to face reality, even when it unsettles cherished assumptions. It means investing more in what demonstrably works, learning from what does not, and placing mission and outcomes above institutional comfort.
Rosh Hashanah comes from the root “shanah”, to change and to be changed. We are not condemned to repeat yesterday’s patterns. On the contrary, we are challenged to improve, take account and change the way we have done things. The shofar is not background music to the Jewish calendar. It is the sounding of an alarm. It calls upon us to wake up as a community. Rampant apathy and assimilation abound. Thirty-five years have passed. The facts are far worse than they were then. We cannot be complacent.
Thirty-five years after Rabbi Sacks asked: “Will we have Jewish grandchildren?”, the time has come to answer honestly, collectively and urgently by independently taking stock of what actually works to ensure a vibrant Jewish future.
Our children’s children are waiting.
Rabbi Naftali Schiff is CEO of Jewish Futures
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