Ten Days Of Refection: A Look Back on the Jewish High Holidays

Looking back at the Jewish High Holidays 

The Jewish time period of the Aseret Yamei Tshuva (ten days of repentance) that fall between the holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are a time to embark on reflection of our past year.  These are ten special days out of the year that we put aside to focus on apologies and forgiveness so that we can go into a new year with a “clean slate” in our relationships with ourselves and others.  

We’ve found these 10 days to be extremely cathartic and grounding, so we’ve compiled a list of reflection tips that anyone can use for their own 10 days of reflection. Feel free to modify them in any way you’d like–these are just tips that worked for us! 

Day 1: Write a gratitude log 

Sit down with a cup of tea, put on your favorite playlist, pick up a pen and paper, and start writing a list of the things you’re grateful for. It can be as short or long as you want, but make sure to think about the little things that you have in your life that others may not. There’s so much that we take for granted every single day, and bringing those things into your focus can help reorient you to look at the positives. 

Day 2: Reach out and apologize to those you’ve wronged, and internally forgive those who have wronged you. 

While holding a grudge can make you feel strong, it’s actually one of the most energy-consuming and weakening habits. So try your very hardest to let go of the grudges you hold, even the non-conscious ones that have been festering in your heart. And, reach out and give a real apology to those who deserve one. It’ll make you feel better, we promise!

Day 3: Look at old pictures

We often take or save pictures of the things we once found the most important. But then life goes on, and we forget some of the fun times we had, the screenshots that made us laugh, and the videos our friends sent that made us smile. So go back and take a look at them! That’s what they’re there for :)

Day 4: Make yourself a resolution that won’t be too hard to keep, but will make you feel accomplished

Day 5: Free-write

In twelfth grade, Gila’s English teacher had the class free-write every day. Free-writing is a pretty simple process. You pick a prompt you like, set an amount of time that you plan to write for, and just write. The catch is that you can never stop writing within the timeframe that you set for yourself. No stopping to think, no stopping to add punctuation. Just write. Afterwards, read over what you wrote. Sometimes the lack of thinking can lead to our greatest creative moments. 

Day 6: Find some quotes you like, write them out, and put them somewhere special.

Day 7: Journal about your week/day/month/year–whatever feels right to you! 

Day 8: Make yourself a value grocery list

While this might sound weird, it’s definitely one of the most reorienting things we’ve done. Write out how much “value money” you’re willing to spend. Then assign different values (such as family, health, sleep, friends, baking cookies to destress…) different amounts. The more you care about a particular value, the more “value money” you give it. Do you find that you prioritize just a few things and give them a lot of your time, energy, and thought? Or do you give each one just a little, but care about a lot of values? Do you find that your actions have been reflecting the values you’ve chosen? 

Day 9: Stop and smell the roses, but actually

Go outside to a place you love and take a really good look around, and enjoy the beautiful world we live in!! 

Day 10: Reach out to those who have impacted you who may not know it. 

It always feels good to put a smile on someone else’s face!