Dear Aviva Residents, Staff, and Families,
There is a story that tells of a Rabbi and his two students. One day while in the Rabbi’s study, one of the students asked to hear a tale of heroism, courage, and strength. At the same time, the other student asked for a story of kindness, compassion, and love. The Rabbi, who loved to tell stories, quickly began to answer the first student, only to be interrupted by the second. To appease the second student, the Rabbi began to tell a different story, only to be interrupted by the first. With a chuckle, the Rabbi said, “Today I am like a man with two partners, one young, the other old. The young partner plucks the man’s grey hairs in an effort to make him look younger. The older partner plucks the man’s black hairs to make him look older. But in the end, the only thing he is bald.”

As a man with little hair, I can certainly relate to the man’s struggle. Yet, throughout the year, we are all the man in the story. We are constantly pulled apart by things we want in our lives. We want to be thinner, but we also want to go out to dinner with friends. We want to be kinder, but our neighbor’s dog just won’t stop barking. So, what is the answer? Are we all destined to be bald? Maybe! The truth is that each of us is striving to find balance, even if it is uncomfortable.

Known as the holiest days of the Jewish calendar, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are the religious equivalent of a reset button. In the days leading up to these holidays, we reflect on our actions over the past year. On Rosh Hashanah, we celebrate a new year and all of the excitement that comes with it, yet on Yom Kippur, we are made somber as we seek forgiveness for our transgressions. I have always found the High Holidays a fantastic time to take a deep breath and reset for the coming year. To remind myself that we are all human and that finding balance is never easy. What is the most important lesson for the High Holidays? Giving yourself grace means remembering that we are expected to make mistakes. It is how we fix those mistakes that make all the difference.

As we quickly approach the first days of Rosh Hashanah, I invite each of you to think back on the past year. Not to memorialize your mistakes or transgressions but instead to remember what you did in the moments after. Were you kind in the face of frustration? Welcoming in the face of uncertainty? We need to carry those moments of grace into the new year. Together, if we can celebrate those moments of good, our community will be far stronger for it.

On behalf of the entire Aviva team, I wish you a happy and healthy new year. From my wife Lori, son Matt, and son-in-law Chance, the Solomon family wishes each of you a Chag Sameach, and may this year be filled with joy, celebration, and growth.

Shana Tova,

Jay Solomon
President & CEO
Aviva Senior Life

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