Counting the Days

That rustling sound of paper meandering down toward the trash bin is the sound of calendar pages bidding farewell to the old year. They had their day in the sun, and that day has come to an end. They offered many opportunities — for inner growth, for spiritual improvement, for Torah learning — and now they must give way to fresh pages, and to new possibilities.

This is the season of calendar change. During Elul and Tishrei, the calendars for the new year arrived almost daily: pocket calendars, desk and wall calendars, in Herew, English, French, Russian… They were sponsored by butchers and bakers, by yeshivos and day schools and seminaries and charity organizations and orphanages and old age homes. I even have one from an enterprising mortician, cheerily reminding one and all to reserve a plot before “it becomes necessary — and, by the way, wishing everyone a happy new year.” (Apparently oblivious to the fact that if everyone really has a happy year, these morticians will be out of business.)

The daily calendars are most fascinating. The day is over in a flash and the page has to be discarded, engendering sobering thoughts like: What did I do besides eat and sleep this day?  Any Torah study, solid prayer, help to others? Anything worthwhile? Those daily calendars can be somewhat dispiriting or, given the right answers, they can be uplifting. Which one of the two depends largely on us.

There is one positive element in these daily calendars: The next day is always at hand, bright and pristine , a fresh, unsmudged slate that offers promise and renewal.