A Year of Peace

Tonight Jews all over the world will come together to welcome in our new year – Rosh Hashanah. It is a sweet occasion and we eat apples and honey to celebrate. But Rosh Hashanah is also the start of 10 days of introspection that culminate in Yom Kippur, a day of fasting and supplication that climaxes with the final blow of the Shofar, the ram’s horn, that signifies the closing of the gates of Heaven.

Zelig Golden of Wilderness Torah

There are three levels of sins and forgiveness: the sins against G-d, those against our fellow humans, and those against the world.

Heavy stuff, but it is a great time for some soul-searching and an opportunity to mend bridges with people we care about. But what I love about this period is that, no matter how badly you have sinned against G-d, if you are genuine in your repentance, then you get a clean slate to start the new year.

However, you cannot ask G-d’s forgiveness for sins against your fellow men and women. Only the person you have wronged can forgive you and you need to approach them with a genuine desire to confess and be forgiven – tweets don’t count.

Finally, a person cannot find peace with G-d unless it is found with our fellow humans, and peace cannot be attained within, unless there is peace in the world. There is something very humbling and holistic here. Above all, it is something very powerful.

There is so much to learn from this period of time. But it is also a time to simply celebrate life and our relationship with one another. Michelle Citrin, a great singer, sums it up in her song: Gotta Love Rosh Hashanah

Wishing all my Jewish friends a Shana Tova, and to everyone a year of health, happiness and peace.

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Alon Shalev is the author of the 2013 Eric Hoffer YA Book Award winner, At The Walls of Galbrieth, Wycaan Master Book 1 and The First Decree, both released by Tourmaline Books. Ashbar – Book 3 – is due for release in October 2013. Shalev is also the author of three social justice-themed novels including Unwanted Heroes. He swears there is a connection. More at http://www.alonshalev.com and on Twitter (@elfwriter).

The Elephant in the Pharmacy

Elephant Pharmacy was an exciting discovery to a holistic immigrant to Berkeley. I bought my herbs in bulk and made up my own favorite (and affordable) herbal formulas. We often bought gifts there, able to find unique, cool, and environmentally friendly gifts.

Life moves on. Shattuck Avenue ain’t what it used to be and Gourmet Ghetto is a rare night out for many of us as we need to watch our wallets if we are to see out the month.

What is tough to accept is that the site of Elephant Pharmacy will be replaced by a Walgreens. Now let me confess that I shop at Walgreens and I understand why it is a more useful addition in these troubled economic times. I don’t even think that it is the fact that we have at least three Walgreens along Shattuck Avenue, and a couple of CVS’s to boot.

It is the fact that we have lost another local business and one that was so…Berkeley. It is the fact that you could have an introductory lesson in Tai Chi, yoga, or any other of a number of disciplines that help improve one’s health. It is the free lectures, the comfortable seating while you peruse their books, and the knowledgeable staff that were there to help. They also, by the way, sold allopathic medicines as well.

The US economy is reeling for a number of reasons. One is the $1 trillion+ sickness industry (please don’t call it health – no one who is healthy uses it). People are not just sick, they are bankrupting themselves when they get sick, and there is a direct correlation between sickness and economic production and innovation.

If this country is ever going to create a sustainable economy, it will need to get healthy. For this reason, we need more Elephant Pharmacies and less Walgreens.

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Alon Shalev is the author of The Accidental Activist (now available on Kindle) and A Gardener’s Tale. He is the Executive Director of the San Francisco Hillel Foundation, a non-profit that provides spiritual and social justice opportunities to Jewish students in the Bay Area. More on Alon Shalev at www.alonshalev.com