Rosh Hashanah 2026

Dear clients and friends:

I hope this letter finds you, your loved ones, and your friends in good health and in great spirits! This month brings us two holidays just a few days apart. The first one is our nation’s Labor Day and the second is the Jewish New Year of “Rosh Hashanah.” As such, I wanted to take just a few moments of your time to share with you what these different holidays have in common!

Labor Day traces its roots back to 1882, when ten thousand workers marched through the streets of New York City. Twelve years later, in 1894, President Grover Cleveland signed it into law as a national holiday. But why were all these people marching? Well, they wanted to unite and inspire workers everywhere and demand safe workplaces and better working conditions. They wanted everyone to know that human beings are worth more than just the number of hours that they worked.

And this is interesting, because the Labor Day idea is not a new one! In fact, 3,300 years ago at Mount Sinai, G-d gave us the Torah (first five books of the Hebrew Bible) and its fourth commandment was this: six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath, and on it you shall not do any work. Now, think about it, isn’t it extraordinary that in the ancient world, where the rich and powerful lorded over the poor and weak, there was a law that gave a rest day to every single person? I think this was the first labor protection law in human history, and it protected everyone!

And here’s another thing I didn’t know until recently: in America, the first five-day workweek was actually instituted in 1908 by a New England cotton mill which closed its doors on Saturdays too, so that its Jewish employees could observe the Sabbath without having to give up their Sunday. How about that? Our American weekend that we all love so much, has a part of its heritage dating back to the ancient commandments from Mount Sinai!

Which brings me to the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah, whose name literally means the “Head of the Year.” Jewish tradition says that on this day, our livelihood, our health, and our life for the coming year are all determined. It is when we put down our work tools and enjoy celebrating our heritage. And this year, there is another beautiful aspect to it, which is that the first day of Rosh Hashanah falls on the Sabbath! This is a rare event when we can enjoy “rest upon rest,” so this year, we will wait until the second day to blow the ram’s horn “Shofar” to signify the sound of G-d’s coronation on earth.

And so, my friends, please enjoy your Labor Day and fire up that grill. Then, a few days later, dip your apples in honey to signify the sweetness of the Jewish new year and say to each other the traditional greeting of “l’shana tova,” which means, here’s to a good and sweet year ahead!

Thank you so much for your friendship and fellowship!