I learned to ride a bike four years ago. I had also learned as a young child, but it turns out that riding a bike is nothing like the adage about never forgetting how to ride a bike. Several decades after I learned for the first time, I worked with a very patient instructor, and I learned all over again.
Very few people knew that I didn’t know how to ride, because it wasn’t something I was proud of, and very few people knew that I really wanted to learn, because I wasn’t sure how it would go. I worried that people would laugh. Since that day in early March 2020 when I learned to ride in a parking lot in Fox Point, I rode over a thousand miles in the remainder of 2020, and I’ve completed three triathlons since then. Nobody is laughing. But as I look toward Rosh Hashanah 5785, this experience of trying something new and scary jumps out at me.
On the first day of Rosh Hashanah, many of us will read in Torah about the birth of Isaac. Abraham and Sarah had all but given up on the idea that they would have a child of their own, and then suddenly God announces that it’s going to happen within the year. Abraham and Sarah each not only laugh about this child of their old age, but they give him a name that references their laughter — and then we read this story each year not only in its place in the annual cycle, but also on Rosh Hashanah when we gather together to celebrate and give thanks for another year.
One of the many things we can learn from this story of Abraham and Sarah is that it’s never too late to try something new. We are so lucky to live in a Milwaukee community that has so many Jewish programs, events and classes, most of which are open to everyone, regardless of membership, affiliation, or, in many cases, background knowledge. We may see a flier for an event that looks fun, but not go because we don’t know who else is going. We might see a class on an email blast that looks fascinating, but not sign up right away because we’re not sure if we can keep up. We might hear of a program that sounds creative and different, but not show up because it’s at a synagogue we don’t usually attend.
Sarah and Abraham laughed when they heard they were going to have a child, because it seemed so incredibly unlikely—and then it happened anyway. What if their fear, their disbelief, their discomfort had kept them from having Isaac? An adult education class or a new museum exhibit is obviously not on the same plane as the birth of a patriarch, but the lessons are the same: Say yes, try something new, and move past the laughter. We’re never too old to enjoy the fruits of our Jewish community. L’shana tova tikateivu—may we all be written in the book of life for a good, sweet new year!
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Rabbi Jessica Barolsky is the spiritual leader for Congregation Emanu-El B’ne Jeshurun.
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