Personal Reflection Place Settings for Rosh Hashanah

“On the birthday of the world,
I began to contemplate
what I have done and left undone…”

Can’t get enough of those words—they’ve been running through my head for weeks now. So beautiful, right? They’re the first few lines that appear on these little place setting worksheets I’m sharing with you today, and they’re also the first lines from a really exquisite Marge Piercy poem called “The Birthday of the World.”

The poem is actually about Rosh Hashanah, and—well, you should just read it for yourself; it’s better that way. Here ya go:

On the birthday of the world
I begin to contemplate
what I have done and left
undone, but this year
not so much rebuilding

of my perennially damaged
psyche, shoring up eroding
friendships, digging out
stumps of old resentments
that refuse to rot on their own.

No, this year I want to call
myself to task for what
I have done and not done
for peace. How much have
I dared in opposition?

How much have I put
on the line for freedom?
For mine and others?
As these freedoms are pared,
sliced and diced, where

have I spoken out? Who
have I tried to move? In
this holy season, I stand
self-convicted of sloth
in a time when lies choke

the mind and rhetoric
bends reason to slithering
choking pythons. Here
I stand before the gates
opening, the fire dazzling

my eyes, and as I approach
what judges me, I judge
myself. Give me weapons
of minute destruction. Let
my words turn into sparks.

There’s just SO much to love here.

How she chooses to hold herself accountable (“as I approach what judges me, I judge myself”), the importance she places on the things she’s “done and not done for peace”…I find the whole thing really inspiring.

Especially with the Jewish New Year as the backdrop.

Because…with Rosh Hashanah, I don’t think I speak only for myself when I say that it can be so easy to “repent” falsely or disingenuously. We become laser-focused on fixing those ultra-specific situations in our lives—the “eroding friendships” and “old resentments” that plague our “perennially damaged psyches.” And ultimately, it’s this very constricted, inward-looking process. It can get a little selfish—not always, but sometimes. It starts to be all about us.

Most years, we forget to zoom out and see the bigger picture. At least, I do.

How much have I dared in opposition?
How much have I put on the line for freedom?
Where have I spoken out?

It’s not that those smaller situations don’t matter, or that teshuva and seeking forgiveness from friends and family members shouldn’t be part of our High Holiday experience. Of course it matters. Of course it should.

But those bigger, more universal questions matter too.

Ya know?

Enter…these worksheets!!!!

In my opinion, they’ve got a really nice vagueness that supports both the little stuff—specific, actionable reflecting—and the bigger stuff too.

Then again, I made them.

So you’ll have to take that glowing endorsement with a grain of salt. 😬

In any event! I love the idea of including these on your table as you ring in 5781. Even if it’s just you and your immediate family this year, taking some time to jot down your reflections can be a really nice way to encourage conversation about the holiday as a whole.

You can find the download link along with instructions for printing them right here. When it comes time to cut them to size, I’d recommend using a paper cutter if you have one, rather than scissors; the end result tends to be a little cleaner. But anything works.

If you are trying to go for a fancier-shmancier look, you might also have better luck printing them on thicker paper. Just kinda gives them that something extra.

Or you can back them onto that thicker paper or cardstock after printing them onto regular printer paper.

And since I know I’ll get some questions about those pencils…you can find similar ones here! I bought them about a year ago, actually, but they felt like such a perfect fit for the rest of the tablescape, so I dug them up for the occasion.

Last but not least, I have to recommend this Marge Piercy book. It’s phenomenal—filled with Jewish-focused poetry for just about every holiday and occasion and everyday experience under the sun.

And as always, if you end up using these, tag me on Insta! I love seeing what you come up with and how it all comes together in your own home.