Fifty years ago, in September 1976, my parents Rabbi Daniel and Esther Moscowitz moved to Chicago to establish the first Chabad Jewish outreach center in Illinois. Until his passing in 2014, my father served as the regional director of Lubavitch-Chabad of Illinois, overseeing the development of what became the Chabad network of over 50 Jewish outreach centers, synagogues, schools and social service programs.

Someone recently asked me how it was possible that Chabad was able to grow as religious participation declined in society. The answer, I believe, lies in a lesson found in the Jewish New Year — Rosh Hashanah — which takes place Sept. 11 to 13 this year.

Rosh Hashanah doesn’t only mark the passage of time. According to Jewish tradition, it falls on the anniversary of the creation of the world, as recounted in the Book of Genesis. However, the Talmud tells us that this date is actually the anniversary of the sixth day of creation, when God formed Adam and Eve. Rosh Hashanah thus does not actually celebrate the creation of the physical world; rather, it celebrates the creation of humankind.

Jewish mystical (Hasidic) philosophy explains that this is to emphasize the preeminent importance of people on this earth. God didn’t create the world to have static and lifeless planetary matter. He wanted creations who could affect and elevate the environment around them. This is achieved through human beings’ actions, thoughts, words and deeds.

Judaism teaches that human beings are not inherently sinful, destructive or a detriment to the world. Rather, each person was placed here to influence the world for good and make it into a place where goodness, kindness and godliness are abundant.

Our sages teach us that the reason God chose to create Adam as a single human being — unlike other species, which were created in large numbers all at once — is to demonstrate that each person is as valuable as the entire world. Every single individual has the capacity to live their mission and attain fulfillment for themselves and for the rest of the world.

This message is perhaps more important today than ever.

We live in a world where it is easy to feel overwhelmed. With so many people and so many problems, it is natural to wonder: What difference can one person really make?

Rosh Hashanah reminds us that every person can make the biggest difference.

My spiritual mentor, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, known as the Rebbe, emphasized the infinite potential of the individual — both as an active force capable of influencing their environment and as a precious recipient of that action. As the leader of the global Chabad-Lubavitch movement, his guiding philosophy was that there are no “small people” and no small moments. Every thought we think, every word we speak and every good deed or “mitzvah” we do for another has world changing potential.

And this is the reason for our growth: The rabbis, “rebbetzins” and other organizational leaders in our state operate under the assumption that change doesn’t begin with grand initiatives but rather with individual connections and daily interactions.

While society often warns us not to miss the forest for the trees, we must never forget that the forest is actually a collection of individual trees, each one of infinite value.

This Rosh Hashanah, as Jews mark the creation of the first human, we are reminded that one person’s sincere efforts can indeed change the entire world. Instead of going along with the prevailing fatalism, where we are waiting on the world to change, the Jewish New Year reminds us of the difference each one of us can make.

Rosh Hashanah is therefore more than the beginning of another year. It is our annual mindset reboot. It’s a day that teaches us that every person has tremendous potential and that with sincere efforts, we can improve and elevate ourselves, our families, our neighborhoods and even the world.

May we all merit to be written and sealed in the book of life for a happy, healthy and meaningful year.

____

Rabbi Meir Moscowitz is the regional director of Lubavitch Chabad of Illinois and senior rabbi of Chabad of Northbrook.

___

©2026 Chicago Tribune. Visit at chicagotribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.