New Year - Looking Back and Ahead
The month of January gets its name from “Janus,” the Roman god of new beginnings. Janus, according to the mythology, had two faces, one looking backward toward the past and one looking forward toward the future.
The symbolism of Janus intrigued me. And left me wondering – what did each face look like? How did the ancients and more modern artists imagine this two-faced human? In some cases, Janus is portrayed with the same face looking in two directions. But most artists created one older, weathered countenance, looking back on the old with wisdom, and one younger, fresh countenance, looking ahead toward the possibilities of the future.
The concept of human duality isn’t unique to the Romans, of course. In fact, some Jewish texts describe Adam, the Torah’s first human, as created with two faces. Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik, the preeminent modern Orthodox scholar, described one Adam as the ambitious, creative, and self-focused on external achievement, and the second Adam as the internal and focused on ethical living.
All this mythology and literary illusion is intriguing, but what really matters is how we see ourselves today. As we sit here, on the first day of a New Year, on this Janus-ary First, is our view looking backward different than looking forward? Are we more optimistic? Do we have more vigor for the year to come than on the last days of the year behind us?
To say this past year has been trying, at least on a national and global scale, is an understatement. I’ve heard many people describe themselves as exhausted and worn out. I feel it, too. But, perhaps, there is a lesson in Janus. As weary as we feel, it is important to look ahead with vigor and optimism. According to the mythology, Janus brought the past with him wherever he went, but he overcame its weight when looking ahead.
On Havdalah, the Jewish ritual that ends each Shabbat and begins each new week, we have three symbols: a cup of wine, a braided candle, and sweet-smelling spices. The wine marks a moment of transition as elevated and connects it to other past moments of importance. The braided candle reminds us of the connections that bind us to each other. None of us is alone. We have a community of support. And the sweet smell of the spices rejuvenates us to move forward with optimism.
