In years past, I have often struggled with finding meaning during this complex time of the Jewish year. In the days approaching Rosh Hashana, I found myself preoccupied with the difficult task of figuring out what I wanted my goal to be for the new year. I had often felt that there was nothing that stood out to me as something deeply meaningful that I should dedicate an entire year to improving on. This has been my predetermined notion surrounding Rosh Hashana for many years, and I am so glad I was wrong.

This Rosh Hashana, something inside me had changed. A light within myself had been lightened not by my own doing but by the seemingly innocent and unknowing actions of a fellow BBG in my region. Two years ago, I started dedicating this time of year to learning a Torah portion to chant in front of the congregants at my temple, in hopes of feeling a spiritual connection to this time of year.

Unfortunately, to my surprise, this did not deepen my faithful connection to this extra holy time of year until this year. This year, I read Torah alongside a BBG. To many, this might not seem to be a faith-altering event, but to me it was just what I needed. In years past, when I read Torah, the only thought that occupied my mind in the minutes leading up to me chanting were the words of my aliyah playing over and over again in my mind, to ensure that I was going to be perfect so as not to make a mistake and fail the honor that I had been given of reading.

This fellow BBG, however, changed that thought in my mind. She read Torah as a symbol to herself that she was actively working on strengthening her faith in the year to come and as a sign of honor between her and her faith. She showed me something so profoundly meaningful it is hard to put into words: the sisterhood of BBG.

From that moment, I realized the true power that sisterhood can have on the lives of thousands of BBGs. In that moment, all of my fears disappeared, all of my stress evaporated, and the only thought on my mind was standing up on the bima next to my fellow sister BBG.

As the shofar sounds and we enter this new year together as BBGs, I’m reminded that growth does not always come from within, but from those who stand beside us. This Rosh Hashana, I discovered that the true beauty of the holiday lies not only in reflection but in connection to those who surround us. Through the sisterhood of BBG, I’ve learned that we are never alone on our journeys of faith and friendship. Just as the new year offers us a chance to begin again, our BBG sisterhood offers a constant reminder that wherever we are, and whoever we are becoming, we have each other to lift us higher and light the way forward together.

I wish every BBG a shana tova, a good year full of new friendships, strengthening old ones, and a new year of happiness.