As December marches on towards the end of the year, I’ve noticed an interesting phenomenon. All sorts of companies are producing “Year in Review” e-mails to remind me of my interactions with them and with others through their platforms.
Favorites
Wondering how many rides you took from a service like Uber or Lyft, or where your most common destination was? No problem. They’ll let you know you took 32 rides to Yitzy’s Pizza and Shwarma (separate entrances and kitchens of course), and that your favorite time of day to go to the airport was 5:13 am.
Want to know how many songs you listened to this year, or what your standing is in fans of Ishay Ribo or Baruch Levine? We’ve got you covered. You’ve listened to your favorite song 629 times! What a year this has been.
Bank Statements
My bank sent me a review for each account. On one I’d sent 23 Zelle payments (that was a tzedakah one) while the other had just 1 payment. Of course, on another account, they couldn’t tell me how many transactions it was; they just went with a dollar amount. How much did your credit score improve? Pay attention! Keep up the good work for the year ahead.
It’s a good thing other businesses don’t do that. Could you imagine getting a note from your dentist? “Hey! What a year you’ve had. You visited us TWICE for cleanings, and had NO cavities! You managed to brush those pearly whites 186 times this year, and flossed FOUR times. You’re well on your way to eating apples with your own teeth when you’re 89.”
Or your dry cleaners, “Let’s take a look in the rearview mirror: You’ve cleaned your suit sixteen times this year. We removed FORTY-TWO cholent stains from your ties, and whitened the collars of your shirts a dozen times to remove that nasty ring! You certainly understand that cleanliness is next to godliness!”
But what’s all the hoopla about? Yes, the businesses are trying to remind you how much you need them, and should continue to patronize them. But the idea of stopping to take stock of your past existed well before any of these companies or practitioners did.
Looking Back
Cheshbon HaNefesh (accounting of the soul) is a key aspect of Jewish life, and you don’t need to wait until the end of the year to do it. We are encouraged to do it daily, but many people do it about as often as the floss their teeth. Elul is a popular time for it, as is Erev Rosh Hashana, or even Erev Yom Kippur. We often don’t take stock until the last possible moment.
But it’s not all about finding mistakes we should regret. What if your year in review read something like this: “Congratulations! This year you got out of bed 300 times when you didn’t want to, to make sure you got to shul to daven. There were 634 instances when you were about to say something that might be Lashon Hara, and 418 of those times you managed to stop yourself before you did!
Your bright smile and cheerful good morning enhanced the lives of 1876 people, and the resulting positivity turned into 25,004 hours of productive work, kind speech, and Shalom Bayis. Be proud of your achievements!”
Account For The Good And Bad
Don’t you think it would encourage you to do more of the good stuff? Wouldn’t that be something nice to review more frequently than once a year? How about if you could get a review daily which let you know the results of the things you did? Then you probably would change your behavior and focus on the rewarding things you did to get the most bang for your proverbial buck.
Every time you say a bracha (blessing) with concentration, recognizing that you’re speaking to Hashem face-to-face and saying, “Blessed are YOU;” that’s right, you’re so close you speak in second person to Him, when you appreciate that, and how He is the Master of the Universe, and showers you with blessing on a constant basis, you are connecting with Him on a hugely personal level.
Imagine if you could see the results of that: the glow of your soul, your impact on others. You’d certainly do more of the same.
That Torah you studied, which impacted your behavior, and shared with someone who was excited to learn something you; that’s yours for eternity! How much of that did you do or would you do when you tallied the results of it?
Take An Account!
Bottom line, a life review is a good thing any time. Daily, monthly, yearly, whenever you can – stop and take stock of what you’re doing. It will help you identify what you want to do more of, and what you want to stay away from. It will show you your achievements and accomplishments and you just may be surprised at how good, wonderful, and powerful you are. Keep it up!
By Rabbi Jonathan Gewirtz
2025 – All Rights Reserved
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