Happy New year from UJS!

Human memory works in odd ways, if you think back to when you were two; can you remember ever being younger? Can you even explain how you became who you are? How your interests developed? Or remember how all your friends became your friends? Probably not. But the exercise of remembering, learning and changing is a constructive one; it is the increasingly important process of learning the lessons of the past in order to act differently in the future.
We tend to view things at this time of year, in a deterministic or fatalistic way. What is incredibly empowering about Judaism is that actually we have the power to change this 'fate'. We can ensure that the outcome we want is the outcome we get, how often do we actually get this chance outside of this context? The chance to repent for our wrong-doings and effectively wipe the slate clean.

On campus, this is certainly not the case. Despite working as hard as you possibly can, is willing to achieve a 2:1 a recipe for always getting one?

With regard to the backlash against Israel in recent years the outcome that we want, is not usually the outcome we get. The crux of the issue, however, as the new Israeli Ambassador so eloquently put it, is not how much power you have, but how you use it.

Although Jewish students will always be a minority group on UK Campuses, their voices have the real power to be heard. As we have seen this week, with the NUS motion as well as the constant battle against Hate Speech, it is a reminder that it is possible to engineer change.

This Rosh Hashanah, we all have the chance to decide the direction our lives are to go in this coming year. Although this tends to fall into two broad categories of good or evil, we know that most things in life are not just black or white, but have many shades of grey. No one can predict what this year will bring, but we would do well to remember the words of Herzel, 'if you will it, it is no dream.'

Rosh Hashanah represents the empowerment of the Jewish people. Don't let this year be a year when you stand and observe, but take the bull by the horns and make sure that what you want is what you get.

Chag Semach and Shana Tova from all of us here at UJS and we hope to see you all this year on campus!