by Josh Forman, Head of Science, Education & Outreach
I find Rosh Hashanah, and the 10 days running up to Yom Kippur, to include a lot about introspection. I appreciate that this is a key focus of the festival, with ideas such as Tashlich and Teshuva. This is made all the more difficult, due to the particularly busy time of year.
In my previous career as a teacher, the run up to Rosh Hashanah has always been incredibly hectic. Two new years starting at roughly the same time! Getting everything ready for the term, getting all new policies up to date, getting to know new classes, students and staff. It’s hard to take time to think about anything other than the necessary. This is the same for parents – supporting children getting used to new teachers, the worry that comes with different classes, anxiety about the return to school.
And then bam! We’re in the high holy days.
I’ve also found this period to be more effective on the ‘New Year’s Resolutions’ type of idea. The resolutions that come with a new year are rarely more than superficial ‘do more exercise’, ‘eat healthier’ etc. However, when framed around Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, it’s a far deeper thought process. It’s far more, ‘who am I?’, ‘what kind of a person am I?’, ‘what kind of person do I want to be?’. This, I feel, counts double with much of the news currently in the press that directly relates to the Jewish community.
This introspection normally leads me to the concepts of being proactive. To be positive. To actually do something that makes myself and the world around me better.
Since working within the Jewish charitable sector, and coming from a scientific/genetic perspective, I find myself thinking about this idea in a slightly different way.
I am doing something proactive. ‘Why am I doing this?’, ‘How do I do it better?’, ‘What do I need to consider about myself?’. I want to help save as many children, as yet unborn, as possible from suffering from Jewish genetic disorders. I want to save parents from the pain and guilt of this process. I want BRCA carriers to know their genetic status and be able to be proactive in avoiding developing breast cancer, prostate, pancreatic or ovarian cancer. Who wouldn’t want these things?
We’ve also recently heard from the new government (regardless of what you may think of them) discussing the idea of preventative medicine. i.e. to stop people getting ill.
Jnetics is already doing this. Both aspects of Jnetics’ work – the Recessive Screening Programme and the NHS Jewish BRCA Testing Programme are preventative medicine. Jnetics and the Jewish community are being proactive. The whole point of these programmes is that we stop people getting ill, before they get ill. We stop children being born with devastating diseases. We give people the tools to make these proactive choices for themselves.
I’m incredibly proud of the work that Jnetics does, and incredibly proud to be a part of it. We have the tools to be proactive, so why wait around, ignore it and suffer the consequences?
For more information on Jnetics’ screening programmes, visit https://www.jnetics.org/getting-tested/
Feel free to contact us with any questions at info@jnetics.org
