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The most intense period of the Jewish calendar ended last night.ÌýÌýAfter almost a month of festivals, including the Jewish New Year, the Day of Atonement and Sukkot – that’s the one when we live in huts – it’s finally over.ÌýÌýIt’s been exhausting, but absolutely exhilarating.ÌýÌýI’ve spoken dozens of times, led countless services and I’ve done my best to inspire and entertain the members of my wonderful community throughout.ÌýÌýInitial feedback suggests that it’s all been worth it. Some might be wondering what happens on the day after, apart from clearing up the mess and trying to get some sleep.ÌýÌýIt’s a bigger question that applies not just to rabbis finishing their busy season, but to the day after any major life event that’s preceded by a major build-up.ÌýÌýIt could be a wedding, a significant birthday, leaving a job.ÌýÌýWhat does the next day look like?ÌýÌýHow do we deal with the lack of focus once it’s all over without becoming deflated?

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Ancient Jewish tradition helps us to think about this.ÌýÌýIt names the day after the festivals are over: Isru Chag, words from psalms that mean something like ‘tie the festival’.ÌýA modern alternative might be ‘hard-wire the festival’.ÌýÌýIt’s an odd phrase with a simple message – the festival season was never intended to fade into nothing more than a distant memory.ÌýÌýInstead, the Jewish way is to try to ‘hard-wire’ the inspiration, celebration, love and commitment to change of the festival into the day after they finish and into life beyond.

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I believe we feel sad the day after a family wedding or a festival because the excitement of the day has been and gone and there’s nothing to look forward to.ÌýBut it seems to me that weddings and the like are really about celebrating new beginnings – the start of a couple’s married life together or a fresh way of thinking about life after the festivals are over.ÌýÌýBy focusing on beginnings rather than ends, we can ‘hard-wire’ the wedding or festival mindset into daily life. And I’ve come to realise that this was really the purpose of the festivals all along.ÌýThe extraordinary highs of the Day of Atonement or a wedding aren’t sustainable, but they don’t have to be.ÌýEven once they’re over, the moments are hard-wired into our consciousness; a part of us for good.