It so happens that thanks to calendar scheduling and when Passover fell, our annual Dessert Bake-Off for 2005 ending up being the last Shabbat of the Spring 2025 semester before Finals Week. I thought about the significance of this, and realized, like dessert does for a meal, it’s about ending off (not only meals but also semesters) on a positive, good, sweet note!
There’s a Hebrew/rabbinic expression: “Mesaymim B’Tov”. End off on a good positive note. You see this (most of the time) with Haftorahs. Sometimes the text itself can be quite harsh or intense, but the closing line is a positive, upbeat one. Yes, there are exceptions (including the Haftorah for Tazria-Metzora this very weekend) but it is still a rule that we end off on a positive line. Don’t close the meal with savory, close it with sweet.
Even the Books of the Torah end off with uplifting end-lines. Rebbe goes through a rich explanation why the first book “Bereishis” ends off with the words that Joseph was placed in a coffin in Egypt – why would Torah end off the whole book on that note? And Rebbe goes on to explain how Joseph’s (temporary) burial in Egypt, was indeed a symbol of reassurance and uplift and connection to the Jewish people remaining in Egypt (for generations – until the Exodus and redemption). But the rule is that we endeavor to end off on a good note.
You see this a lot in the Rambam (Maimonides)’s great work: The Mishne Torah. Most of the text is informative, dry and technical, it’s a legal text so that’s the nature of it. But at the end of a large unit, when he closes out a subject, Rambam often waxes poetically, with a meaningful, upbeat, uplifting message at the closing of a unit or one of his 14 books that comprise the Mishne Torah. We once did a class titled “Rambam Ends” which collected these rich passages of spiritual uplift in an otherwise strictly legal text.
This can be a valuable lesson for many areas of life. When you close a chapter of life, be it a semester, a job, a time with friends, a stage in life – try to find ways to close it out on a positive note. Sometimes we take leave of friends with mixed feelings, it may be that all of them are valid, but perhaps this can remind us to end off on a good note.
Each and every day can be this way. Our days are often filled with ups and downs, accomplishments and frustrations, good news and bad news, wasted time and fulfilled time, but there can be healthy emotional value to end the day on a positive note regardless. Lying in bed, think back to the good aspects, focus on highlights, and perhaps how we can make them even better tomorrow.