JEWISH COMMUNITY CELEBRATES
NEW YEAR
The Jewish community will inaugurate the Jewish New Year with the celebration of Rosh Hashanah (Roshe ha-sha-NAH). Beginning this year at sundown on Friday, September 22 and observed through Sunday, September 24, the High Holiday of Rosh Hashanah begins a 10-day period of repentance and spiritual reflection. It is a biblically-ordained Holiday (Leviticus 23:23-25) referred to as the Day of Judgment.
In Jewish tradition, Rosh Hashanah marks the anniversary of the birthday of the world, 5,767 years ago, and is the day when humans are judged according to their actions during the past year. Rosh Hashanah is inaugurated with a table ceremony, including such sweet delicacies as apples dipped in honey, sweet Challah, Kugel and Tzimmes, symbolizing the wish for a “sweet” new year. This major holiday is observed with a worship service in the synagogue in which the ram’s horn, or Shofar, is sounded.
The Shofar is one of the most ancient instruments in the world. As biblically mandated, it has been sounded by Jews around the globe on the holiday of Rosh Hashanah for over 3,300 years.
“The sounding of the Shofar is the climactic point of the High Holiday drama,” explained Rabbi Yosef Y Kalmanson, Executive Director of The Jewish Discovery Center in Mason, and spiritual leader at Cedar Village. “In addition to the many rabbinical explanations given for this commandment, Kabalistic sources credit it with softening Divine Judgment and dispelling the forces of evil.”
“The shape of the Shofar is also emblematic of the Rosh Hashanah theme,” the rabbi added enthusiastically. “As the opening of the Shofar is small and limited at the mouthpiece, we come from a place of constraint when communicating with G‑d. But G‑d, in His great kindness, responds to us in an expansive, open way, likened to the open end of the Shofar whence the sound bursts forth. Hence, the shape of the Shofar is at once a recognition of where we are and a resolution to go beyond our comfort zone or boundaries.”
The Jewish Discovery Center (www.JDiscovery.com) offers numerous classes and educational opportunities to study more about Rosh Hashanah and all areas of Judaism and its relevance to the post-modern Jew. They also maintain an online library with numerous interactive resources available on their website, www.JDiscovery.com or by calling 531.DISCOVER (531.3472).
Members of the Jewish community are encouraged to spend more quality time with family and friends on Rosh Hashanah and try to repair any broken relationships that might have occurred during the year.
The traditional Jewish greeting during this Holiday is “Shana Tova” or Happy New Year.
