Today is Rosh Hashana – the Jewish New Year for Years when the date advances and the new Sabbatical year begins. It is one of the holiest days in the Jewish calendar where God records the destiny of all beings in the Book of Life. It is a time for introspection where we look back at our mistakes and make resolutions for the coming year.
In the bible the holiday is called Yom Ha-Zikkaron (the day of remembrance) or Yom Teruah (the day of the sounding of the shofar) because the shofar or ram ’s horn is blown like a trumpet. One of the most important rites of this holiday is hearing the sounding of the shofar in the synagogue to herald the beginning of the High Holy Days – a ten day period from Rosh Hashana and ending on Yom Kippur.
A total of 100 notes are sounded each day. There are four different types of shofar notes: tekiah, a 3 second sustained note; shevarim, three 1-second notes rising in tone, teruah, a series of short, staccato notes extending over a period of about 3 seconds; and tekiah gedolah (literally, “big tekiah”), the final blast in a set, which lasts about 10 seconds.
The customs are to eat apple and honey to signify a sweet year and on the afternoon of the first day empty our pockets into a flowing river, or creek, or spring a practice called Tashlikh (”casting off”), where we symbolically cast off our sins.
We bless each other with the saying “L’shanah tovah tikatev v’taihatem” (or to women, “L’shanah tovah tikatevi v’taihatemi”), which means “May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year,” or L’shanah tovah (”for a good year”).
For my family this is a special time in the year where we get together for the whole day and share our stories and news. We eat a huge meal consisting of three courses and including starters of chopped liver, and egg mayonnaise, chicken soup, tzimmas (an eastern European dish that our ancestors made of potatoes and carrots) chicken, roast potatoes, vegetables, and of course honey cake.
Even though I let go of the Jewish religion a long time ago I really love this festival and its customs. September becomes a special month for me and it is always sunny and warm. It gives me the opportunity to bond with my extended family after a busy summer and a chance for us to take a day off from our busy lives and spend it with each other where we share good food and quality time. I have just come home from a wonderful day of sharing stories and catching up and on this day I always remember how blessed I am to have such a warm and loving family.
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