Rosh Hashanah @ MindSay

To all my Jewish Mindsay peeps - L'Shanah Tovah Tikateivu -- Have a happy, healthy and sweet new year.

And now -- an obligatory YouTube video:

... Vancouver,BC, that is. For a "gig" -- to be guest cantor at a synagogue for Rosh Hashanah-- the Jewish New Year.

Now -- I just have to rehearse, rehearse, rehearse. And then get there and rehearse with the choir.

The money wasn't the ideal amount for which I had hoped, but it's still generous.

the biggest thing is that it will be quite far away from my family -- and for a week.  And with the time difference, I'll be calling Av at around 4:30 - 5:00 to say good night.

Great White North -- here I come!  See you in 5768!

So much has gone on the past week or so! As most of you know from Shiny I've been down in Florida with Av visiting my folks. Shines kicked butt leading services for Rosh Hashana, and I am - as I type - anxiously awaiting his return and the call that his flight landed safely.

Some pre-trip issues and anxieties flew down with me, and have (or will be soon) resolved.

But the one thing I know people want to know about was "How was Disney World???" We had a great time. We stayed at the Contemporary and Av loved watching the monorail go through and around the hotel. Our room had a killer view of the Magic Kingdom. We arrived with the car literally covered in lovebugs (it was quite disgusting - like black snow). We hit Disney-MGM studios as soon as we arrived and the look on Av's face when he saw Bear in the Big Blue House and all his friends in person on stage was just priceless.

The next day we started with a character breakfast. My dad was thrilled at meeting the characters. Avi not so much. When Goofy came over, Av slid under the table and hid. At the Magic Kingdom, we actually got there to see the fanfare and hoo-hah that the do to open the park in the morning - I didn't even know they did that. For Av it was all about trains and things that move. The Tomorrowland Transit Authority (twice), The Indy Speedway (twice - "Mommy! I'm driving on the Beltway!"), Jungle Cruise, and countless rides on the steam engine train that loops around the park. No character greets, so that was good.

The parks were not that crowded and we didn't have to wait in line for a single ride (or if we did it was for one cycle). FastPass was even shut down for most every ride as well. If a sign said "10 minute wait" for the standby line, usually that just meant how long it would take to get from the entrance, through all the curvy twistys barriers and the pre-show. For each parade we walked right up 10 minutes before and found a primo spot up front. Av parked in his stroller with a frozen snack and we were right on. Of course literally seconds after the parade passed us by in the Magic Kingdom, the sky opened up and we got drenched for about 5 minutes before it stopped again. fun!

But the best part of the day? Snuggling in bed with Av after the end of a long day, watching Cinderella's castle change colors, and then watching the Magic Kindgom fireworks from inside our room, in bed in jammies - with him falling asleep happy thinking that Cinderella did that whole show just for us.

Pictures coming when I can download them, Shiny just called - his flight landed safely and he's on his way home.  To the M.O.T. - Gmar Chatimah Tovah and may you have an easy fast.

socKs told me that someone came up to her yesterday, outside of the Rosh HaShanah services, and told her that I should consider being on American Idol.

She smiled and mentioned that I'm too old for the show.  She didn't mention that I didn't want to risk going through life with a Justin Guarini complex.

But still -- it made me feel good. I think I did a good job thus far. Hopefully I'll do even better in a week when I fly back down for Yom Kippur.

Rosh Hashanah Level: Basic

...In the seventh month, on the first of the month, there shall be a sabbath for you, a remembrance with shofar blasts, a holy convocation. -Leviticus 16:24

Rosh Hashanah occurs on the first and second days of Tishri. In Hebrew, Rosh Hashanah means, literally, "head of the year" or "first of the year." Rosh Hashanah is commonly known as the Jewish New Year. This name is somewhat deceptive, because there is little similarity between Rosh Hashanah, one of the holiest days of the year, and the American midnight drinking bash and daytime football game.

There is, however, one important similarity between the Jewish New Year and the American one: Many Americans use the New Year as a time to plan a better life, making "resolutions." Likewise, the Jewish New Year is a time to begin introspection, looking back at the mistakes of the past year and planning the changes to make in the new year. More on this concept at Days of Awe.

The name "Rosh Hashanah" is not used in the Bible to discuss this holiday. The Bible refers to the holiday as Yom Ha-Zikkaron (the day of remembrance) or Yom Teruah (the day of the sounding of the shofar). The holiday is instituted in Leviticus 23:24-25.

The shofar is a ram's horn which is blown somewhat like a trumpet. One of the most important observances of this holiday is hearing the sounding of the shofar in the synagogue. 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 (I think) 10 seconds minimum. Click the shofar above to hear an approximation of the sound of Tekiah Shevarim-Teruah Tekiah. The Bible gives no specific reason for this practice. One that has been suggested is that the shofar's sound is a call to repentance. The shofar is not blown if the holiday falls on Shabbat.

No work is permitted on Rosh Hashanah. Much of the day is spent in synagogue, where the regular daily liturgy is somewhat expanded. In fact, there is a special prayerbook called the machzor used for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur because of the extensive liturgical changes for these holidays.

Another popular observance during this holiday is eating apples dipped in honey, a symbol of our wish for a sweet new year. This was the second Jewish religious practice I was ever exposed to (the first one: lighting Chanukkah candles), and I highly recommend it. It's yummy. We also dip bread in honey (instead of the usual practice of sprinkling salt on it) at this time of year for the same reason.

Another popular practice of the holiday is Tashlikh ("casting off"). We walk to flowing water, such as a creek or river, on the afternoon of the first day and empty our pockets into the river, symbolically casting off our sins. Small pieces of bread are commonly put in the pocket to cast off. This practice is not discussed in the Bible, but is a long-standing custom. Tashlikh is normally observed on the afternoon of the first day, before afternoon services. When the first day occurs on Shabbat, many synagogues observe Tashlikh on Sunday afternoon, to avoid carrying (the bread) on Shabbat.

Religious services for the holiday focus on the concept of G-d's sovereignty.

The common greeting at this time is L'shanah tovah ("for a good year"). This is a shortening of "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." More on that concept at Days of Awe.

You may notice that the Bible speaks of Rosh Hashanah as occurring on the first day of the seventh month. The first month of the Jewish calendar is Nissan, occurring in March and April. Why, then, does the Jewish "new year" occur in Tishri, the seventh month?

Judaism has several different "new years," a concept which may seem strange at first, but think of it this way: the American "new year" starts in January, but the new "school year" starts in September, and many businesses have "fiscal years" that start at various times of the year. In Judaism, Nissan 1 is the new year for the purpose of counting the reign of kings and months on the calendar, Elul 1 (in August) is the new year for the tithing of animals, Shevat 15 (in February) is the new year for trees (determining when first fruits can be eaten, etc.), and Tishri 1 (Rosh Hashanah) is the new year for years (when we increase the year number. Sabbatical and Jubilee years begin at this time).

See Extra Day of Jewish Holidays for an explanation of why this holiday is celebrated for two days instead of the one specified in the Bible.

List of Dates

Rosh Hashanah will occur on the following days of the Gregorian calendar:

• Jewish Year 5766 : sunset October 3, 2005 - nightfall October 5, 2005
• Jewish Year 5767 : sunset September 22, 2006 - nightfall September 24, 2006
• Jewish Year 5768 : sunset September 12, 2007 - nightfall September 14, 2007
• Jewish Year 5769 : sunset September 29, 2008 - nightfall October 1, 2008
• Jewish Year 5770 : sunset September 18, 2009 - nightfall September 20, 2009

For additional holiday dates, see Links to Jewish Calendars.

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© Copyright 5756-5766 (1995-2005), Tracey R Rich