Rosh Hashanah is the start of a ten-day period of introspection, prayer, reflection, and forgiveness—culminating with the Yom Kippur fast.

As always, there is symbolism in much of what we do.
On Rosh Hashanah, we will eat apples and honey; apple slices dipped in honey represent our desire for a sweet year ahead.

We eat Challah, baked into braids, and shaped into round loaves to symbolize the circular nature of our interweaving lives, reminding us that we are all connected to each other in many ways.

The Torah says the first day of the seventh month—which begins at sunset—shall be “a sacred occasion,” a “day of rest and remembrance, commemorated with loud blasts.”

Originally, Rosh Hashanah was a one-day holiday. Rabbis added a second day to insure we were following the biblical commandment on the correct day. Orthodoxand Conservative Jewish communities generally observe Rosh Hashana for two days in Israel and throughout the world.

In Torah times this holiday, which begins at sunset, did not mark the New Year; Passover was the holiday that marked the beginning of a New Year–in the Springtime.

Like the holiday of Passover, this holiday celebrates freedom and the need for us to be free of the things that enslave us. It gives us all another opportunity to renew our faith in order to make our lives richer and grounded to what is truly important.

One of the foundations of this holiday is kindness. We become kinder when we act in kind and compassionate ways.
This doesn’t mean that we ignore crimes and injustices, but it does mean that we try to be sensitive to others; it requires remembering that each one of us—however imperfect we may be on
the outside—is endowed with a soul on the inside.

We are reminded every year at the holidays—and every single day if we really believe what we practice—to be better, to do better, to forgive, to offer forgiveness, and to accept forgiveness.

We invite you to join us this coming Rosh HaShanah for a celebration in the Spirit of the Lord. Guests are always welcome!

“‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you are to have a holy convocation; do not do any kind of ordinary work; it is a day of blowing the shofar for you.

(Numbers 29:1 CJB)