Shana Tova
Well, the fiery sunset this evening ushered in the Jewish New Year, 5771. There are a lot of customs associated with this, of which I've only ever kept a few.
It's normally occasion for a big family get-together, which is kind of awkward when the only relative I have living within a thousand miles lives right here with me, so that's out. My parents host one every year, and I have gone back to London for it at least once since moving this far away, but I can only go back so many times a year and I was just there in June. The pesky time difference makes it a challenge even to phone in - things like that would have been much easier if I'd moved to Capetown or something.
As usual, there's some symbolic food. The one I've always done (and will eat right after publishing this) is apples dipped in honey - apples because they're in season, and fruit dipped in honey to symbolise the sweet year we hope is ahead. I recently learned that some groups eat fish heads to symbolise the head of the year (which is literally what "Rosh Hashana" means), and some eat round food to symbolise the cycle of the year going round again. I may have to adopt that latter one, because I strongly identify with the circle of the year idea.
As always, there's a more meaningful undercurrent that's often forgotten in the pop-cultural image of the festival. In the case of Rosh Hashana, it's that the festival itself is not of great spiritual significance-more like the secular New Year in the Julian calendar than any religious festival-but it's also the beginning of ten days of repentance. Repentance in Judaism is something quite intense; basically forgiveness is available, but one has to work pretty hard to earn it. I like this concept, so I will try to take it seriously this year, which is not something I've habitually done. The basic idea is that we have 10 days to think over the past year, evaluating not only it but ourselves and our own actions, in preparation for the final accounting on Yom Kippur. It's been an interesting year for me, and one in which a lot of things have gone right for me by luck or by judgement, but it does seem like a good exercise to give more thought to what I did and what I can do better in the coming year.
It's normally occasion for a big family get-together, which is kind of awkward when the only relative I have living within a thousand miles lives right here with me, so that's out. My parents host one every year, and I have gone back to London for it at least once since moving this far away, but I can only go back so many times a year and I was just there in June. The pesky time difference makes it a challenge even to phone in - things like that would have been much easier if I'd moved to Capetown or something.
As usual, there's some symbolic food. The one I've always done (and will eat right after publishing this) is apples dipped in honey - apples because they're in season, and fruit dipped in honey to symbolise the sweet year we hope is ahead. I recently learned that some groups eat fish heads to symbolise the head of the year (which is literally what "Rosh Hashana" means), and some eat round food to symbolise the cycle of the year going round again. I may have to adopt that latter one, because I strongly identify with the circle of the year idea.
As always, there's a more meaningful undercurrent that's often forgotten in the pop-cultural image of the festival. In the case of Rosh Hashana, it's that the festival itself is not of great spiritual significance-more like the secular New Year in the Julian calendar than any religious festival-but it's also the beginning of ten days of repentance. Repentance in Judaism is something quite intense; basically forgiveness is available, but one has to work pretty hard to earn it. I like this concept, so I will try to take it seriously this year, which is not something I've habitually done. The basic idea is that we have 10 days to think over the past year, evaluating not only it but ourselves and our own actions, in preparation for the final accounting on Yom Kippur. It's been an interesting year for me, and one in which a lot of things have gone right for me by luck or by judgement, but it does seem like a good exercise to give more thought to what I did and what I can do better in the coming year.