In Hebrew, Rosh Hashanah means “First of the year”, (but you’re probably more familiar with the biblical term, ראש השנה.) Rosh Hashanah is observed the first and second day of the seventh month of the Jewish calendar. And by Jewish calendar I don't mean this:
But, rather, this:
The holiday has four different meanings: it is the Jewish New Year, the Day of Judgment, the Day of Remembrance, and the Day of the Sounding of the Shofar. (And the unofficial start of the NFL season makes five.)
No work is permitted on Rosh Hashanah. (Unless you work for the federal government, local unions, most school districts, major hospitals, accounting firms, county libraries, banks, architecture firms, retail stores, law practices, engineering companies, hotel chains, municipal service industries, major league sports teams, computer software designers, public transportation systems, or the federal post office. Or my company.)
Rosh Hashanah marks the day when Jewish people head to synagogue to examine their past deeds, ask for forgiveness, pray for Israel, and blow on the Shofar. Like this:
The Shofar is a ram’s horn that is blown like a trumpet during the synagogue service, symbolically and figuratively awakening the congregation and warning them of their coming judgment. There are four different Shofar notes of various tones and suspension: the tekiah, the shevarim, the teruah, and the tekia gedolah. I can't really tell the difference though, and basically only can make out the "who-stepped-on-a-duck?" note.
The Mahzor is a special prayer book used for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, which includes the prayer, “Who is like unto you, O God... And You will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.” Followed by the prayer, “Who, like, wrote this book, O God… And can You make the next edition in English. Or at least read left to right?”
On the first night of the two-day celebration, the Rosh Hashanah meal features apples and carrots dipped in honey to symbolize the sweetness of the coming year. Round challah bread is served to symbolize the cyclical nature of the year. And Tongue or other meats from the head of a cow are often served to symbolize the start of the new year. Similarly Round steak or other meats from the butt can be served to symbolize the shitty year you’ve left behind.
Finally, on the second night of the celebration the family goes bowling and my sister orders a ham sandwich from a kosher deli. There you have it. Rosh Hashanah in a nutshell.
(See mom? I didn't forget! And I didn't use Wikipedia at all either...)
But, rather, this:
The holiday has four different meanings: it is the Jewish New Year, the Day of Judgment, the Day of Remembrance, and the Day of the Sounding of the Shofar. (And the unofficial start of the NFL season makes five.)
No work is permitted on Rosh Hashanah. (Unless you work for the federal government, local unions, most school districts, major hospitals, accounting firms, county libraries, banks, architecture firms, retail stores, law practices, engineering companies, hotel chains, municipal service industries, major league sports teams, computer software designers, public transportation systems, or the federal post office. Or my company.)
Rosh Hashanah marks the day when Jewish people head to synagogue to examine their past deeds, ask for forgiveness, pray for Israel, and blow on the Shofar. Like this:
The Shofar is a ram’s horn that is blown like a trumpet during the synagogue service, symbolically and figuratively awakening the congregation and warning them of their coming judgment. There are four different Shofar notes of various tones and suspension: the tekiah, the shevarim, the teruah, and the tekia gedolah. I can't really tell the difference though, and basically only can make out the "who-stepped-on-a-duck?" note.
The Mahzor is a special prayer book used for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, which includes the prayer, “Who is like unto you, O God... And You will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.” Followed by the prayer, “Who, like, wrote this book, O God… And can You make the next edition in English. Or at least read left to right?”
On the first night of the two-day celebration, the Rosh Hashanah meal features apples and carrots dipped in honey to symbolize the sweetness of the coming year. Round challah bread is served to symbolize the cyclical nature of the year. And Tongue or other meats from the head of a cow are often served to symbolize the start of the new year. Similarly Round steak or other meats from the butt can be served to symbolize the shitty year you’ve left behind.
Finally, on the second night of the celebration the family goes bowling and my sister orders a ham sandwich from a kosher deli. There you have it. Rosh Hashanah in a nutshell.
(See mom? I didn't forget! And I didn't use Wikipedia at all either...)
5 comments:
Happy New Year, Joe!!!!!!!!!!
You look awesome with the horn..maybe a Jewish version of a Blues Borthers Tribute band is in the works????
Blues BROTHERS, that is...your motto could be, "We're on a mission from Yahweh!"
So, I'm assuming from this post that you are Jewish and quite in touch with your religious background. This is extremly interesting to me seeing how my Southern Baptist Preacher Daddy was a Jew at heart and my pretend Grandmother that sits in front me at church is also a Jew at heart.
A little mysterious sounding I know. Maybe we'll talk about it one day.
Well, thank you for the synopsis! I had many Jewish friends whilst growing up, and their holidays were always shrouded in mystery! (read: my friends had no idea what they were for, either).
Tongue.....EWWWW
Took me time to read the whole article, the article is great but the comments bring more brainstorm ideas, thanks.
- Johnson
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