ROSH HASHANA TO KICK OFF JEWISH HIGH HOLY DAYS.Byline: Holly Andres Staff Writer Rosh Hashana - marking the year 5763 of the Jewish calendar Jewish calendar n. The lunisolar calendar used to mark the events of the Jewish year, dating the creation of the world at 3761 b.c. See Table at calendar. Noun 1. - will begin at sundown today, beginning the 10-day high holiday period when Jews repent re·pent 1 v. re·pent·ed, re·pent·ing, re·pents v.intr. 1. To feel remorse, contrition, or self-reproach for what one has done or failed to do; be contrite. 2. and resolve to do better in the future. ``Rosh Hashana means literally 'head of the year' in Hebrew. The new year is unlike the secular new year. It's serious yet also joyous joy·ous adj. Feeling or causing joy; joyful. See Synonyms at glad1. joy  ous·ly adv. ,'' said Rabbi Paul Kipnes from Congregation Or Ami in Calabasas. ``It's a personal and spiritual renewal linked with an ancient form of prayer and personal reflection.'' Rosh Hashana will be observed at evening and morning services in synagogues A list of synagogues around the world. Contents: Top - A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A
``First of all, it's taking everyone by surprise because it's early this year. But the themes of looking into ourselves and looking at what went wrong last year always come too early,'' said Rabbi Steven Tucker of Temple Ramat Zion in Northridge. ``We're never anxious to look into that. It's much better to pat ourselves on the back. The High Holy Days force us to do better.'' The blowing of the Shofar, a ram's horn ram's horn n. Judaism A shofar. Noun 1. ram's horn - annual of southern United States to Mexico having large whitish or yellowish flowers mottled with purple and a long curving beak , is one of the highlights of a Rosh Hashana service. While Temple Ramat Zion typically has the blowing of the Shofar on the first day of Rosh Hashana, the holiday falls on Shabbat this year, so the Conservative congregation will sound the horn at its second-day service on Sunday. ``It's not the blowing of the Shofar,'' Tucker says, explaining one of many Shabbat prohibitions. ``It's carrying it and the possibility that you could drop it and break it. ``The sounding of the Shofar is a call for prayer, a call for worship and a call to recrown God as king. Maimonides said the Shofar wakes us up out of our spiritual slumber.'' The events of Sept. 11 will be addressed once again by the rabbis. Last year, Rosh Hashana occurred six days after the terrorist attacks. ``Never have there been so many people wanting to hear what rabbis had to say, and never have we been so unprepared,'' said Tucker, who revised his Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur sermons last year to address the attacks. ``More than anything, 9-11 shows us the preciousness and the fragility of life. One of the major themes of the High Holy Days is that we have to contemplate that life passes very quickly. If anything, that has been hammered home by 9-11. It should spur us on to make changes, and we should live every day to the fullest.'' Rabbi Richard Camras of Shomrei Torah Synagogue synagogue (sĭn`əgŏg) [Gr.,=assembly], in Judaism, a place of assembly for worship, education, and communal affairs. The origins of the institution are unclear. One tradition dates it to the Babylonian exile of the 6th cent. B.C. in West Hills plans to address how Jews can put the emotions of Sept. 11 into perspective through the prayers of the High Holy Days. ``I'll be talking about living with fear and terror and the Jewish antidote antidote Remedy to counteract the effects of a poison or toxin. Administered by mouth, intravenously, or sometimes on the skin, it may work by directly neutralizing the poison; causing an opposite effect in the body; binding to the poison to prevent its absorption, to that. The Days of Awe come to remind us that we all live in crisis, and we need to learn to appreciate that the liturgy is the antidote for living with fear,'' Camras said. ``With the celebration of Rosh Hashana comes a time for introspection introspection /in·tro·spec·tion/ (in?trah-spek´shun) contemplation or observation of one's own thoughts and feelings; self-analysis.introspec´tive in·tro·spec·tion n. . The question is how can we improve ourselves so the new year has more meaning than how we have lived in the past?'' Home traditions for Rosh Hashana include holiday candle lighting, blessings thanking God for the holiday and parents blessing their children. Eating symbolic foods like apple slices dipped in honey, round-shaped sweets and the holiday egg bread, challah, made with raisins and twisted into a round shape are enjoyed in the hope for a sweet new year. ``Clearly this has been a difficult year for Jews and all Americans. We're still reeling from the dislocation dislocation, displacement of a body part, usually a bone. When a bone is dislocated, the ends of opposing bones are usually forced out of connection with one another. In the process, bruising of tissues and tearing of ligaments may occur. and loss of security from 9-11 and mourning our losses. We're also reeling from the violence in Israel,'' said Kipnes, who decided to write an ethical will  This article or section may be confusing or unclear for some readers.Please [improve the article] or discuss this issue on the talk page. for his three young children. ``If 9-11 teaches us anything, it is that in a moment I can be gone. In a blink of an eye my life can be over. ``I want my children and my congregation to understand that Jewish values are important and abiding. I want to make sure that my relationships with whom I come into contact are clean and pure. This is what I am thinking about this Rosh Hashana.'' |
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