Two wild little brothers, as 8 and 10 year old boys often are, David and Ben, were getting ready to go to school after a long summer break. Their mom bought them a new back pack and new shoes that still needed to be worn in a bit. With a mixture of enthusiasm and unease they entered the gates of the school. Curious to see which of their friends would be in their class, curious to discover their new teachers. A new year, a new beginning.
As the school year started, the family started getting greeting cards decorated with apples and honey, a tree of life, doves, etc. The Jewish new year cards started to come in through the mail.
A new year allows you to reset, start over, and start anew. It is exciting and a little nerve racking. September is the beginning of the New Year, but it is also host to the Jewish New Year. And Ben and David were Jewish. Not very practicing, but their family would always celebrate the high holidays. And Rosh Hoshannah, as they call the Jewish New Year, is one of those high holidays.
It is celebrated every year towards the end of September and Jews around the world celebrate the creation of Adam and Eve some thousand years ago. As with the new school year, it signifies a new beginning, a new fresh start.
On the eve of the holiday Ben and David’s mom would prepare a nice supper. Some typical foods that are eaten on Rosh Hoshannah are dates, black-eyed peas, gourd, … At the end of the supper kids (and parents) enjoy the delicious sweet apples dipped in honey. The sweet apples and honey symbolize a sweet new year. The boys would take turns reading prayers from the machzor, the special prayer book used for the high holidays of Rosh Hoshannah and Yom Kippur. They did not always understand what they were reading exactly, but that was OK.
The next day they would go to the temple to attend services. There they would meet their other Jewish friends and wish each other a good year. The highlight of the service was the blowing of the Shofar or the ram’s horn. It sounds a little like a trumpet. It is blown to sound in the new year.
Even though they grew up in a not very religious family, all these traditions formed nice memories for the boys and they cherished them for the rest of their lives and passed on the traditions to their children.
As the school year started, the family started getting greeting cards decorated with apples and honey, a tree of life, doves, etc. The Jewish new year cards started to come in through the mail.
A new year allows you to reset, start over, and start anew. It is exciting and a little nerve racking. September is the beginning of the New Year, but it is also host to the Jewish New Year. And Ben and David were Jewish. Not very practicing, but their family would always celebrate the high holidays. And Rosh Hoshannah, as they call the Jewish New Year, is one of those high holidays.
It is celebrated every year towards the end of September and Jews around the world celebrate the creation of Adam and Eve some thousand years ago. As with the new school year, it signifies a new beginning, a new fresh start.
On the eve of the holiday Ben and David’s mom would prepare a nice supper. Some typical foods that are eaten on Rosh Hoshannah are dates, black-eyed peas, gourd, … At the end of the supper kids (and parents) enjoy the delicious sweet apples dipped in honey. The sweet apples and honey symbolize a sweet new year. The boys would take turns reading prayers from the machzor, the special prayer book used for the high holidays of Rosh Hoshannah and Yom Kippur. They did not always understand what they were reading exactly, but that was OK.
The next day they would go to the temple to attend services. There they would meet their other Jewish friends and wish each other a good year. The highlight of the service was the blowing of the Shofar or the ram’s horn. It sounds a little like a trumpet. It is blown to sound in the new year.
Even though they grew up in a not very religious family, all these traditions formed nice memories for the boys and they cherished them for the rest of their lives and passed on the traditions to their children.
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