Practing What We Teach

Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur

© Cheryll Wallace 2004

Rosh Hashana is the holiday the marks the first day of the Jewish new year. The Jewish calendar is different than the general calendar the world uses now because the general calendar loosely revolves around the birth of Jesus, which is also the beginning of Christianity. Since Judaism is older than Christianity their calendar is older as well.

Rosh Hashana is a time for Jewish people to reflect on the past year and how they have lived their lives and also to think about how they could be a better person in the year to come. Jewish people go to the synagogue to pray that they will obey God's laws and be faithful to God in the new year. During the Rosh Hashana service the ram's horn, or shofar, is blown to signal the beginning of the Jewish high holy days. Work is not permitted on Rosh Hashana except cooking. One of the food traditions associated with Rosh Hashana is eating apples dipped in honey. This is a symbol of the desire for an upcoming year that is sweet.

After Rosh Hashana, the next ten days are called the Days of Repentance or Teshuvah. This is a time to apologize to people for the things that you did last year that you are sorry for and to tell them how you plan to do better in the year ahead.

The last day of Teshuvah is Yom Kippur. Yom Kippur is also known as the Day of Atonement and is the most important holy day in the Jewish year. It is a day of fasting. Fasting means not eating. The Jewish holy book of the Talmud says that after a person eats and drinks they only think of themselves and their fullness but when a person fasts and is hungry, they think about their hunger and also all of the other people in the world who are hungry.

Jews go to the synagogue on Yom Kippur with empty stomachs and spend the whole day in repentance, prayer and thinking about charity (helping others). According to legend, during Yom Kippur, all prayers go right to God's ears and each person's destiny is written in the Book of Life. At the end of the Yom Kippur service the shofar is blown again to signal the end of the high holy days. By this time the sun has set and everyone can eat.

The ram's horn (shofar) is a link to Abraham. In the book of Genesis God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac. Abraham and Isaac went up to Mount Moriah to perform the sacrifice but God stopped Abraham before Isaac was harmed. Abraham noticed a ram who had its horns entangled in a bush nearby. Abraham used the ram for the sacrifice instead. The shofar sounds like a kind of trumpet and is a symbol of Abraham's faithfulness to God and a call to the Jewish people to be faithful as well.

Activities For All Ages To Do At Home This Week

1. Books to read:

   Sound the Shofar!: A Story for Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, by Leslie Kimmelman for ages 4-8 years.

   Sound the Shofar, by Miriam Chaikin, children's non-fiction

   On Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, by Cathy Goldberg Fishman, for ages 4-8

   The Magic of Kol Nidre: A Story for Yom Kippur, by Bruce Siegel & Shelly O. Haas, for grades 1-4

   The Hardest Word: A Yom Kippur Story, by Jacqueline Jules & Katherine Kahn, for ages 4-8

2. Think of someone you need to ask for forgiveness and then make a card to send to them. Take the person whose forgiveness you seek some apples and honey (or caramel dipping sauce) and ask their forgiveness and then share the sweet treat with them.
3. Look at the Unitarian Universalist Principles and what they call UU's to be. Are there things you would like to change about yourself or improve on? If so, make a plan to change a few of your habits to help you become that kind of person. Talk with your family or friends about this goal so that you can enlist their support to help you with the changes. It may be helpful to write your plan down or make a collage of what the changes will look like and put it in a place that you see often.
4. Web sites where you can learn more about Rosh Hashana & Yom Kippur:
   Children:

   www.aish.com/h/hh/
   www.akhlah.com/

   Adults:

   www.torah.org/learning/yomtov/
   

Bake or buy a round loaf of challah bread (a braided bread) and share a meal with family or friends where you talk about the place of forgiveness and charity in your lives. (The round challah symbolizes the circle of the year and is often used during the new year celebration.) Here is a challah bread recipe.
5. Read a book by a Jewish author to get a taste of Jewish life and customs. Some suggested authors are Isaac Bashevis Singer or Chaim Potok OR go to Wikipedia for a large list of Jewish authors.
6. Check out some Jewish music from the public library such as:

   Where Dreams are Born: Jewish Lullabies by Margie Rosenthal,
   Traditional Jewish Melodies by Benedict Silberman Orchestra & Chorus,
   Jewish Holidays in Song
   L'Chaim!: the Ultimate Jewish Music Collection