![\"IMG_2653\"](\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.draherin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/IMG_2653.jpg?resize=300%2C300\")
As you already know, I grew up goyim, not knowing any of the customs or traditions of the Jewish people. Having this as my first true year of being an observant Jew, I’ve been learning a lot \u2014 I can’t stress the “a lot” here \u2014 these last several months. And let me tell you, learning Hebrew at 40 is no small task. But I digress…<\/p>\n
I never really knew much about Jewish holidays except for Chanukah, and it mostly seemed like Jewish Christmas. My first Chanukah was last year and I learned then that it was definitely not Christmas. My first major holiday this year is Rosh Hashanah, which\u00a0appropriately means “head of the year” and is considered the Jewish New Year. Oddly, the “new” year starts on the seventh month. But that’s another story.<\/p>\n
While the “traditional” New Year is full of partying and generally having a grand old time, Rosh Hashanah is not necessarily a drunken, year-end bash. It is a festive holiday that has both fun and somber elements to it.\u00a0For the most part, the day is spent in the synagogue. And for those who don’t know, the Jewish day begins at sundown.\u00a0For example, today will end when the sun sets tonite and tomorrow will officially begin. So, Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown the night before it’s actually marked on the traditional calendar.<\/p>\n
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The evening of Rosh Hashanah begins like any Shabbat, with blessings, candle lighting and kiddush. The blessings are a bit different, but the premise is the same. Then comes a good dinner, with apples and honey (to usher in a sweet year). The rest of the evening is just like any shabbat, spent relaxing and enjoying time with family and friends.<\/p>\n
Depending on the customs of your sect of Judaism and even of your synagogue, you might be in services at sunrise. For us, services started at 4:00 p.m., but like any other shabbat you are prohibited from doing any ordinary work. This is actually a biblical commandment in the Torah, found in Leviticus 23:24\u201325<\/p>\n
ADONAI said to Moshe, “Tell the people of Isra’el, ‘In the seventh month, the first of the month is to be for you a day of complete rest for remembering, a holy convocation announced with blasts on the shofar. Do not do any kind of ordinary work, and bring an offering made by fire to ADONAI'”<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
and Numbers 29:1\u20132<\/p>\n
“‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you are to have a holy convocation; do not do any kind of ordinary work; it is a day of blowing the shofar for you. Prepare a burnt offering to make a fragrant aroma for ADONAI- one young bull, one ram and seven male lambs in their first year and without defect'”<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
So, I spent time during the day getting some errands done but\u00a0mostly I prepared our dinner \u2014 a six pound lamb roast. Long story short, it spent several hours in the oven, covered in all sorts of goodies (sweet cabernet sauvignon, garlic cloves, assorted dried fruits…yum!). And just as the lamb comes out of the oven, its time to put it in the fridge so we can head off to the synagogue. The roast would have to wait until our return in a few hours.<\/p>\n
The evening service was quite similar to the one the night\u00a0before, but a little bit longer. One main difference between both Rosh Hashanah services and a regular shabbat service was the blowing of the shofar \u2014 it is actually quite integral to the whole experience. The blowing of the shofar has a symbolic meaning in that it is awakening our souls to the new year ahead.<\/p>\n
After a brief intermission, all of us reconvened at the Wolf River for the Tashlich service, which must be conducted by naturally flowing water, preferably inhabited by fish. This was the briefest service I’d ever been to as it lasted all of 20 minutes. In a nut shell, its a Jewish tradition to cast our sins into the water (using crackers) in similarity to G\u2013d casting Israel’s sins into the sea. Now, being Messianic, this has added meaning. I mean, lets face it, we’re all sinners, and we all seek forgiveness of our sins but for the most part, there is nothing physically attached to the act of our sins being forgiven. For me, at least, this was a symbolic way in which we can do that. Its not quite as simple as throwing crackers in the water, but I think you get the point. In physically letting go of those sins, we change ourselves as we no longer carry them as a burden. In other words, we get them off our chest. The Catholics have confession, we have crackers. Oy!<\/p>\n
After the services were over, it was time to return home, heat up our dinner and then have ourselves a little feast. We did the blessings, lit the candles, broke the bread, then filled our plates with roast lamb. My wife absolutely loved it. I took one bite and thought I was going to puke. It tasted horrid to me. As it turns out, I’m allergic to prunes (one of the fruits used to season the meat). Actually, I’m very allergic to prunes. I won’t go into details, but I didn’t eat for the next 24 hours.<\/p>\n
Aside from the prunes, Rosh Hashanah was a good experience and one I look forward to doing again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As you already know, I grew up goyim, not knowing any of the customs or traditions of the Jewish people. Having this as my first true year of being an observant Jew, I’ve been learning a lot \u2014 I can’t stress the “a lot” here \u2014 these last several months. And let me tell you, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":739,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[94,37,90,95],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.draherin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/IMG_2653.jpg?fit=843%2C843&ssl=1","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5MjSO-bU","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":734,"url":"https:\/\/www.draherin.com\/2015\/09\/11\/rosh-hashanah-unwrapped-high-holidays\/","url_meta":{"origin":738,"position":0},"title":"Rosh Hashanah Unwrapped - High Holidays","date":"2015-09-11","format":false,"excerpt":"It comes gift-wrapped from heaven with ribbons, strings and knots. And with each unraveling comes another discovery, and with each discovery a deeper wisdom...\u00a0Rosh Hashanah, then, is not just a Jewish holiday. Rosh Hashanah is the birthday of humankind. More: READ IT HERE","rel":"","context":"In "Schtuff"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.draherin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Krio9111962.jpg?fit=1200%2C627&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":726,"url":"https:\/\/www.draherin.com\/2015\/09\/03\/a-sweet-rosh-hashanah-classic-teiglach\/","url_meta":{"origin":738,"position":1},"title":"A Sweet Rosh Hashanah Classic: Teiglach","date":"2015-09-03","format":false,"excerpt":"If you have memories of eating your\u00a0bubbe\u2019s teiglach, I hope this recipe will excite you. If you\u2019re not yet familiar with the\u00a0Rosh Hashanah\u00a0classic, allow me to introduce you: Teiglach are treats made from small pieces of dough, doused in a sticky,\u00a0sweet honey\u00a0syrup, mixed with nuts and dried fruits and formed\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Schtuff"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.draherin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/RQjX9104287.jpg?fit=465%2C323&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":729,"url":"https:\/\/www.draherin.com\/2015\/09\/03\/miriams-melt-in-your-mouth-rosh-hashanah-brisket-kosher-recipes-cooking\/","url_meta":{"origin":738,"position":2},"title":"Miriam\u2019s Melt-in-Your-Mouth Rosh Hashanah Brisket - Kosher Recipes & Cooking","date":"2015-09-03","format":false,"excerpt":"Somehow, brisket has become standard\u00a0Rosh Hashanah\u00a0fare across North America, so I would be remiss not to share my recipe as well as a few tips I\u2019ve picked up along the way. READ IT ALL: HERE","rel":"","context":"In "Schtuff"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.draherin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/gRsv8429959.jpg?fit=465%2C374&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":770,"url":"https:\/\/www.draherin.com\/2015\/09\/24\/yom-kippur-number-one\/","url_meta":{"origin":738,"position":3},"title":"Yom Kippur Number One","date":"2015-09-24","format":false,"excerpt":"What can I say about my first Yom Kippur? To sum it up in one word: different. But then again, I'm finding all of these Jewish holidays\/holy days as different. They're somewhat a little weird, a little foreign, a little strange and yet at the same time they feel almost\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Faith"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.draherin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/YomKippur.jpg?fit=1200%2C792&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":983,"url":"https:\/\/www.draherin.com\/2016\/05\/11\/why-dont-i-feel-inspired-anymore\/","url_meta":{"origin":738,"position":4},"title":"Why Don\u2019t I Feel Inspired Anymore?","date":"2016-05-11","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am experiencing a major lull in my spiritual motivation. I started getting into Jewish things around a year ago, but now I just don\u2019t have the passion for it anymore.\u00a0Rosh Hashanah\u00a0is coming\u2014last year I was all inspired, this year I don\u2019t feel any drive whatsoever to attend services.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Faith"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.draherin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/hYxR1566049.jpg?fit=240%2C331&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":887,"url":"https:\/\/www.draherin.com\/2016\/03\/21\/mishloach-manot-for-howard-the-hermit\/","url_meta":{"origin":738,"position":5},"title":"Mishloach Manot for Howard the Hermit","date":"2016-03-21","format":false,"excerpt":"By Mendy Kaminker, Chabad.org \u201cThis year we\u2019re not going to allow even one mishloach manot (food gift) in the house,\u201d Shira announced as Purim approached. \u201cAll that candy is bad for the children\u2019s teeth, and Passover is coming! How can we clean the house if there are pretzels under the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Faith"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.draherin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/FdXw9407527.jpg?fit=1200%2C627&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.draherin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/738"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.draherin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.draherin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.draherin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.draherin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=738"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.draherin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/738\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":758,"href":"https:\/\/www.draherin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/738\/revisions\/758"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.draherin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/739"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.draherin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.draherin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.draherin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}