“The beauty of the world lies in the diversity of its people.”—Author unknown
Last evening marked the beginning of Rosh Hashanah and we were joined by our daughter Michelle, husband Kyle and little Lyla, Kyle’s mom Kim and husband AL Chien, our son Jason and partner Alex for an intimate dinner.
Rosh Hashanah traditionally begins at sundown. It is time to share a meal and prayer with family and friends. Cecile began the ritual of lighting the candles to usher in the Jewish Holidays. The lit candle creates a sacred space and brings joy and peace to the home. After lighting the candles—in this case, two—representing the male and female aspects of God’s presence, with eyes closed, Cecile swept her hands in a circular motion above the flames a few times to welcome the holiday into our home. She then lifted the cloth covering from the freshly baked round Challah and Jason recited the blessing over the wine. Michelle recited the hamotzi (blessing over the bread). We then proceeded to break off pieces of challah and Cecile instructed our non-Jewish guests to dip their bread in the honey which symbolizes one’s wish for a sweet new year to come.
Rosh Hashanah literally means the beginning or “head of the year,” the Jewish New Year. It is the first of the High Holy Days leading up to Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, considered to be the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. During this period, Jews focus their attention on reflecting on one’s negative actions and misdeeds of the past year and atoning for those actions.
Unlike some ancient cultures such as the Celts who celebrated the start of the new year during the spring equinox because it was the time of planting, Semitic cultures in the Near East celebrated the new year in the fall, after the harvest was gathered. To greet someone on Rosh Hashanah one could just say, “Shanah Tovah,” which means “good year” in Hebrew.
“Rosh Hashanah is sometimes called “The Feast of the Trumpets," a celebration of creation or the “birthday of the world.”
Cecile prepared a feast for us including a fresh tomato salad, baked spinach casserole, baked salmon filet, brisket, Sephardic Style borekas, a unique dough that gently folds and stretches over cheese-laden potato filling, and other goodies. This was followed by ice cream, apple pie and a fresh banana birthday cake we ordered from “Icing on the Cake,” in honor of Kim’s birthday.
