Happy Birthday to Humankind: Jews Get Ready to Celebrate the New Year

Rosh Hashannah is literally the head of the year, or the Jewish new year.  It is “early” this year.  The summer has barely ended and we are getting ready to spend many hours praying, celebrating, eating and turning inwards to assess our relationship as individual humans with our creator.

Many layers are peeled back so that we can find the core meeting.  Starting with the sweetness of apples and honey, the signature food, we remind ourselves how sweet it is to be alive.

Then is the sounding of the shofar–a ram’s horn.  Three sounds cry out for us to attend to the business of the day–reconnecting with yourself, reconnecting with G-d.

And finally the several times we take care to think about the sins we have committed against others and against G-d.  From reading the passage of the binding of Isaac to the custom of tashlich–literally tossing our sins into flowing water, we begin the ten days of repentance which ends with Yom Kippur–26 hours this year of fasting and praying to be written in the book of life for the coming year.

And so we go around wishing each other L’shannah tovah (to a Happy New Year).  And we hope that the ones we love are there to touch with words and deeds so that we may have another year together in love and life. What can be more wonderful than to wish each other a happy and healthy new year!