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Jewish Holidays Stress Communications

Cheryl Bentley/SUNCOAST NEWS

Rabbi Alan Goldberg of Congregation Beth Tefillah, a Conservative Judaism synagogue in the Port Richey area.

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By Cheryl  Bentley | The Suncoast News

Published: September 8, 2007

Next Wednesday, the ancient sound of man blowing on a ram's horn will resonate in Jewish communities.

The Jewish New Year and High Holy Days will have begun.

"It has been used by Jewish people for years as communication," says Port Richey's Jewish Community Center's Rabbi Alan Goldberg of the ram's horn, or shofar.

"In the old days, they would blow it to signify the beginning and ending of the holidays. It would sound from hill to hill."

Goldberg is the rabbi of Congregation Beth Tefillah, a Conservative Judaism synagogue that meets at the Jewish Community Center of West Pasco, in the Port Richey area.

This year, Rosh Hashana begins at sunset on Sept. 12 and lasts until sunset on Sept. 14.

Blowing of ram's horn

It is marked by the blowing of the ram's horn during services.

Members of some congregations say special prayers over a body of water containing live fish in a ceremony called Tashlich.

According to Rabbi Shalom Adler of Young Israel-Chabad of Pinellas County, fish symbolize abundance of the good things in life because they lay numerous eggs at one setting.

Young Israel-Chabad is a Lubavitcher Hasidic synagogue in the Palm Harbor area.

Also, since fish never close their eyes, they remind worshippers of the goal of being unceasingly spiritually awake, says Adler.

As a symbol of bringing sweetness to the coming year, Jews often eat apples and other foods with honey during Rosh Hashana.

Rosh Hashana begins 10 days of introspection that end in Yom Kippur, the day of atonement, considered by most Jews to be their holiest holiday.

Yom Kippur begins at sunset on Sept. 21 and ends at sunset on Sept. 22 this year.

Introspective days

The introspective High Holy Days allow Jews to start the New Year on the right foot by reflecting on past behavior.

"We believe at the beginning of the New Year you pray to God for anything you've done against God and man," explains Goldberg. "We believe God reviews all souls and passes the verdict for the coming year."

Repentance, prayer and charity can modify fate to some degree, the rabbi notes.

Goldberg remembers hearing tales of his grandfather, a long-bearded rabbi in Poland. During the Days of Atonement, he would walk from door to door and tell his neighbors, "If I have offended you, I apologize."

Goldberg brings out a thick High Holy Days prayer book.

Many Jews use these with which to pray. "The prayers list everything you could do bad," Goldberg says.

They must be accompanied by genuine penitence, the rabbi notes. "Atonement is in your heart."

Repentance period

The period between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur is a period of repentance leading up to Yom Kippur, Judaism's major day of atonement.

In observance of Yom Kippur, Jews fast for 26 hours.

"No water. Nothing," says Goldberg.

The faithful who must take medications with water often ask Goldberg what they should do during the fast.

Goldberg tells them to continue to take their medications with a small amount of water.

"The law says you're not suppose to take anything. But the law also says you're not suppose to kill yourself," Goldberg tells them.

Yom Kippur observances start with Kol Nidre, the evening service, which is considered the most solemn service of Yom Kippur.

Days of prayerv

The next day, synagogues often have full days of prayer with a break in the afternoon.

Members return later for more services. They conclude with the "closing of the gates" service of Ne'ilah.

During Ne'ilah, the cabinet in which the scrolls of the Torah, or Jewish scripture, are kept are open, symbolizing the gates of heaven being open to attendees' prayers. Congregants stand during Ne'ilah, according to the Web site My Jewish Learning.

Ne'ilah concludes with a long sounding of the shofar, "as long as your breath holds out," says Goldberg.

Jews then break their fast. The food varies, says Goldberg. His congregants enjoy a light meal. In England, where his father was a rabbi, synagogues served heavier, meat-based meals.

All of the prayers and rituals for forgiveness marking the High Holy Days must be accompanied by an inner change, cautions Rabbi Levi Hodakov, the program director of Young Israel-Chabad of Pinellas.

"Everything comes with actual hard work and regret for past misdeeds and resolve for the future," he says. "You have to mean what you say when reading those prayers."

Challah making

In late August, at the Young-Israel Chabad, about 20 women gathered for lessons in making challah, the bread eaten at Sabbath meals and at Rosh Hashana.

The art of making the bread is usually passed down from mothers to daughters, says Rebbetzin Miriam Hodakov, Rabbi Hodakov's wife.

Hodakov led the group in hands-on lessons in the making of the bread. The seven ingredients of challah – yeast, warm water, sugar, eggs, salt, oil and flour – are connected to the seven days of the week, she notes.

Usually, challah is rectangular shaped, but at Rosh Hashana it is round, to symbolize the cycle of the year.

Often times, the round challah is eaten with honey during the New Year.

That is a perfect way to set the tone for the coming year, notes Chabad-Israel's Rebbetzin Chanie Adler, the spouse of Rabbi Adler. "We eat a lot of sweet stuff because we are asking God for a sweet New Year."

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