Did you see the one where the person was not going to turn back their clock this fall, because they did not want to add another hour to 2020?
Well, we are in luck.
Friday was the start of the Jewish New Year 5781, Rosh Hashana. This literally means “the head of the year,” and is a high holy day in the Jewish faith.
The Lord told Moses, “Say to the Israelites: On the first day of the seventh month, you will have a special rest, a holy occasion marked by a trumpet signal. You must not do any job-related work, and you must offer a food gift to the Lord” (Leviticus 23:24-25, Common English Bible).
The seventh month in the ecclesiastical calendar is called Tishrei, which means beginning. How is the seventh month a new year?
The Jewish calendar has several new years for different religious purposes. Rosh Hashana is the beginning of the civil year and is the first of the three fall festivals, followed by Yom Kippor (Day of Atonement) and Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles). This is a joyous time, where families gather to worship, pray, self-reflect on the past year and repent. It is a time to try new foods and especially eat apples dipped in honey, which symbolizes a sweet new year.
As you dip the apple in honey, you pause before you eat and say a blessing:
“We praise You, Eternal God,
Sovereign of the Universe,
Creator of the fruit of the tree.
May it be Your will,
Eternal our God,
That this be a good and sweet year for us.”
Challah – a delicious, braided bread, sometimes made in a circular shape – is also dipped in honey. Our church is blessed at times to use Challah bread for Holy Communion. A highlight is the blowing of the Shofar (trumpet), a hollowed-out ram’s horn, blown over 100 times during the day as a call to wake up and mend your ways. Between the blasts are prayers and Bible readings.
Another tradition that evolved over the centuries was gathering at running water and casting bread into the water. As the bread floats away – or is carried off by hungry fish – prayers and scriptures are read. One is from the prophet Micah 7:19, “He will once again have compassion on us; he will tread down our iniquities. You will hurl all our sins into the depths of the sea.”
Mindful the Lord has forgiven you of your past year’s sins, you have confidence of God’s mercy in the coming year. On Rosh Hashana, you greet one another with “L’shanah tovah” – which is, “have a good year” or “a good and sweet new year.”
Like many, I am ready for a new year, where we cast off all the pain and troubles of 2020 and look forward to a new beginning.
Lord have mercy!
Eric Reece is the faith columnist for The Graham Star. He is the pastor of Robbinsville United Methodist Church.