Hello Readers, it’s co-editor Gail.
I know that everyone, myself included is fed up with 2020 and wish it would just end already. Well what if I told you that this friday September 18th, is new years?
That’s right, it’s time for post three of my accidental obscure holiday explanation series! This time I am here to tell you all about a holiday I have actually celebrated: Rosh Hashanah.
I am not sure if I have mentioned it here before but I am Jewish, and while I’m not super religious, I deeply love and am proud of my Jewish heritage and the culture and customs within it.
Rosh Hashanah, which translates to “head of the year”, is the Jewish New Year and marks the start of the High Holy days. Traditions include eating symbolic foods like pomegranates and apple slices dipped in honey to evoke a sweet new year as well as the sounding of the shofar, an instrument made from cleaned out rams horn. They can be long or short, twisty or curved, polished or more raw. During Rosh hashanah, it is blown throughout prayers and serves s a form of “wake-up call” for Jews to mend and repent for any wrongdoings from the previous year. When I was a kid I was in a junior shofar choir at my temple and it was so cool to get my own little shofar and incredibly interesting to learn the different types of blasts:
“Tekiah”– a single long blast of the shofar.
“Shevarim”– three connected short sounds.
“Teruah”– a string of many short-lived, broken blasts made by the tongue
Here is a video example of what it sounds like:
The traditional greetings for the holiday are “Shanah Tovah” which translates to “have a good year” and the more formal “L’shanah tovah tikatevu v’tichatemu” meaning “May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year. There are many joyus Rosh Hashanah songs but my favourite is this parody:
So why am I really telling you about this? Well until this year I have realized that as a Jewish person in the United States, I have taken for granted the fact that I get two new years for granted. Two chances to make a fresh start even if nothing really changes, even if things continue to be as they are for a while, I have had this second reset point I have always overlooked. This year, I think everyone could use that extra reset Jewish or not. So this Friday evening, I invite you to join me in taking a moment to be mindful, breathe out 2020 and breathe in the Jewish New Year 5781 and in whatever way you can, start anew.
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Gail Bello is a poet and playwright from Waltham, Massachusetts. She graduated in 2019 with a BFA in Creative Writing and a minor in Theatre from The University of Maine at Farmington. Find her previous publications at https://thaumaturgedramaturge.wordpress.com and follow her on Twitter @AquajadeGail