Jewish New Year
begins time for
introspection, leading
to atonement

The season starts with
Rosh Hashanah and ends
with Yom Kippur

Holy days events

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By Mary Adamski
madamski@starbulletin.com

Friday is New Year's Eve on the Hebrew calendar, the beginning of a 10-day period when practicing Jews set aside time for introspection in communal services and in private.

The spiritual season that begins with Rosh Hashanah and ends with Yom Kippur, a day of atonement, "is a time of reflection on where we are heading and where we went off the right way, reminding us of all the wrongdoing we did," said Rabbi Morris Goldfarb, who teaches at Temple Emanu-El.

"There is one prayer in which we reflect on who will live, who will die. We realize life is fragile, so we must take care in how we live our lives."

"We are meant to do that as an annual event," Goldfarb said. "It becomes much more dramatic because of events that have shattered the world, especially after 9/11. Our recognition of how fragile life is becomes more acute. It only enhances the principle or the idea, makes it much more clear, more dramatic."

Last year, when the High Holy Days began less than a week after the attacks, "every rabbi had to throw away his planned text" and address people's confrontation with fragility of life, he said.

The holy days' focus is on temple services, but there are some festival touches, such as a communal meal. "We sweeten the holiday by dipping an apple or the bread into honey with a wish: 'Let it be a sweet and pleasant year,'" he said.

Another ritual is the Tashlich ceremony, based on the prophet Micah's admonition, "You shall cast your sins into the water." Members of Temple Emanu-El and Congregation Sof Ma'arav will journey to Magic Island on Sept. 8, "throwing crumbs and symbolically casting out sins," Goldfarb said.

"Younger people find that to be very meaningful, especially those who have been influenced by Eastern religions and the concept of sacred waters.

"It always intrigues me why people come at this time of the year rather than any other," Goldfarb said. "If you think of it as the autumn of one's life, it is a time when people are asking themselves, 'Now, I made a lot of money, is this all there is to life?'"

Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning of the year 5763 on a calendar codified in the fourth century that, according to tradition, counts from the beginning of the world. "Most Jews don't believe that; they are maintaining the sense of identity by maintaining those numbers."

The Jewish holy days will continue through the end of September. After the somber season of reflection, they will move into Sukkot, a harvest festival when tents or huts are raised to recall the Israelites' wandering in the desert after liberation from Egypt. After that is Simchat Torah, surrounding the sacred scriptures with dancing and singing to mark the end of a year's reading through the whole scroll and beginning of a new cycle.

Holy days events Oahu's Jewish congregations have the following plans: Chabad of Hawaii Chabad of Hawaii will sponsor holy days events at the Hawaiian Monarch Hotel, 444 Niu St. Wednesday is the deadline for reservations to be made for the Friday festival meal following services. Call 735-8161 for tickets at $35 for adults and $20 for children. Services are: Rosh Hashanah >> Friday: 6:45 p.m. >> Next Saturday: 10 a.m.; children's service, 11:30 a.m.; evening service, 7:30 p.m. >> Sept. 8: 10 a.m. Yom Kippur >> Sept. 15: Kol Nidre, 6:30 p.m. >> Sept. 16: 10 a.m.; children's, 11:30 a.m.; Yizkor service, 1:30 p.m.; Neilah, 5 p.m. Temple Emanu-El Temple Emanu-El is at 2550 Pali Hwy. Rosh Hashanah >> Friday: 6:45 p.m., Traditional service; 7:30 p.m., Reform service. >> Next Saturday: 9 a.m., Traditional; 9:30 a.m., Reform; 2 p.m., children's; 4 p.m., Tashlich at Magic Island. >> Sept. 8: 9 a.m., Traditional service. Yom Kippur >> Sept. 15: 6:30 p.m., Traditional; 7:30 p.m., Reform. >> Sept. 16: 9 a.m., Traditional; 9:30 a.m., Reform; 2 p.m., children's; 3 p.m., Reform. Congregation Sof Ma'arav Congregation Sof Ma'arav, a Conservative congregation, meets at 2500 Pali Hwy., the First Unitarian Church. Rosh Hashanah >> Friday: 8 p.m. service will followed by a dessert potluck. >> Next Saturday: 9 a.m.-1 p.m. >> Sept. 8: 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Yom Kippur >> Sept. 15: 6:30 p.m., Kol Nidre >> Sept. 16: 10 a.m.-2 p.m. and 5 p.m., followed by a potluck break-the-fast. Simchat Torah >> Sept. 28: 6:30 p.m. Kehilat haMelech Kehilat haMelech, a Messianic Jewish congregation, meets at 277 Ohua Ave., the Waikiki Community Center chapel. Rosh Hashanah >> Friday: 7:45 p.m. >> Next Saturday: 10:30 a.m. Yom Kippur >> Sept. 15: 6:30 p.m. >> Sept. 16: 9:30 a.m., 6:30 p.m.

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