Exodus Boston High Holidays 5783

Вы знаете, почему именно перед Рош Ашана трубят в Шофар? Трубление совер шается в течение всего месяца, чтобы пред упредить народ о том, что приближается День Суда, и пробудить стремление к Tшуве Звук Шофара как бы объявляет: «Проснитесь, спящие, от своего сна, дремлющие, от своей дремоты, всмотритесь в свои поступки и рас кайтесь в грехах». Так писал Рамбам.

Шофар - как будильник. Еврейский будильник – потому что его нельзя выклю чить, отложить звонок на 5 минут, накрыться подушкой, чтобы не слышать. Сказали мудре цы: «Звуки Шофара пробуждают к Tшуве». Тшува означает возвращение. Возвращение к Б-гу. К своим корням. К своему народу. К еврейской традиции. Несмотря на то, что раскаяться и вернуться к Вс-вышнему можно в любой момент, дни последнего месяца года –месяца Элул – подходят для этого больше, чем другие дни года: в эти дни Вс-вышний принимает наше раскаяние с большей готовностью. Ведь в Элуле на Небесах про

буждаются прощение и милосердие, и там легче принимают наше раскаяние. В Торе рассказывается, что 1 Элула Моше поднялся к Вс-вышнему и 40 дней, до 10 Тишрея, про сил Его простить еврейский народ за грех золотого тельца. 10-го Тишрея Вс-вышний простил евреев, и эта дата стала праздником Йом Кипур, а сорок дней с 1 Элула до 10 Тиш рея установлены как дни милости и благово ления, когда Вс-вышний особенно близок к каждому из нас.

Чтобы приготовиться к дню Суда, мы ста раемся обеспечить себе как можно больше добрых «адвокатов», которые защитят нас в день Суда, заставив замолчать всевозмож ных «прокуроров», враждебных нам и напо минающих о наших проступках. Кто же эти «адвокаты»? В трактате Авот сказано: «Каж дый, кто совершает одно доброе дело, при обретает себе одного защитника, а каждый, кто совершает один проступок, приобретает себе одного обвинителя». Что перевесит на суде: сумма совершенных нами добрых дел за истекший год или сумма проступков? Хва тит ли у нас защитников? Наши мудрецы не рекомендуют никому быть уверенным в своей непогрешимости. У нас есть время изменить неблагоприятный приговор и совершить больше хороших дел. Книги Каббалы учат нас, что в месяце Элул светят 13 атрибутов милосердия Вс-вышнего. А значит, у нас есть возможность получить прощение.

С уважением, Элла Ворович

«Авраам! Авраам! не поднимай руки твоей на отрока и не делай над ним ничего, ибо теперь Я знаю, что боишься ты Бога и не пожалел сына твоего, единственного твоего, для Меня».

Вместо Ицхака в жертву был принесён баран, а поступок Авраама был высоко оценен Вс-вышним. Используя в день Вели кого Суда для трубления и духовного очище ния рог именно горного барана, мы словно напоминаем об этой заслуге Авраама перед Б-гом. Именно Шофар звучал у горы Синай во время дарования Торы народу Израиля. утверждает, что Шофар из левого барана, принесённого в жертву Авра амом, звучал на горе Синай, а в Шофар из правого рога будут трубить, когда соберутся совместно разрозненные колена Израиля. почему

Отец

Ребе, рабби Леви-Ицхак, получил в наследство от своих святых предков два Шофара. Один из них, большой и черный, принад лежал ранее Ребе Маарашу, четвертому Любавичскому Ребе. Другой, маленький белый Шофар, передавался из поколения в поко ление от третьего Любавичского Ребе, Цемах-Цедека.

Во время ареста рабби ЛевиИцхака чекисты чудом упустили из виду черный Шофар. Как только арестованного увели, его жена, ребецин Хана, передала Шофар хасиду Йеуде Гурари, который тоже жил тогда в Днепропетровске. Они договори лись, что в лучшие времена Шофар будет передан назад, в семью рабби Леви-Ицхака. Когда ребецин Хана отправилась в Казахстан, куда был сослан ее муж, она взяла черный Шофар с собой.

Здоровье рабби Леви-Ицхака было подорвано еще в тюрьме, до того, как его отправили в ссылку. Теперь же силы быстро оставляли его. Ребецин Хана делала все воз можное, чтобы поддержать мужа, но победить болезнь уже было невозможно. 9-го августа 1944-го года он вернул свою святую душу Создателю.

Среди тех, кто помогал семье Шнеерсонов в годы войны и оказывал поддержку ребе цин Хане, был хасид Яаков-Йосеф Раскин. В конце лета 1945-го года он решил попы таться вместе с семьей покинуть Советский Союз по под дельным польским паспортам и, рассказав ребецин Хане о своих планах, спросил, не согласится ли она отдать ему черный Шофар. Реб Яаков-Йосеф надеялся провезти его через границу, чтобы сохранить драгоценное наследие ранее принадлежавший его отцу. Реб Яаков-Йосеф, не колеблясь, отдал Шофар. Однако, ему трудно было расстаться с тестя, год, когда Ребе уже официально был главой Любавичских хасидов, реб ЯаковЙосеф написал его матери: "С великой радостью прочитал я в письме моего сына Довида, что в этот Рош Ашана в главной любавичской синагоге трубили в черный Шофар Ребе Маараша, который ваша честь передала мне в Алма-Ате восемь лет назад. Шесть лет я трубил в него, и другие евреи, слышавшие мое трубление, испол няли свою обязанность через этот Шофар. Не скрою, когда в прошлом году ваш сын попро сил вернуть его, мне было очень трудно с ним расстаться, но такую просьбу я не мог отвер гнуть. А теперь, зная что в него трубили в Рош Ашана, я счастлив, что я привез его сюда, хранил все эти годы, как зеницу ока, и он, наконец, вернулся в Вашу семью к Вашему сыну. Я уверен, что маленький белый Шофар Цемах-Цедека все еще во владении рава Цви Рабиновича, да смилостивится Вс-вышний над ним и над всеми членами нашего брат ства (хабадниками), оставшимися в России".

История Ты внезапно Хаим-Бер.

– Да.

– Тогда труби! Пожалуйста!

Реб Йосеф не смог отказать, поднял Шофар, протрубил в него и собрался уходить, когда сзади раз дался слабый голос Хаим-Бера:

– А теперь, пожалуйста, забери его с

Очевидно, он чувствовал, что конец его близок, и хотел сохранить Шофар. Реб Йосеф взял Шофар с собой. Через некоторое время он был арестован и после короткого суди лища сослан в трудовой лагерь на шесть лет. Его жена отдала Шофар его другу, Гиллелю Либерову, который хранил его все время заключения реб Йосефа.

После освобождения реб Йосеф молился в бухарской синагоге. В первый свой Рош Ашана на свободе он стоял, погруженный в молитву. Когда подошло время трубления, из-за спины его протянулась чья-то рука и положила перед ним белый Шофар ЦемахЦедека. Оглянувшись, реб Йосеф увидел уда ляющегося Гиллеля Либерова. Дрожащими руками реб Йосеф взял Шофар и протрубил в него.

Позже реб Гиллель рассказал ему, что утром в Рош Ашана взял Шофар с собой, чтобы протрубить в него в синагоге, но, придя на место, обнаружил, что потерял его. Не очень веря в успех, он, тем не менее, побежал назад тем путем, которым пришел в синагогу, внимательно оглядываясь. И вдруг он увидел Шофар на проезжей части. К нему быстро приближался троллейбус! Реб Гиллель остол бенел. Но троллейбус проехал над Шофаром, не задев его. Реб Гиллель решил, что это знак Свыше: он не имеет права держать Шофар у себя. Симха Городецкий, знаменитый посланник Ребе Раяца, с 1923-го года бес страшно работавший над поддержанием еврейской жизни в Советском Союзе, полу чил в 1964-м году возможность выехать из этой страны, он сказал реб Йосефу, что хочет попытаться вывезти Шофар. Шансы на то, что таможенники не обратят на него внимание и не отберут его,

Итак, для теста нам понадобятся:

•Желтки - 4 шт.

•Пшеничная мука - 220 г

•Сливочное масло или кокосовое масло - 200 г

•Разрыхлитель - 1 ч. л.

•Соль - щепотка

Для начинки:

•Крупные кислые яблоки – 5 шт.

•Сахар - 70 г

•Сливочное масло – 30 г

•Цедра 1 лимона

•Лимонный сок - 1 ст. л.

•Ванильный сахар - 1 ст. л.

•Корица - щепотка, мускатный орех

•Кукурузный крахмал - 1 ст.л.

•Вода - 30 мл.

Для безе:

•Белки - 4 шт.

2 Тесто получается мягкое и нежное. Делим на 2 части: меньшую часть кладем в морозильную камеру, большую в холодильник.

3 Для начинки: яблоки чистим, трем на крупной терке, смешиваем с лимонным соком, сахаром и ванилином.

4 Разогреваем сковородку со сливочным маслом, выкладываем в неё яблоки, сахар, корицу, мускатный орех и цедру, тушим все вместе минут 10 на среднем огне. Затем добавляем крахмал, разведённый в холодной воде, чтобы полу чилась нежная кремовая консистенция и чтобы потом в пироге яблоки потеряли форму. Все хорошо перемешиваем и остужаем.

5 Сначала взбиваем холодные белки до образования пены, потом посте пенно всыпаем сахар. Можно добавить несколько капель лимонного сока. Белки взбиваем с сахаром до устойчивых пиков.

•Сахар - 100 г должно быть комнатной температуры, мягкое, растапливать все ингредиенты и заме нет блендера, то смешиваем размягченное сливочное желтки, разминаем вилкой, всыпаем муку и разрыхлитель, соли и замешиваем тесто.

6 Дно формы для выпечки застилаем пергаментом. Тесто вынимаем из холодильника. Раскатать его не получится, поэтому руками распределяем по дну формы, не забываем про бортики. Выкладываем начинку из яблок. Сверху натираем половину теста из морозилки. Следующим слоем выкладываем белки. Чем небрежнее

На стол подают голову рыбы, барана или другого кошерного животного. Это символизирует наше желание быть «во главе», а не «в хвосте». Традиция есть гранат символизирует надежду, что в предстоящем году наших мицв и добрых дел будет так много, как в гранате зернышкек.

В Рош Ашана не принято есть кислую или острую пищу. Вместо этого основное внимание уделяется сладким продуктам, символизирующим наше ожидание сладкого года, щедрых благословений и изобилия. Также не принято

CУККОТ 9 – 16 октября 2022 г. 9 октября, в 17:54. вторник, 11 октября, в 18:50. 16 октября. Boston, MA. и регулирующие каждый аспект нашей повседневной жизни. Слово «мицва» имеет двойное значение: «заповедь» и «связь». Выполнение заповедей Б-га способствует установлению контакта с Вс-вышним. Рука, подающая милостыню, интеллект, размышляющий над мудростью Торы, сердце, парящее в молитве - все это становится инструментом выполнения Б-жественной воли. Имеются мицвы для каждого органа человека, для каждой его конечности, для его способностей. Мицвы управляют всеми сферами нашей жизни, так что все части человека, участвуют в наших отношениях с Создателем. В этом заключается уникальность мицвы Сукки. В то время, как другие заповеди связаны с определенной частью тела человека или каким-то одним аспектом его личности, в выполнении мицвы Сукки человек участвует веми своими частями. Человек входит

Молитва о дожде Евреи тысячелетиями молились о дожде. В древней земле Израиля наличие дождя было вопросом жизни и смерти. Сезон обильных дождей означал хороший урожай и достаточное количество питьевой воды, в то время как засуха - фатальная для домашнего скота – наносила большой ущерб экономике. С первого дня сезона дождей (на Ближнем Востоке) евреи начинают просить о дожде в утренней молитве праздника Шмини Ацерет. В повторение молитвы Мусаф добавляется драматичный отрывок о дожде, который кантор пропевает на традиционную мелодию,

Весь этот архив насчитывает 61 письмо, датированное 1930–1935 годами. Наи большее количество писем принадлежит перу самого А. Д. Кушнирова. Из них 15 адресованы его жене Любови Абрамовне, по одному письму — Ицику Феферу и Иосифу Рабину. Семь писем написала Л. А. Кушнирова мужу, а еще два письма были отправлены матерью А. Д. Кушнирова (или матерью его жены). Авторы других писем — представители творческой среды, в основ ном литературных и театральных кругов: И. Фефер, А. Вевюрка и его жена Эстер, М. И. Хащеватский, Моше Тайч, Х. Гильдин, Н. Лурье, Дыкман, Макс Рейнгольд, М. Рафаль ский. В переписке встречаются упоминания известных современников — С. Михоэлса, И. Лашевич, М. И. Литвакова, И. Нусинова и др. География переписки разнообразна, среди адресов: Кисловодск, Хоста, Туапсе, Надеж динск, Одесса, Харьков, Ново Златополь, Тирасполь, Минск, Могилев, Москва, подмо сковные Кратово и Быково и др.

под Киевом в семье служащего или лесника (данные расходятся).

Традиционно для тех лет учился в хедере. Однако, осиротев в 13 лет, был вынужден работать, чтобы поддержать семью. Есть сведения, что он то ли служил в бакалейной лавке, то ли охранял склад с мукой. Попав по призыву в цар скую армию, уже в ранней молодости проявил себя как доблестный воин и был награжден Георгиевским кре стом и произведен в звание ефрей тора. С приходом советской власти А. Д. Кушниров всту пил в ряды Крас ной армии, позже прошел Великую Отечественную войну. Был награжден орденом Красной Звезды и меда лью «За боевые заслуги».

Воинская доблесть сочеталась в этом человеке с литературным даром. Еще в 1909 году в Киеве он начал писать стихи на идише и планировал опубликовать сборник вместе с Ошером Шварцманом и Наумом Ойсленде ром, но этот план не осуществился.

Дебютной публикацией Кушнирова стали стихи на русском и на идише в армейской газете и прифронтовом бюллетене. Его первые годах А. Д. Кушниров был редак тором еврейских периодических изданий «Югнт» (Киев), «Штром» (Москва) и «Штерн» (Минск), а в более поздние годы — членом редколлегии газеты «Эйникайт» и главным редактором альманаха «Геймланд».

В своем творчестве А. Д. Кушниров затрагивал разнообразные темы: есть у него стихи, проникнутые революционным и

патриотическим пафосом, есть лирические произведения о семье и природе. Одни литературные критики обвиняли его в близости к имажинизму и Сергею Есенину — что пори цалось из за несоответствия идеологическим требова ниям времени. Другие под черкивали в его творчестве революционные мотивы. Если же отвлечься от идеологической полемики его современников и позна комиться со стихами Куш нирова непредвзято, нельзя не отметить их выразительность и силу — явный признак таланта.

Годы Великой Отечественной войны стали очень драматическими для А. Д. Кушнирова: в начале войны он потерял старшего сына, Юрия, который ушел на фронт совсем юным, 17 лет. В семейном архиве сохранилось его письмо с фронта, написанное по русски. Это лаконичное свидетельство последних дней жизни юноши отзывается болью, особенно когда читаешь письма Л. А. Кушнировой к мужу 1930 х годов, где она постоянно упо минает о маленьком Юнике, как звали его в семье…

Тяжелые переживания поэта после гибели сына выразились в проникновенных стихах «Юник» и «Любовь к жене и ребенку». В первом из них он пишет, что после войны в каждом могильном холмике, который видит, пытается распознать могилу сына. А в другом, отличающемся чеканным ритмом, речь идет о любви к жене и ребенку, которая заставляет сражаться с врагом, противо стоять злу, защищая родной дом. Зная, какую цену пришлось заплатить автору за эти строки, не воспринимаешь их как некоторые другие — привычные

А. Д. Кушниров умер от рака горла в сентябре 1949 года. Болезнь позволила избежать казни, которая, вероятно, ожидала бы его, как и остальных членов ЕАК. Однако то, что он стал свидетелем уничтожения цвета еврейской культуры в СССР, несомненно, ускорило его кончину. Читая переписку 1930–1935 годов, задумываешься, что эти годы, возможно, были корот кой передышкой и относительно счастливым временем в жизни Кушнировых, а если обобщить, то и небольшого круга формиру ющейся советской творческой интел лигенции. Позади революция и гражданская война, и еще никто не знает о предстоящих ужасах Второй мировой и Холокоста. Сталинские репрессии уже начались, но многие еще слепо верят в правоту партии. Несмотря на трудную экономическую ситуацию, есть надежда на восста новление и возврат к мирной, даже благополучной жизни. Как вскоре выяснится, надежда оказалась иллю зорной.

К сожалению, репрессивная государственная машина не остано вилась на смерти А. Д. Кушнирова. Ценой обманутой веры в светлые идеалы стала исковерканная судьба и его жены, Любови Абрамовны. В январе 1951 года она была аре стована и приговорена к 10 годам лагерей. Кушнирова дожила до окончания срока и вышла из лагеря, но, по словам современников, прак тически потеряв рассудок. Во время допросов, перед отправкой в лагерь, следователь бил ее ногой в живот.

Спустя годы средний сын Куш нировых, Радий, случайно встретил этого человека на улице. По воспо минаниям, он говорил потом так: «Я увидел немощного старика на косты еще ждут своего разбора и перевода. Возможно, они добавят новые черты к портрету той эпохи и ее современников.

И. Фефер — А. Кушнирову Москва, Последний пер., д. 10, кв. 5 [19]31 1/X

Дорогой Арке! Мой адрес: [по‑русски] Харьков, ул. Либкнехта 17, кв. 7, И. Феферу.

Если ты его потерял или забыл — то знай. Так что же там у тебя слыхать? Мы помаленьку начинаем работать.Мы готовимся к совеща нию. Что ты пишешь? Чем занимаешься? Как тебе нравится наша группа? Пиши. Рабин что‑то на меня сердится. Не знаю за что. Ты тоже сердишься? Твой Ицик. ***

И. Фефер — А. Кушнирову

Москва, Последний пер., д. 10, кв. 5 [19]33 8/V

Ха‑ха‑ха, это вы, писатель Кушниров?!?! Что же это от вас ничего не слышно? Черт бы побрал Рыкова . С тех пор, как он стал наркомпочт, наша связь прервалась! А так не должно быть! Именно теперь… У нас было совещание насчет советского учебника по литературе. Боролись за наших братьев. Тебя хотели представить просто как драма турга — мы включили стихи. Одним словом, «Бои продолжаются». Только наш фронтик весь в дерьме. Что происходит в «Эмес»? Нусинов властвует, Ш. Гольденберг и Либ кинд + Эма Казакевич стали гениями, а «Пласты» даже не появились? У Дунца Мендл Лифшиц не знаю с кем. Уже «За магнит строем» , а «Пласты» — молчок (в оригинале «ша». — Л. Л.)! На такой заговор молчания я не рассчитывал, хоть я и знаю, что групповая борьба сейчас острее, чем обычно, и врагов у нас порядочно! Такая погода! А погода имеет привычку меняться!

Как твои дела? Обещал писать из деревни и молчок (в оригинале «ша». — Л. Л.)!!!

В июне я буду в Москве! Готовься (букв. «готовь кости». )! Привет Любе. Будь здоров. Ничего (в оригинале «ничево».).

Мы еще поборемся. Твой Ицик.

***

И. Фефер — А. Кушнирову

Москва, Последний пер., д. 10, кв. 5 [19]32 25/XII

Дорогой Кушнирович!

Спасибо тебе за твое письмецо. Я бы правда хотел получить от тебя более длинное письмо, но, кажется, стиль нашего времени больше подходит жанру открытки, чем жанру длинного письма. касается договора с «ЛиМом» , ты думаешь, что я забыл, но правда такова: Первомайский сообщил мне, что рукопись потерялась… договор

Это было в 1989 году. Однажды один из моих знакомых пригласил меня в интересную компанию, которая собиралась в доме моего будущего мужа. Мой будущий муж, в отличие от остальных, ходил в синагогу, где был един ственным молодым парнем среди молящихся пожилых евреев. Он слушал этих стариков, а потом пересказывал нам их истории. Он был по-настоящему нашим шалиахом. Внешне он не выглядел религиозным, но был хорошим орга низатором: собирал нашу компанию на еврей ские праздники. Мы не имели представления ни о каких праздниках, но приходили к нему и зажигали свечи, не осознавая, что тем самым выполняли заповедь. Все, о чем он нам расска зывал, как бы вживую представало перед моими глазами. Помню, когда он рассказывал историю о Коэнах, которые бросили в небо ключи от Храма, и как их подхватила Рука Вс-вышнего, я просто видела это, словно в фильме. Для меня он был настоящим наставником.

Мама мне намекала, что на симпатичного парня надо обратить внимание, но мне каза лось, что он птица гораздо более высокого полета, чем я. Для себя решила о нем вообще не думать. У меня это получалось до поры до времени.

И тут мне кто-то сообщил по секрету, что он уезжает

Дело было зимой. Вся Москва покрыта снегом. Ранним утром, пританцовывая от холода, мы стояли в гигантской очереди у Гол ландского посольства.

Ровно в восемь часов большие чугунные ворота раскрылись. Толпа, чинно стоявшая в очереди, хлынула во двор консульства, увлекая нас с Барухом. Корреспонденты CNN снимали все это на камеры. Еще немного, и благодаря журналистам, с нами познакомится мировая общественность. Внутри в битком набитом зале все ждали своей очереди, чтобы войти в неболь шую белую дверь. Время шло, люди входили и выходили, но толпа, казалось, не уменьшалась. Было тесно и жарко.

Наконец, после долгих часов ожидания, подошла и наша очередь. Мы с Барухом оказа лись перед заветной дверью. Вдруг раздался голос: «На сегодня прием окончен. Пожалуйста, освободите помещение!»

Люди начали расходиться. Не в силах пове рить услышанному, мы замерли перед дверью в оцепенении. Зал опустел, а мы все так же неподвижно стояли, уставившись в закрытую дверь. Было тихо. Вдруг дверь скрипнула и при открылась, из-за нее показался довольно-таки увесистый еврейский нос.

Снег сверкал под ногами, вокруг нас — переливалось море мерцаю щих огоньков, над нами — свадебный балдахин, а над ним — бездонное небо, усыпанное мириадами сияющих звезд. Уверена, наши глаза сияли тоже! Это было 4 февраля года - день Йуд Шват — 10 Швата 5750 года еврейскому календарю. В этот день исполнялось лет со дня ухода Любавичского ребе - рабби Йосеф-Ицхака, и день, когда на себя руководство ХАБАДом и нашим поколением. Погром, слава Б-гу, не состоялся. Да разве мог он случиться в такой день?!! 25 лет спустя мы с Барухом встретили рабби Довида Карпова в Аме рике. детей — мальчиков с кипами и цицит, девочек, одетых по-еврейски, скромно. Все они учатся в еврейских школах и гордятся принадлежностью к своему народу. Мы показали рабби Карпову фотографии Хупы нашей старшей дочери, которая состоялась прямо у входа в «Севен Севенти» - все мирного Центра Хабада.

Akerman Nikhama 7 Tishrei 2 October

Akodes Menucha 2 Cheshvan 27 October

AltshulerAdel 24 Tishrei 19 October

Altshuler Sonya 23 Tishrei 18 October

BabakhanIsaac 14 Tishrei 9 October

Baram Raya 14 Cheshvan 8 November

Bardenshtein Clara 7 Tishrei 2 October

BarshaiGershon 11 Cheshvan 5 November

BarshteynMikhail 5 Tishrei 30 September

BashinTsilya 3 Tishrei 28 September

Basina Fayga 11 Cheshvan 5 November

BenditSofia 22 Tishrei 17 October

BergerYakov 10 Cheshvan 4 November

BermanRisla 3 Tishrei 28 September

BeylinIzrael 10 Tishrei 5 October

Bravve Gregory 6 Tishrei 1 October

Bronshtein Riva 8 Cheshvan 2 November

BronshteinShlomo8 Cheshvan 2 November

BrookIgor 23 Tishrei 18 October

Bryanskaya Faina4 Cheshvan 29 October

BubarevaIda 15 Cheshvan 9 November

Buntsman Aleksander 1 Cheshvan 26 October

BurdmanMikhail 12 Cheshvan 6 November

BurdmanMoisey 24 Tishrei 19 October

Burdman Perl 24 Tishrei 19 October

BuslerChaya 13 Cheshvan 7 November

ChesinGosha4 Cheshvan 29 October

DayenMaria6 Cheshvan 31 October

DorfmanSofia 18 Cheshvan 12 November

DorosinskiySolomon 8 Tishrei 3 October

DubrovinShlomo 29 Tishrei 24 October

DvoskinGregory 18 Cheshvan 12 November

EydelsterMalka 14 Cheshvan 8 November

Fabricant Roza 12 Cheshvan 6 November

FabrikantMovsha2 Cheshvan 27 October

FelbergChaya6 Cheshvan 31 October

Feldman Kira 22 Cheshvan 16 November

Felzenshtein Chaim 2 Tishrei 27 September

FishmanArkadiy 29 Tishrei 24 October

Fishman Ira 29 Tishrei 24 October

FishmanKlara 23 Cheshvan 17 November

FishmanLeib1 Cheshvan 26 October

Foygelman Grigoriy 2 Tishrei 27 September

FreidinMoisey 28 Tishrei 23 October

FridmanRochel 14 Cheshvan 8 November

Frimerman Hadassa 28 Cheshvan 22 November

Frukhshteter Bella 19 Cheshvan 13 November

FuksmanElya 29 Tishrei 24 October

FuksmanShiva 13 Tishrei 8 October

GalinovskyMiron 8 Tishrei 3 October

GashenkoRaisa 8 Tishrei 3 October

Gerlants Aron 16 Tishrei 11 October

GermanAnatoliy 27 Cheshvan 21 November

Gershman Genya 27 Cheshvan 21 November

Goldenberg,Myron21 Cheshvan 15 November

Golkov Yuri 29 Cheshvan 23 November

GolmshtokGeorge 29 Tishrei 24 October

Gorelik Genya 10 Cheshvan 4 November

GorodetskiyMichael 2 Tishrei 27 September

GorodetskyGita6 Cheshvan 31 October

GortshteynIdes 6 Tishrei 1 October

GubenkoLena 3 Tishrei 28 September

Guralnik Izya 22 Tishrei 17 October

Guz-Shmuter Sofia 8 Tishrei 3 October

HernesAbraham 18 Tishrei 13 October

IlinaFaina 29 Tishrei 24 October

IsurinaEsther8 Cheshvan 2 November

ItkinaFeyga 23 Tishrei 18 October

JankelowitzSalome 26 Tishrei 21 October

KaiserJudith25 Cheshvan 19 November

KalichsteinEli 22 Tishrei 17 October

Kapitanovskiy Lev 1 Tishrei 26 September

Kapovich Ada 11 Cheshvan 5 November

KarpmanChaim 26 Tishrei 21 October

Katz Mara 12 Tishrei 7 October

KatznelsonChaya19 Cheshvan 13 November

Kershtein Riva 27 Tishrei 22 October

KhavinShmaya 29 Tishrei 24 October

KhaynovskyYakov 9 Tishrei 4 October

KhazanRosa22 Cheshvan 16 November

Khazanskaya Iness2 Cheshvan 27 October

KhmelnitskyEsphir 2 Tishrei 27 September

Kholodenko Fira 6 Cheshvan 31 October

Khomskaya Raya 15 Tishrei 10 October

Kigel RaskinNina 28 Tishrei 23 October

KirshteynIsrael15 Cheshvan 9 November

KirshtynRita 27 Tishrei 22 October

KishchenkoYulia24 Cheshvan 18 November

Klimovitskaya Margarita 17 Tishrei 12 October

KomisarchikChaya9 Cheshvan 3 November

KonevskiyMiron29 Cheshvan 23 November

KonviserKlara17 Cheshvan 11 November

KossovskiyGershko 1 Tishrei 26 September

KotlyarovEliezer3 Cheshvan 28 October

KrasnerChaya 21 Tishrei 16 October

KrasnikSolomon 17 Tishrei 12 October

Kris Riva 2 Cheshvan 27 October

KritsCrul 14 Tishrei 9 October

KritzIsroel 13 Tishrei 10/8/2022

KusaevaSviy18 Cheshvan 12 November

KuziyGitel 2 Tishrei 27 September

KuziyMendel 2 Tishrei 27 September

LevinShepa9 Cheshvan 3 November

LevitskiyDavid 16 Tishrei 11 October

LevitskyDavid 16 Tishrei 11 October

Lifshiz Sara 8 Cheshvan 2 November

LipchinNokhem18 Cheshvan 12 November

LitvakMila 7 Tishrei 2 October

LitvinMichael17 Cheshvan 11 November

LitvinRaisa 13 Tishrei 8 October

Livshitz Ilya 1 Tishrei 26 September

LopatinskyRahmil 3 Tishrei 28 September

Lyamitz Tonya 17 Tishrei 12 October

LyandresMikhail20 Cheshvan 14 November

Magid Ilya 8 Cheshvan 2 November

MalkovaGolda3 Cheshvan 28 October

Melnikov Dvora 18 Cheshvan 12 November

MeylichVictoria5 Cheshvan 30 October

MintsYehuda 4 Tishrei 29 September

Mogilevskaya Guta 28 Tishrei 23 October

MogilevskyKlara20 Cheshvan 14 November Monisov Shlomo Mendel 9 Tishrei 4 October

MounitsSarah3 Cheshvan 28 October

NakhtigalAleksandr 20 Tishrei 15 October NemchenokChana Sima 23 Cheshvan 17 November

Nikalaevskaya Sophia 17 Tishrei 12 October

Ornstein Chaim Yisroel 8 Cheshvan 2 November

ParenEli 19 Tishrei 14 October

ParenShlomo16 Cheshvan 10 November

PartenskyBoris20 Cheshvan 14 November

PartenskyVictor4 Cheshvan 29 October PasternakHarry29 Cheshvan 23 November

PavlovskyNatan 18 Tishrei 13 October Pergamentzova Lubov8 Cheshvan 2 November Pesakhovich Josef27 Cheshvan 21 November PeslinBoris11 Cheshvan 5 November

PolinskySofia13 Cheshvan 7 November

PolinskySolomon21 Cheshvan 15 November

ProkupetzChava24 Cheshvan 18 November ProzumentSofia26 Cheshvan 20 November

RabkinRegina 15 Tishrei 10 October

Raytsin Aleksander 21 Cheshvan 15 November

RessinLeonid1 Cheshvan 26 October

RifkinSemen5 Cheshvan 30 October

RonkinZalman 27 Tishrei 22 October

Rozenbaum Maria 23 Tishrei 18 October RozensteinCila26 Cheshvan 20 November

RudnitskiyHershel22 Cheshvan 16 November

Sagal Khaya 20 Cheshvan 14 November

SavinSofia10 Cheshvan 4 November

Schneiderman Brucha 17 Tishrei 12 October

SegalBoris7 Cheshvan 1 November

SegalSheyndel 16 Tishrei 11 October

Shaposhnikov Lilian 20 Tishrei 15 October

ShcloverIda 16 Tishrei 11 October

Shekhtman Fanya 11 Tishrei 6 October ShekhtmanIosif 7 Tishrei 2 October

SheynbergEsfir3 Cheshvan 28 October

SheynerManus4 Cheshvan 29 October

Shlapentokh Vladimir 22 Tishrei 17 October

Shmuklerman Yakov2 Cheshvan 27 October

Shneiderman Naum19 Cheshvan 13 November

ShpektorChaya 22 Tishrei 17 October

ShpektorKalman 16 Tishrei 11 October

ShraybmanIsaac 16 Tishrei 11 October

ShteynRakhil18 Cheshvan 12 November

ShulkinaGinda11 Cheshvan 5 November

ShusterIsaak27 Cheshvan 21 November

Shvartsband Raisa 26 Tishrei 21 October

SirotaMaria 17 Tishrei 12 October

SirotaRita28 Cheshvan 22 November

SobolevskyAaron 22 Tishrei 17 October

SobolevskySvetlana24 Cheshvan 18 November

Spivak Fayga 11 Cheshvan 5 November

SteinMichael 12 Tishrei 7 October

StellaNickolai 25 Tishrei 20 October

Stokhammer Srull28 Cheshvan 22 November

Stokhammer Tzivi17 Cheshvan 11 November

SyrkinFaina12 Cheshvan 6 November

TaksirBen 19 Tishrei 14 October

Taksir Genya 13 Tishrei 8 October

Talalayevsky Aron 17 Tishrei 12 October

Temin Lev 26 Cheshvan 20 November

TolmasovMishael26 Cheshvan 20 November

Tonkonogaia Genia5 Cheshvan 30 October

TseytinZemel 2 Tishrei 27 September

TulchinskyLeib18 Cheshvan 12 November

Tverskaya Sura Ginda 10 Cheshvan 4 November

TverskoyBen 17 Tishrei 12 October

UmanChaim29 Cheshvan 23 November

Urovitskaya Sima 3 Tishrei 28 September

UrovitskiyIssak 16 Tishrei 11 October

Vasershteyn Etya 5 Cheshvan 30 October

VayserIsaak 5 Tishrei 30 September

Vayser Khaya 5 Tishrei 30 September

VidrinMikhail14 Cheshvan 8 November

VinerClara23 Cheshvan 17 November

VorobeychikAleksander 25 Cheshvan 19 November

Weisman Benyamin 24 Tishrei 19 October

WeismanGolda 24 Tishrei 19 October

Yakov Akiva 30 Tishrei 25 October

Yastrebner Lev 28 Cheshvan 22 November

Yatsnogorodskaya Riva 10 Tishrei 5 October

YudovichMendel5 Cheshvan 30 October

ZaytzevEfim20 Cheshvan 14 November

ZeitinRachel17 Cheshvan 11 November

Zeltzer Roza 23 Tishrei 18 October

Zetkovskaya Ninel 20 Tishrei 15 October

ZhizhinJanna 4 Tishrei 29 September

ZimbovskyEfim 19 Tishrei 14 October

Zonenberg Shlomo Mendel 9 Tishrei 4 October

Zverinskaya Riva 15 Cheshvan 9 November

Я знавал людей, которые слыша слово «жид» немедля лезли в драку. Я таким не был. Стар шая сестра сохранила в памяти картину: я четырёхлетний сижу на заборе нашего доми

ка и переругиваюсь с уличным мальчишкой. «Жид!» – кричит он мне. «Сам жид!» – я в ответ.

Я долго считал, что слово «жид» происходит от похоже звучащего «жадина». От родите

лей выучить слово «жид» я не мог, они его не использовали. От них я узнал слово еврей.

Оно, это слово, тоже имело на улице отрица тельную коннотацию и использовалось как дразнилка. Меня обзывали именно так. Сей час, когда старые проблемы забылись, при шла пора прояснить различие в смысле этих двух наших названий.

В конце 18 века императрица Екатерина II, после удачных для неё разделов Польши, об рела значительное иудейское население. До разделов мы в России не жили. В последний раз это было запрещено указом императрицы Елизаветы.

В славянских языках – в русском, польском, чешском, приверженцы иудаизма назывались «жиды». Жид созвучно идишскому «аид», немецкому «юде», английскому «джю». В этих трёхбуквенных словах прячутся те же буквы: «ж», «и», «д». И, в английском особо заметно, слово это связано с названием рели гии: «джудаизм» – иудаизм. Екатерина II сочла, что «жид» звучит обидно, и повелела своих новых подданных называть евреями. На этом её забота о нас закончилась. Императрица ввела для запреты на многие про фессии. «Еврей» тоже стало звучать обидно. Версия происхождения слова «жид» из иу даизма – не единственная. В книге «Евреи Венеции» автор – историк Сесиль Рот, пред

положил, что слово «жид» пришло из назва ния острова «Джетто», на котором жили ве нецианские евреи. А когда на этом острове поселились и немецкие евреи, которые стали произносить название острова на свой лад, и оно из Джетто превратилось в «Гетто», воз никло ещё одно важное для евреев слово.

Возможно, одно соображение подкрепило другое, и иудеев, столетиями правивших фи нансами Европы из Венеции, славяне стали называть производным от названия венеци анского острова и от иудаизма словом жиды. «Еврей» в приказе Екатерины тоже возник ло не на пустом месте. В Торе Авраама и его потомков называют «иври». Например, «И пришел спасшийся, и известил Аврама-иври. . .» (Берейшит 14:13), или, жена Потифара, начальника палачей фараона, клевещет мужу на сына Якова Иосифа: «. . . пришел ко мне раб иври, которого ты привел к нам, посме яться надо мной» (39:17).

Иври обычно переводят как «человек с дру гого берега», из-за Эфрата. Наш прародитель Авраам происходил из города Ур Касдим ский, другое произношение – Халдейский. В Вавилоне халдеи служили жрецами, про рицателями, астрономами, астрологами. Ос новным населением Ура были шумеры. Из халдеев или шумеров происходил, видимо, изготовитель идолов Терах, отец Авраама. В Ханаан Авраам пришёл не из Ура, распола гавшегося на западном берегу Эфрата, а из Харрана, где долго жил, на восточном его берегу. Аврааму пришлось перейти Эфрат, и народ, от него произошедший, получил на звание «иври» – с той стороны реки. Другая версия – иври происходит от имени Эвера, правнука Шема, одного из трёх сыно вей Ноаха, предка Авраама. Её поддержива ет Иосиф Флавий: «от Арфаксада произошел сын Сала, а от последнего Эвер, по которо му иудеи в древности назывались евреями» (Иуд. Древ. I. 6.4). Традиция сохранила, что

Эвер и Шем руководили йешивой, в кото рой 14 лет проучился Яков. Поскольку отец и учитель Якова Ицхак в иерархии еврей ских пророков и мудрецов стоит неизмеримо выше Эвера и Шема, мне не понятно, чему столь долго учился в той йешиве Яков. Воз можно, дело в трудностях еврейской хроно логии, которые разрешают 14 лет, проведён ные Яковом у Эвера.

Два названия нашего народа отражают две истории и две сущности его. Более старое наше самоназвание – иври, или еврей, ис пользовалось для отношения с другими на родами. Так пророк Иона на вопрос спут ников на корабле: «что за страна твоя и из какого народа ты?» отвечает «иври я. . .». (1:8-9). Евреи – народ среди прочих народов. Но после Синайского откровения, получения нами Торы и формализации нашей религии и Богослужения, мы стали иудеями, в сла вянском произношении – жидами, народом, избранным Богом.

Этот факт стал предметом вечной зависти и ненависти, или, по крайней мере, амби валентных чувств других. Иногда мы вы зывали и желание присоединиться к нам. Крупнейший русский теолог ХХ века Павел Флоренский, евреев не любивший, веривший в кровавый навет на Бейлиса, убитый боль шевиками в 1937 году, евреям завидовал и в письме Розанову писал: «… вопрос в одном: верим ли мы Библии или нет. Верим ап. Пав лу или нет. Израилю даны обетования – это факт. И ап. Павел подтверждает: “Весь Изра иль спасется”. Не “духовный” Израиль, как утешают себя духовные семинарии, увы не духовный. Ап. Павел ясно говорит о “срод никах плоти” и подтверждает неотменность всех прежних обетований об избранниче стве. Мы – только “так”, между прочим. Из раиль же стержень мировой истории. Тако ва Высшая Воля. Если смиримся – в душе радость последней покорности. Если будем упорствовать – отвержемся того самого хри

стианства, ради которого спорим с Изра илем, т. е. опять подпадем под пяту Изра иля. Обетования Божии нетленны. Это мы в черте оседлости Божественных предна значений, – мы, а не они. Это мы египтяне, обворовываемые и избиваемые и мучимые; это мы – те, у которых “головы младенцев” “разбить о камень” есть блаженство, и это против себя мы поем в церквах ангельскими голосами “на реках Вавилонских”». Гениальная Марина Цветаева присоедини ми строками: В сем христианнейшем из миров Поэты – жиды».

А прозаики? Интересна история отноше ний Чехова с евреями, а также с еврейками. Писатель близко дружил с Исааком Леви таном, величайшим пейзажистом России. Одновременно Чехов был дружен с Алексе ем Сувориным, издателем антисемитского «Нового времени», публиковавшим Чехова. Рассорились издатель и писатель по поводу дела Дрейфуса. Что было Чехову до фран цузского офицера, дело которого казалось неясным и многим французам? В юности у Чехова был роман с еврейкой Натальей Гольден, деятеля, Эфрос. В письмах друзьям Чехов намекал, что женится не по любви, а скорее из-за денег: «Хватит мужества у бо гатой жидовочки принять православие со всеми последствиями — ладно, не хватит — и не нужно…»; «Злючка страшная… Что я с ней разведусь через один-два года после свадьбы, это несомненно». Но разрыв слу чился ещё до свадьбы. Дуня отказалась кре ститься. Для Чехова это неожиданно стало

жизненной катастрофой. Писатель попытал ся свести счёты с Дуней, написав нелепей ший рассказ «Тина» о еврейке, вульгарной, развратной, нечестной, губящей прекрасно душных русских мужчин. А потом предпри нял самоубийственную для себя поездку на Сахалин, откуда вернулся со смертельной в ту пору чахоткой. Жизнерадостный «Анто ша Чехонте» превратился в мрачного автора «Палаты № 6». Я думаю, брак с Дуней подсознательно привлекал Чехова возможностью присоеди ниться к избранному народу, пугавшему и одновременно привлекавшему его. В конце жизни, в письмах к своей жене немке Ольге Книппер, Чехов называл её: «Моя жидовоч ка», подсознательно переживая, видно, не состоявшийся брак с жидовкой.

Обратный духовный процесс прошёл Бо рис Пастернак. В 1912 году он учился в Марбургском университете у знаменитого еврейского философа Германа Когена. Но духовное развитие Пастернака двигалось в иную сторону. Итог его он вложил в уста ев рея Гордона, персонаж «Доктора Живаго»: «Отчего… не распустили они (лидеры евре ев) этого, неизвестно за что борющегося и за что избиваемого отряда? Отчего не сказали: “Опомнитесь! Довольно. Больше не надо. Не называйтесь, как раньше. Не сбивайтесь в кучу, разойдитесь. Будьте со всеми». «Нет народов, есть личности», говорит Гордон в другом месте.

Эту дуалистичность: пришельцев «с другой стороны реки», народа без программы, как все, и избранного народа, жидов, мы при несли из диаспоры в Израиль. Множество

политических партий с разными комбина циями наших качеств борются между собой в частых в здешней жизни политических предвыборных кампаниях за верховодство в стране.

В недавней аналитической статье к пред стоящим выборам Александр Непомнящий предположил, что в финальном анализе израильские избиратели из потомков Яко ва разделяются на две категории: «В конце концов, все израильские избиратели делятся на тех, кому важно, чтобы Израиль оставал ся еврейским национальным государством и тех, кому на это либо плевать, либо вообще активно не хочется».

Приняв этот раздел, мы придём к классиче ской двухпартийной системе, соответствую щей двум нашим древним названиям.

Двухтомник «Поиски смыслов». 136 избранных эссе, написанных с 2015 по 2019 годы. $40 в США, 100 шекелей в Израиле. Е-мейл для заказа: gmgulko@gmail.com По этому же е-мейлу можно заказать и другие книги Бориса Гулько Сентябрь

The UniqUeness of hUmaniTy

On the eve of Rosh Hashana, I extend my prayerful wishes to my brethren, every Jew and Jewess in the midst of our people Israel. The time hallowed traditional blessing of “ Shono toivo umesuko ”—a good and sweet year.

The celebration of Rosh Hashana — the beginning of the year — has been ordained by our Torah to take place on the anniversary of the Creation, but not on the first day of Creation. It has been made to coincide with the sixth day of Creation, the day when humanity was created.

The significance of this day, and of this event, is not in the fact that a new creature was added to Creation, a creature one plane higher than the rest of the animal kingdom, as the animal is superior to plant, and plant to mineral.

The significance lies in the fact that the new creature—the human being—was essentially different from the others.

For it was the human who recognized the Creator in and through Creation, and, what is more, brought about the elevation of the entire Creation to that recognition and thus to the fulfillment of its Divine design and purpose. Since such recognition and appreciation of the Creator is the ultimate purpose of the Creation.

One of the main distinguishing features which set humanity apart from all other creatures, is the free choice of action which the Creator bestowed upon him.

We can use this special Divine gift in two opposing directions he may, G‑d forbid, choose the way leading to self destruction and the destruction of everything around him; or, he can choose the right way of life, which would elevate him and the Creation with him to the highest possible perfection.

And to help us recognize and choose the right path, we were given the Torah, which is Divine and eternal, hence its teachings are valid for all times and in all places.

It is not possible for a human being to make his choice unaided, merely by virtue

of his intellect, for the human intellect is limited. The intellect can only serve to discover and bring forth that inner absolute intuition and faith in things which lie beyond and above the realm of the intellect; the faith and intuition which are the heritage of every Jew, therewith to illuminate his entire being and to guide him in his daily living to a life inspired by Torah and Mitzvoth.

On Rosh Hashana humanity stands not only before the Divine Judgment, but also before their own.

The verdict of their own judgment, with regard to the future, must be: that they take upon themselves to fulfill his duty, that is, to work for the fulfillment—in each individual and in his/her surroundings— of the call:

“Come, let us worship, bow down and kneel before G‑d our Maker,” a call for absolute submission to G‑d first sounded by the first human, Adam, on the day of his creation, on the first Rosh Hashana.

This can be attained only through a life inspired and guided by the Torah.

And that we must once and for all abandon the opposite road, which can

only lead to destruction and doom.

Let no one think: who am I and what am I to have such tremendous powers of building or destruction.

For we have seen—to our sorrow— what even a small quantity of matter can do in the way of destruction through the release of atomic energy. If such power is concealed in a small quantity of matter—for destructiveness, in denial of the design and purpose of Creation, how much greater, is the creative power entrusted to every individual to work in harmony with the Divine purpose, for in this case one is also given special abilities and opportunities by Divine Providence to attain the goal for which we have been created: the realization of a world in which “Each creature shall recognize that Thou didst create him, and every breathing soul shall declare: ‘G‑d, the G‑d of Israel, is King, and His reign is supreme over all.’” EM

From the Rebbe's Letters

Ten Days

The first ten days of the Jewish calendar are known as “the ten days of teshuvah.” These are days for soul searching, repentance and return (teshuvah) to G‑d. Citing the verse, “Seek G‑d when He may be found, call upon Him when He is near,”the Talmud states: “these are the ten days between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.”

Actually, this ten day period includes Rosh Hashana, which occurs on the first and second days of the month of Tishrei, as well as Yom Kippur, which falls on the tenth of Tishrei. This means that while Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur are days of teshuvah, they each embody a principle that goes beyond the concept of “return”: the essence of Rosh Hashana precedes teshuvah, while the essence of Yom Kippur supersedes teshuvah. Thus, the ten days of teshuvah include the days of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur and, at the same time, are “the ten days between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.”

The people of Israel are G‑d’s intimates— “the nation close to Him.”What is the nature of this relationship? There are three fundamental aspects to our bond with G‑d and the manner in which it is expressed in our lives.

On the most basic level, we achieve connection with G‑d through our observance of the mitzvot, the divine commandments (indeed, the word mitzvah also means “connection”). The mitzvot embody the will of G‑d; by fulfilling the mitzvot, we make the divine will the substance and aim of our lives. Our souls and bodies become vehicles of the supernal will.

But when a Jew violates the divine will, G‑d forbid, he uncovers an even deeper dimension of his bond with G‑d. The connection created by the mitzvah is exactly that—a connection created between two separate entities. Taken on its own, this connection does not point to any intrinsic bond between the two. In fact, it implies that the natural state of the observer of the mitzvah is one of separateness and distinction—a state which is overcome by the act of the mitzvah, which bridges the gulf between the mortal and the divine. But when a Jew transgresses a divine command, a more innate bond with G‑d comes to light. His

inner equilibrium is disturbed; his soul finds no peace and is driven to compensate for its ravaged identity by profane spiritual quests, material excesses, or both. His transgressions highlight the fact that there is nothing more unnatural than a Jew estranged from his G‑d.

Teshuvah is a soul’s experience of the agony of disconnection and its channeling of this agony to drive its return to G‑d. Thus, our sages have said that through teshuvah, “sins are transformed into merits,”since the sin itself becomes the impetus for connection with G‑d. Indeed, the baal teshuvah (penitent or “returnee”) attains a level of relationship with G‑d on which “even the perfectly righteous cannot stand.”His sins have provoked—and his teshuvah has actualized—a dimension of his soul’s connection to G‑d which a perfectly righteous life never touches.

During the “ten days of teshuvah,” G‑d makes Himself more accessible to man— on all three levels of connection discussed above. It is a period in which special mitzvot are commanded to us (sounding the shofar on Rosh Hashana, fasting on Yom Kippur, etc.), opening unique avenues of connection to G‑d via the fulfillment of His will. It is a period of heightened opportunity for teshuvah—a time when our souls are more sensitive to the break from G‑d caused by our transgressions and more driven to “return.” But the foundation and end of all connection with G‑d is the quintessential bond which requires no deed to effect it and which no deed can affect. In the ten days of teshuvah, the foundation is laid on Rosh Hashana and the end attains its ultimate realization on Yom Kippur.

The defining quality of Rosh Hashana is that it is the day we crown G‑d as king over

us. What does it mean that we accept G‑d as our “king”? The king/subject metaphor is one of many employed by the Torah to describe our relationship with G‑d, which is also referred to in terms of the relationships between man and wife, shepherd and flock, master and disciple, among others. The king/ subject relationship is unique in that it is not defined by equivocal criteria (love, nurture, intellectual appreciation, etc.), but rather involves the abnegation of the subject’s very self to the sovereign. On Rosh Hashana we relate to G‑d as our king, affirming our bond to Him as the very essence of our identity.

But our acceptance of G‑d as king is also the basis for our other levels of connection with G‑d—mitzvot and teshuvah. The concept of a “divine commandment” has meaning only after one has accepted G‑d as the authority over one’s life; a transgression is a transgression only because it violates a divine command, and teshuvah is spurred by transgression.

Thus, the ten days of teshuvah are defined as the “days between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.” They are preceded by “Rosh Hashana” (the concept, not the days, which are themselves part of the ten), since our submission to the divine sovereignty is the basis for the “ten days of teshuvah.” And they are superseded by “Yom Kippur,” since Yom Kippur, in addition to itself being a day of teshuvah, is the ultimate realization of the soul’s quintessential oneness with G‑d. EM

Rabbi Simon Jacobson is the author of Toward a Meaningful Life: The Wisdom of the Rebbe and the director of the Meaningful Life Center (meaningfullife.com).

Simon Jacobson

Rosh hashana anD The WaRping of Time

Tzvi Freeman

Rosh

Hashana is about time. The liturgy, as illuminated in Chabad literature, challenges our intuitive notions of time’s sequential nature, of cause and effect, and particularly of the relationship of the moment we call “now” with all that came before it.

The dynamic with which we are left with is of weighty consequence. It’s a radical empowerment of every human being to change not only his future, but also his past, and even the past of those affected through his actions.

Effectively, every moment of “now” becomes the beginning of everything.

The starting point is a statement that superficially seems almost bizarre, yet is repeated several times on Rosh Hashana:

“This day is the beginning of Your works, a remembrance of the first day.”

Bizarre in several ways. Firstly, the consummate assertion of that first phrase, as though nothing preceded this day, as though this Rosh Hashana number 5781 can simultaneously be counted as Year Zero.

That seems absurd. How is it possible to move into the future only to find yourself back at Year Zero again, year after year?

And in case you need evidence that we mean what we say, here’s another phrase we repeat several times on Rosh Hashana:

“Today is the birth of the world.”

No, not an anniversary of the birth—not a birthday in the sense we generally use the term contemporarily. Today the world is born. Period.

But then, immediately following that unequivocal assertion of “This is the day itself,” we take a step back with “Actually, it’s only a remembrance.”

Which is it, the actual Day Zero, or just an anniversary? Why give one impression only to take it back?

The signature of great minds is their willingness to tackle a paradox for what it is, refusing to ignore it, resisting the urge to whittle it away with platitudinal compromises.

So we find the Tzemach Tzedek (Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Lubavitch, 1789 1866) embracing the notion that Rosh Hashana could be both opposites: It is the very first

day in the most absolute sense. And it is also a memory of a beginning in the very distant past. There are two dynamics in a single day, on two distinct planes, the second plane—the memory—being yet higher than the first.

Hang in there. We’ll unfold all this apparent dissonance, step by step.

First: How can each Rosh Hashana, every year, be “the very first day of creation?”

A very helpful strategy for dealing with any knotty problem is to find a way to make the problem yet more excruciating. Here, that’s easy: The tradition is that Rosh Hashana is the anniversary of the creation of Adam, the first human being, containing both male and female. Since Adam was created on the sixth day of creation, that makes Rosh Hashana not the first, but the sixth day of creation.

Even if we would attempt to interpret these phrases as references to an anniversary, we’re even more confounded. How can the anniversary of the first day be five days after the first day?

This is a classic conundrum, and many significant scholars of the Torah have provided their answers. Adam is the crown of the creation, the purpose, the starting point at which the world begins telling its story. But none of those solutions address the statement at the ground floor, at its most literal meaning.

There is, however, an explanation given by the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, that does just that. The most literal solution, said the Rebbe, is that on Day Six the world began five days earlier. How does that work? Simple: The five days that led up to day six were effectively rescinded and replaced by an entirely new set of five days.

Not so mystifying. We do it all the time with our stories and humor. We tell a story that seems to be one thing, and then comes a punch line that suddenly provides a completely unexpected context. When our minds review the story now, every detail has an entirely new meaning.

Where did the original story go? Did it vanish into nothingness? No. We simply realized it never was. From where did the new, real story appear? From the punch line that came at the end.

That was the case with the very first story

ever told, the story the Creator told. With that story, He created a world.

Here’s how it goes: First, darkness. Nothingness. No form or matter from which anything can emerge. Then, out of nowhere, light appears. Then a sky. An ocean. Dry land appears as eruptions and great shifts rip landmasses apart. A carpet of green sweeps over the earth. The sun, the moon, and stars appear above. Fish, birds, bugs, reptiles swarm within the waters and in the sky. Then mammals of every sort roam upon the land.

What is the story? Where is this going? What is it about?

There is no story. It goes nowhere. It’s not about anything. Aboutness does not exist. Where did you see any aboutness in this narrative? It’s just stuff happening, one thing after the other.

It’s a world, after all. A world, by definition, must appear self contained, as though it is a closed system, without any further context. And when there is no context, there is no meaning, no story.

Until, on the sixth day, there was Adam. Something radical has entered. A being that speaks. A being that tells stories.

That changes everything. Even the past. The past has become a story. The past is now about something.

Here’s a story right now—a simple story from the treasury of Talmudic stories. Because the deepest truths are told in the simplest stories:

When Adam was first created from the earth, and the divine breath of life was breathed into his nostrils, he stood up on his two legs.

He stared upward. He stared downward. His stature covered the entire world, from East to West. He saw all the creatures the Holy One, blessed be He, had created. And then he burst into praise for His Creator.

“What a great number of works You have made, oh G‑d!” he exclaimed.

As he stood upon his feet, he himself looked like a god. The other creatures saw him and they were in awe. They understood that this must be their creator. They all came to prostrate themselves before him.

He said, “You come to bow down to me? Let us go, you and I, dressed in grandeur

and strength, and we will elect over us the One who created us all. For it is the citizens that elect the king, and the king cannot make himself king if the citizens do not elect him!”

Adam himself went first, and then all the creatures after him did the same.

He said, “G‑d will rule! He will be dressed in grandeur! G‑d will be dressed and girded with strength! The world will stand firm! It will not be shaken!”

Some dismiss such stories as fantasy. They should take an ounce of wisdom. Beneath every detail of this story lies another jewel. It’s a statement about the place of the human being within the universe. It’s also about the meaning of Rosh Hashana—the anniversary of the creation of Adam and this story.

Most of all, it’s about each one of us.

A day comes when you wake up. Or perhaps, you awaken gradually over many years. You look up, you look down. There is a universe about you. You are within it. You detect patterns. You see chaos. You find order, sequence, beauty, ugliness, emptiness, confusion. Within it all, you see yourself. You are Adam.

Adam is the observer of the universe because he is capable of recognizing that the universe does not have to be. Nothing has to be the way it is. Nothing has to be at all. That puts everything into a context—into something bigger than this universe that contains it. The context forces a question: What is the meaning of all this?

The answer for Adam was that it has meaning as a work of art by its Creator. As a true work of art, every detail speaks the authorship of its artist. As an author is a king and master over his art, so the Creator is king and master over His creation. If human art is a glimpse into the soul of a human being, the creation is a hint of the Infinite.

As there is no art without an audience to appreciate the art, so there is no king without those subjects who will pronounce him king. In our case, the members of the audience were (and still are) the works of art themselves. It was up to each of them to sing their own praise. Beginning with Adam.

Until Adam was created, there was no art, no kingdom, no story. There was not even a possibility for anything to be such—since

the entire masterpiece was forged in solitude, without a partner, without an observer to appreciate what had been achieved.

Yes, that was the intent of it all—that it be seen for what it is. But it was an intent known only to its Author. So that, from the Creator’s vantage point, nothing had really happened at all. Nothing more than setting the stage in the middle of an empty desert.

But with the advent of this Adam creature, not only did the story begin, it’s past now had a context that gave it meaning. Every created being that had emerged in those six days now became a commentary on the majesty of its Creator. How each detail had emerged, when it had emerged, what exactly emerged—all this told of an awesome, wondrous wisdom beyond comprehension.

The endless diversity of the creatures, the magnificent harmony of environment and organism so that the cycles of the sun and moon, of rain and wind, of cold and hot, wet and dry all were integrated into the very metabolic processes of every ant and elephant—all this bespoke of an unspeakable oneness that could only be expressed in a virtually infinite multitude of colors, sizes, behaviors and temperaments that somehow balanced one another and harmonized with each other in synchronization with an invisible conductor.

Suddenly, there was a story—and it had begun five days earlier.

So there occurred the very first Rosh Hashana, the very beginning of all things, as the Creator was crowned as King and Author by His creation. Because now there was Adam, a creature that could recognize all this, appreciate it all, and speak it out loud, so that each living thing became another facet of its Creator’s magnificence. The universe with all that lived within it was retroactively imbued with meaning and purpose. It became worthwhile.

“The human being,” writes the Rebbe, “just as Adam on that day, has the capacity to change the past. Even the past outside of himself.”

Take the human being who has a mess of a life behind him. Abuse, shame, pain, failure. “And the earth was void and empty, with darkness over the face of the depths.”

And yet at some point, almost miraculously—since he is a human being, after all—he finds the strength to pull his life together.

But what does he do with the trauma of the past? Memories, we have learned, can never be destroyed or forgotten. They may warp and become distorted, but they never disappear.

A painful memory continues to cause pain. on page

A shameful one will not let up on its shame. The memory of failure continues to set roadblocks at every crossroad of life. The experience of abuse continues to manifest in its many ugly guises—as anger, as cowardice, as numbness, as a fear to move forward in life, a trepidation of relationships, and a gagging reflex to vulnerability.

So what he does is to choose a new frame for all these portraits of the past. A greater context. One that transforms them, even inverts them, from ugly, creepy monsters to divine guardian angels.

Because his strength today, the depth of life that he experiences now, the sense of accomplishment he now knows because he bootstrapped himself out of that mud—he looks back and sees all this as it formed within the womb of his past. Within the earth, as it was “void and empty, darkness over the face of the deep,” there lay a story to be told.

“Great is teshuvah,” taught Rabbi Shimon Ben Lakish, “because it inverts even deliberate sins into merits.”

Teshuvah means to return, to come back to who you really are and leave behind a false past. Rabbi Shimon Ben Lakish was a master of teshuvah—he had led a gang of highway robbers through pillage, murder, and rape, only to return to a Torah life and become one of the major sages of the Talmud. Even then, he was known as Resh Lakish—meaning, quite literally, “head gangster.”

How can we accept a man who committed such crimes against man and G‑d as a sage and voice of Jewish law?

Because when he returned, he did so with great love and joy, and in doing so, he harnessed the energy of those crimes and channeled it into the joy of learning Torah and the love of his fellow human being. Resh Lakish was a man who rewrote the story of his own past.

You might say, “But the past remained what it was—a past of crime. People were robbed of their possessions, of their human dignity, and of their lives. Each crime casts a ripple of disasters in its wake—perhaps, in this case, a tsunami. For himself, Resh Lakish changed the meaning of his past. But the actions remain.”

So it would seem. But the Rebbe insists that a human being is capable of changing even the past outside of himself.

How is that possible? Only because the universe has a soul, an inner core. There is more to the universe than “stuff that happens.”

Behind every action is an energy that defines that action and directs its propagation of new events over time. What determines the sort of energy that goes into any particular action? The intent of the individual who

initiates that action. An action with a selfish intent receives a kind of energy that does not allow anything divine to enter. An action done with divine purpose, on the other hand, can only lead to more good things.

So as the meaning of your past changes, its energy changes as well. As its energy changes, so the direction to which it has led external events adjusts and swerves. All those disasters left in its wake will somehow turn around for the good as well. Ask those who have done teshuvah out of love and joy, and they will attest to its power to pull in even those with whom they committed their misdeeds.

It turns out that time does not flow through a tidy chain of events from the past to the future. Rather, the dynamo of time lies within the moment now. Each moment of “now” is potentially the beginning of all time. Because right now you have the power to rewrite the entire story.

G‑d could have created a world with a single beginning. That would have been a very top down universe. Which is not what He wanted.

Instead, He created an interactive universe— one whose creatures could interact with their Creator in the creation of their own world, step by step, year by year, day by day.

That’s the meaning of Rosh Hashana.

Together with Yom Kippur and the eight days between the two, these ten days provide the most fertile soil for planting a new life and rewriting the past. To become a partner in your own creation and the creation of your entire world. Because they mark the anniversary of the creation of that opportunity, through the creation of humankind.

Not only is Rosh Hashana “the beginning of Your works”—it is also “a remembrance of the first day.”

On the first day, the first time around, there was no human being—and so, no interaction. The very first time around, you might say, was the only free lunch. After that, it all depends on us.

Kabbalists call it a desire for pleasure. What pleasure? The pleasure He chose to have from seeing His creatures take charge of their lives and join with Him in the act of perfecting creation. EM

Rabbi Tzvi Freeman, a senior editor at Chabad.org, is the author of Bringing Heaven Down to Earth and more recently Wisdom to Heal the Earth. To subscribe to regular updates of Rabbi Freeman's writing or purchase his books, visit Chabad.org. Follow him on FaceBook @RabbiTzviFreeman.

jewish thought

The Rosh hashana message foR Us

The genius of Judaism is to take eternal truths and translate them into time, into lived experiences. Rosh Hashana, the anniversary of the creation of humanity, invites us to live and feel the human condition in graphic ways. Here are some messages from Rosh Hashana that speak directly to our lives today.

LIFE IS SHORT

However much life expectancy has risen, we will not, in one lifetime, be able to achieve everything we might wish to achieve. This life is all we have. How shall we use it well? We know that we will not finish the task, but neither are we free to turn away from it.

LIFE IS A GIFT FROM G‑D

Life itself, each day, every breath we take, is the gift of G‑d. Life is not something we may take for granted. If we do, we will fail to celebrate it. G‑d gives us one gift above all others, said Rambam (Maimonides): life itself, beside which everything else is secondary. Other religions have sought G‑d in heaven, or in the afterlife, the distant past or the distant future. Here there is suffering, there reward; here chaos, there order; here pain, there balm; here poverty, there plenty. Judaism has relentlessly sought G‑d in the here and now of life on earth. Yes, we believe in life after death, but it is in life before death that we truly find human greatness.

WE ARE FREE

Judaism is the religion of the free human being freely responding to the G‑d of freedom. We are not in the grip of sin. We are not determined by economic forces or psychological drives or genetically encoded impulses that we are powerless to resist. The very fact that we can do teshuvah, that we can act differently tomorrow than we did yesterday, tells us we are free. Philosophers have found this idea difficult. So have scientists. But Judaism insists on it, and our ancestors proved it by defying every law of history, surviving against the odds, refusing to accept defeat.

LIFE IS MEANINGFUL

We are not mere accidents of matter, generated by a universe that came into being for no reason and will one day, for no reason, cease to be. We are here because a loving G‑d brought the universe, and life, and us, into existence – a G‑d who knows our fears, hears our prayers, believes in us more than we believe in ourselves, forgives us when we fail, lifts us when we fall and gives us the strength to overcome despair. The historian Paul Johnson once wrote: “No people has ever insisted more firmly than the Jews that history has a purpose and humanity a destiny.” He concluded: “The Jews, therefore, stand right at the centre of the perennial attempt to give human life the dignity of a purpose.” This is one of the truths of Rosh Hashana.

LIFE IS NOT EASY

Judaism does not see the world through rose tinted lenses. The sufferings of our ancestors haunt our prayers. The world we live in is not the world as it ought to be. That is why, despite every temptation, Judaism has never been able to say the Messianic Age has come, even though we await it daily. But we are not bereft of hope because we are not alone. When Jews went into exile, the

Shechinah, the Divine presence, went with them. G‑d is always there, “close to all who call on Him in truth” (Psalms 145:18). He may hide His face, but He is there. He may be silent, but He is listening to us, hearing us and healing us in ways we may not understand at the time but which become clear in retrospect.

LIFE IS STILL SWEET

Life may be hard, but it can still be sweet, the way the challah and the apple are on Rosh Hashana when we dip them in honey. Jews have never needed wealth to be rich, or power to be strong. To be a Jew is to live for simple things: the love between husband and wife, the sacred bond between parents and children, the gift of community where we help others and others help us and where we learn that joy is doubled and grief halved by being shared. To be a Jew is to give, whether in the form of tzedakah or gemilut chasadim (acts of loving kindness). It is to learn and never stop seeking, to pray and never stop thanking, to do teshuvah and never stop growing. In this lies the secret of joy. Throughout history there have been hedonistic cultures that worship pleasure and ascetic cultures that deny it, but Judaism has a different approach altogether: to sanctify pleasure by making it part of the

Jonathan Sacks

worship of G‑d. Life is sweet when touched by the Divine.

OUR LIFE IS A WORK OF ART

Our life is the single greatest work of art we will ever make. Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik, in one of his earliest works, spoke about Ish Hahalachah, the halachic personality and its longing to create, to make something new, original. G‑d too longs for us to create and thereby become His partner in the work of renewal. “The most fundamental principle of all is that man must create himself.” That is what teshuvah is, an act of making ourselves anew. On Rosh Hashana we step back from our life like an artist stepping back from their canvas, seeing what needs changing for the painting to be complete.

WE ARE WHAT WE ARE BECAUSE OF THOSE WHO CAME BEFORE US

Our lives are not disconnected particles. We are each a letter in G‑d’s Book of Life. But single letters, though they are the vehicles of meaning, have no meaning when they stand alone. To have meaning they must be joined to other letters to make words, sentences, paragraphs, a story, and to be a Jew is to be part of the strangest, oldest, most unexpected and counterintuitive story there has ever been: the story of a tiny nation, never large and often homeless, who nonetheless outlived the greatest empires the world has ever known – the Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Greeks and Romans, the medieval empires of Christianity and Islam, all the way to the Third Reich and the Soviet Union. Each in turn thought itself immortal. Each has gone. The Jewish people still lives. But we do not start with nothing. We have inherited wealth, not material but spiritual. We are heirs to our ancestors’ greatness.

JUDAISM ASKS GREAT THINGS OF US AND BY DOING SO MAKES US GREAT.

We walk as tall as the ideals for which we live, and those of the Torah are very high indeed. We are, said Moses, G‑d’s children (Deuteronomy 14:1). We are called on, said the prophet Isaiah, to be “His witnesses, His ambassadors on Earth,” (Isaiah 43:10).

Time and again Jews achieved the impossible. They battled against might in the name of right. They fought against slavery. They showed that it was possible to be a nation without a land, to have influence without power, to be branded the world’s pariahs yet not lose self respect. They believed with unshakeable conviction that they would one day return to their land, and though the hope seemed absurd, it happened.

Judaism sets the bar high, and though we may fall short time and again, Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur allow us to begin anew, forgiven, cleansed, undaunted, ready for the next challenge, the next year.

WE ARE DUST OF THE EARTH BUT WITHIN US IS THE BREATH OF G‑D

And finally comes the sound of the shofar, piercing our defences, a wordless cry in a religion of words, a sound produced by breath as if to tell us that this is all life is – a mere breath – yet breath is nothing less than the spirit of G‑d within us: “Then the Lord G‑d formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7).

And whether the shofar is our cry to G‑d or G‑d’s cry to us, somehow in that tekiyah, shevarim, teruah – the call, the sob, the wail –is all the emotion of the Divine–human encounter as G‑d asks us to take His gift, life itself, and make of it something holy, by acting in honor of G‑d and His image on earth, humankind. For we defeat death, not by living forever but by living by values that live forever; by doing deeds and creating blessings that will live on after us, and by attaching ourselves in the midst of time to G‑d who lives beyond time, “the King – the living, everlasting G‑d.” EM

Rabbi Dr. Sir Jonathan Sacks, of blessed memory, was the former Chief Rabbi of the UK and the Commonwealth and a member of the House of Lords. He was a leading academic and respected world expert on Judaism. He was the author of several books and thousands of articles, appeared regularly on television and radio, and spoke at engagements around the world.

future tense

Joy shares an intrinsic connection to the Future Redemption. For it is in the Era of the Redemption that we will experience the consummate level of simchah. At that time, all undesirable influences will cease to exist as reflected in the verse, “And G‑d will wipe away tears from every face.” Indeed, all the negative influences will be transformed into good. This will greatly increase the simchah we will experience, enabling it to reach consummate perfection. Therefore the returnees to the Land of Israel are described as being “crowned with eternal joy.” Indeed, the depth of the connection between the concepts of joy (simcha) and Moshiach is alluded to by the fact that their Hebrew word roots share the same three letters.

To explain the connection between the two: Simchah breaks through (poretzes in Hebrew) all barriers. This is also the nature of Mashiach, who is a descendant of Peretz, and is referred to as haporetz, “the one who breaks through,” as it is written, “The one who breaks through will ascend before them.” For Moshiach will break through all barriers and limitations, reulting in unprecendended Divine consciousness and prosperity for all humanity.

aRe The high holiDays solemn oR JoyoUs?

by Rabbi Dan Rodkin

QIalways associated Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur with a certain heaviness, even guilt. But I see that some services and communities approach these days with joy. Is it this joy authentic, or just a way to make the holidays more accessible? Is it appropriate to be happy on these holy days when we are basically asking forgiveness for our sins?

Every single mitzvah that we merit to do must be performed with joy. Teshuva (repentance) is a mitzvah like any other, one of the 613 commandments of the Torah. Therefore, it must also be performed with joy, even though there might be some bitterness or regret attached to it. This guilty feeling might be what sparks the desire for repentance, but the repentance itself is a joyful journey.

In fact, teshuvah’s ability to correct past transgressions stems from the fact that it emanates from a higher spiritual source than all the other mitzvahs (as explained at length in Chassidic teachings). Teshuva is therefore greater than every mitzvah. If its purpose is to correct the transgression of all other commandments, it must fill the spiritual "gap" that the lack of observance engendered. It would stand to reason then, that the greater the mitzvah, the greater the joy – teshuva must be done with the greatest joy, the joy of this profound opportunity to correct the past and attain a higher connection.

This doesn’t change the fact that when I look at my life, I see that I might not be deserving of this possibility. Why should I be given another chance after I've botched up so badly? Nevertheless, G‑d chose to give me the special mitzvah of teshuvah. I could start observing G‑d's commandments right now and activate my Divine connection. We need to shed tears, recognizing how our past deeds distanced us from G‑d and from our holy core. While remorse is integral to teshuvah. But then we need to rejoice and dance, for G‑d is giving us the opportunity to return.

The Arizal, the great mystic Rabbi Isaac Luria, teaches that whoever doesn't cry during the Ten Days of Awe demonstrates that his soul isn't decent and complete. But if teshuva like all Divine service is to be performed with joy, why should we shed tears? The Baal Shem Tov, founder of the Chassidic movement, reconciles this by commenting that the Arizal is referring to tears of joy.

So, practically speaking, how do I go about changing my life? The gap between where I was versus where I want to be can seem overwhelming. The best strategy is using short term resolutions. Making long term resolutions might seem exciting in the moment of inspiration, but experience teaches that inspiration fizzles out, and with it the grandiose resolution it gave birth to. Better to make short term resolutions, for a few weeks, and then grow from there by renewing, amending or extending the resolution depending on the circumstances.

Through the process, we must always keep in mind this great principle in the Torah, which is particularly emphasized in Chassidic teachings, that it is necessary to serve G‑d with joy. This includes every aspect of the daily life, as is written, “Know Him in all your ways” – which includes the joy of teshuva as a daily practice.

Perhaps this is why we dip the challah and apple in honey on the High Holidays, reminding us that even on days of atonement and judgement, the deeper reality is an opportunity for connection, which is sweet and brings joy. Only a Judaism that is infused with sweetness and joy has the power to empower change by dissolving negativity, cynicism and indifference. Bitterness and heaviness alone will never cleanse our soul. The joy and sweetness of teshuva not only cleanses but also brings about real change. EM

Rabbi Dan Rodkin is the Executive Director of the Greater Boston Jewish Russian Center. You can Ask the Rabbi at rabbi@shaloh.org.

Rosh HaShana

Sept 25-27, 2022

Rosh Hashana begins at 6:18pm on Sunday, Sept 25.

Rosh Hashana concludes at 7:14pm on Tuesday, Sept 27.

All times displayed in this guide are for the Greater Boston Area.

What is Rosh Hashana?

Rosh Hashana, as the name implies, is the “head” of the year, from which all the energy that flows through the rest of the year emanates – including our connection to the Divine and all the blessings we need for the year. Just as a body needs a healthy head in order to function properly, so too the year needs a healthy Rosh Hashana in order to channel its energy in the best way.

• Prepare the festival meals in advance

Pre-Holiday to-do list

• Prepare/purchase the special Rosh Hashana foods

• Have a new seasonal fruit for the second night

• Shofar plans – make plans to hear the Shofar on the two days of Rosh Hashana

• Holiday Candle Lighting - see below

Rosh Hashana in Jewish History

3760 BCE: Birthday of humanity with the creation of Adam and Eve, and the first sin (of the Tree of Knowledge) and repentance on the same day.

2105 BCE: The Great Flood in the days of Noach ends.

1677 BCE: The Binding of Isaac, and the passing of his mother Sarah

1746: The Baal Shem Tov’s vision of Moshiach, during which he asked him when he would finally come. His reply? “When your teachings are disseminated and revealed in the world, and your wellsprings spread to the outside,” a reference to Chassidic teachings.

The First Rosh Hashana

Rosh Hashana is the anniversary of the birth of humankind Why do we celebrate Rosh Hashana, and the beginning of the year, on this day?

The creation of humanity is what enables the true purpose of Creation to be fulfilled. G‑d created a world that conceals His presence, and He wants us to reveal it. Only humans –who are endowed with intelligence and freedom of choice; the ability to accept G‑d or reject Him – can accomplish this.

Shabbat and Holiday Candle Lighting

Shabbat and Holiday candles are lit by women and girls. See your Jewish calendar for exact candle lighting times.

The blessings for lighting, with instructions, the candles can be found in your siddur (prayerbook).

i Learn more at shaloh.org/ShabbatCandles

We’re here to help

Shaloh House is here to assist with all your Rosh Hashana needs. See the back page of Exodus for a list of High Holiday Services locations. For assistance in making your Rosh Hashana plans, including attending services, having someone blow the Shofar for you in your home, or any other assistance, visit shaloh.org/HighHolidays or contact us.

Why Shofar? Ten Reasons

Although the Torah does not specify why we are to blow the shofar on Rosh Hashana, Rabbi Saadia Gaon compiled a list of ten reasons for this special mitzvah:

1. On Rosh Hashana we coronate G d as King of the world. The shofar’s trumpeting call heralds this exciting event.

2. Its piercing wail serves to awaken slumbering souls that have grown complacent.

3. It evokes the shofar blasts that were heard when G d descended on Mount Sinai and gave us the Torah.

4. It echoes the cries of the prophets who urged Israel to mend their ways and return to G d and His commandments.

5. It reminds us of the war cries of our enemies as they broke into the Temple in Jerusalem and destroyed it.

6. Made of a ram’s horn, the shofar recalls the near-sacrifice of Isaac, who was saved when G d showed Abraham a ram to bring as an offering in his stead.

7. Its loud piercing sound humbles us and fills us with awe before G d.

8. It foreshadows the day of judgment at the end of days, which the prophet describes as “a day of shofar and alarm against the fortified cities and against the high towers.”

9. It gives us hope, mirroring the sound of the “great shofar” that will call together the Jewish people who are scattered to the corners of the earth at the time of the coming of Moshiach.

10. It reminds us of the Revival of the Dead, about which we read, “dwellers of the earth ... a shofar is sounded you shall hear.”

i Learn more at shaloh.org/Shofar

The Moshiach Connection

The shofar blasts on Rosh Hashana are associated with the coming of Moshiach, especially the long, extended blast at the end of each set. The prophet Isaiah writes, “On that day a great shofar will be sounded, and those who are lost in the land of Ashur (Assyria) and those who are cast away in the land of Mitzrayim (Egypt) shall come and bow down to G d on the holy mountain in Jerusalem.”

There are different ways we can get lost in the journey of life. Ashur means “bliss,” a reference to the luxuries and pleasures of prosperity we can get lost in. Mitzrayim means “constraints,” a reference to the various limitations, stresses and pressures that swallow us alive.

Both of these phenomena are burdens that hold us back from realizing our true spiritual potential, and both will be lifted with the sounding of the great shofar that will awaken us with the coming of Moshiach.

i Learn more at shaloh.org/Moshiach

Special Rosh Hashana Foods

A central part of Judaism is about expressing the spiritual within our physical lives in a meaningful way. That’s why there are so many mitzvahs and details governing daily life.

Even the foods we eat have significance – especially on an auspicious day like Rosh Hashana.

Here are a few examples:

We dip a piece of sweet (red) apple into honey, praying that it be G-d’s will to renew for us a good and sweet year.

A head of a fish, ram, or other kosher animal, is served. This symbolizes our desire to be at the “head of the class” this year.

A pomegranate is eaten, symbolizing our wish to have a year full of mitzvah and good deeds, as a pomegranate is filled with luscious seeds.

On Rosh Hashana it is customary not to eat foods which are sour or tart. Instead, the focus is on sweet foods, symbolizing our desire to have a sweet year, blessings and abundance.

It is also customary not to eat nuts on Rosh Hashana, as the numerical value of the Hebrew word for nuts (“egoz”) is the same as the Hebrew word for sin (“chet”).

Sweetness

One of the unique qualities of honey as it’s described in Jewish literature is that it doesn’t overpower with brute force, like fire which violently consumes whatever it touches. Honey overpowers with sweetness. The sweetness of honey is so intense that everything it touches is overwhelmed and succumbs to its sweet embrace. This power of honey represents a deeper approach to the High Holidays. Yes, these are somber times, and there is a real need to return to G d. But the introspection and good resolutions that these days inspire need not come from a place of guilt. Rather, when we experience the sweetness of Divine love, when we feel how close G d is to us and what a blessing it is to be a Jew, our joy can melt away whatever is evil and purify us from our less than kosher ways. This is why we start the High Holidays by dipping challah and apple in honey. Only a Judaism that is infused with sweetness and joy has the power to dissolve negativity, cynicism and indifference. Sadness and heaviness will not cleanse our soul. But the experience of sweetness will.

i Learn more at shaloh.org/NewYear

YOM KIPPUR 4-5,

Yom Kippur begins at 6:03pm on Tuesday, Oct 4. Kippur concludes at 7:00pm on Wednesday, Oct 5. times displayed in this guide are for the Greater Boston Area.

What is Yom Kippur?

Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the the of the soul shines and we are closest to G d – a day of atonement with our Creator our true History

The Prayer Vault

No prayer is ignored and no tear goes unnoticed. But the response is not always in the form we expect it to be. At the high point of Yom Kippur, toward the end of the day in the Neilah prayer, we address G d with the following plea: “You who hears the sound of weeping, store our tears in Your flask, and save us from all cruel decrees.” This seems to be a strange expression. Why would G d store our tears? It doesn’t seem to be of any use to keep our tears in a flask. Not always are our prayers answered in the way we want them to be. Sometimes, in His wisdom, G d does not grant us our wishes at the time we demand them. Instead, He stores away our tears and files away our prayers, to be taken out and answered at another time. In physics, the law of conservation of energy states that energy can never be destroyed, it just changes from one form to another. There is a similar law in metaphysics. No prayer is ever lost; no tear is ever wasted. Your request will be granted; it just may be in an unexpected form. So keep praying, because every word is stored away. It will rebound back to you when you need it most.

i Learn more at shaloh.org/Prayer

A Whale of a Story

Myth:

Yom Kippur Is a Sad Day

Perhaps because it shares some basic components with Tisha B’Av, our national day of mourning for the destruction of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and the exile of our people, many view Yom Kippur as a sad day. The fact is that Yom Kippur is one of the two happiest days on the calendar. It is the day when G d forgives us for our sins, a day when we are cleansed from the baggage we picked up during the course of the year. On a deeper level: This forgiveness is achieved because this day is when we rise above the mundane nature of our lives. We rise to a spiritual state of being, connect to our inner souls, and by extension, we are one with G d himself. What could be more celebratory than that?

On Yom Kippur afternoon, we read the story of Jonah (he of the got swallowed by a giant fish fame). What is the connection between the Book of Jonah and Yom Kippur? When he experienced his adventure, Jonah was trying to escape from G-d, so to speak. G-d wanted him to deliver a prophesy to the residents of Nineveh that their city would be destroyed if they did not repent. He was hesitant to do so, because he knew that they would repent while the people of Israel would not, creating “bad karma” for the Israelites.

The story of Jonah teaches us that we can’t run away from ourselves. Just as Jonah’s endeavor to escape G d’s providence was unsuccessful, so, too, we are incapable of eluding our divine purpose in this world and the divine justice for transgressions we may have committed.

On a more uplifting note: G d spared the people of Nineveh although He had already decreed that they would be destroyed because of their evil ways. This teaches us that no matter our past behavior, G d’s benevolence and mercy awaits us if we only repent full-heartedly.

The Moshiach Connection

What will Yom Kippur look like when Moshiach comes? The Yalkut Shimoni states, “All the holidays will be nullified in the future except for Purim. Rebbe Eliezer says that even Yom Kippur will never be nullified, as the verse states ‘it is an everlasting statute.’” We will fast on this day just as we do now, even though the world will be permeated with goodness. The purpose of this fast will be to atone for sins prior. Nevertheless, the other Yom Kippur observances, such as not wearing leather shoes, not bathing and the prohibition against marital relations, will be rescinded.

If the days of inauguration of the Third Temple falls during Yom Kippur, then on that Yom Kippur we will not fast, just as was done during the inauguration of the First Temple in the times of King Solomon.

i Learn more at shaloh.org/Moshiach

Yizkor

When: Wednesday, Oct 5

Yizkor is the remembrance prayer for departed loved ones, where we implore G d to remember the souls of our relatives and friends that have passed on. The main component of Yizkor is our private pledge to give charity following the holiday in honor of the deceased. By giving charity, we are performing a positive physical deed in this world, something that the departed can no longer do, especially if our goods deeds emulate theirs. Yizkor renews and strengthens the connection between us and our loved one, brings merit to the departed souls, and elevates them in their celestial homes.

i Online Yizkor form: shaloh.org/yizkor Boston and content visit shaloh.org/Holidays.

SUKKOT

Oct 9-16, 2022

Sukkot begins at 5:54pm on Sunday, Oct 9.

Sukkot yom tov days conclude at 6:51pm on Tuesday, Oct 11, while Sukkot continues until Sunday, Oct 16. All times displayed in this guide are for the Greater Boston Area.

What is Sukkot?

Sukkot is a seven-day celebration of the harvest season, and commemorates the miraculous protection G d provided for the Israelites during the Exodus from Egypt and the forty years in the desert wilderness.

• Holiday Candle Lighting - see page 15

The Immersive Mitzvah

“Mitzvah,” the Torah’s word for the divine precepts which guide and govern every aspect of our daily lives has a dual meaning: the word means both “commandment” and “connection.”

In commanding us the mitzvot, G d created the means through which we may establish a connection with Him. The hand that distributes charity, the mind that ponders the wisdom of Torah, the heart that soars in prayer — all become instruments of the divine will. There are mitzvot for each limb, organ and faculty of man, and mitzvot governing every area of life, so that no part of us remains uninvolved in our relationship with the Creator.

Therein lies the uniqueness of the mitzvah of sukkah. While other mitzvot each address a certain aspect of our persona, the mitzvah of sukkah provides a medium by which the totality of man is engaged in the fulfillment of G d’s will. All of the person enters into and lives in the sukkah. “sukkah is the only mitzvah into which a person enters with his muddy boots,” goes the Chassidic saying. For the seven days of Sukkot, the sukkah is our home—the environment for our every endeavor and activity.

i Learn more at shaloh.org/Sukkot

Sukkah in the Rain?

The weather may be a little unpleasant, it may be a little squashy in there, and your palm allergy may be flaring up...but the inner serenity, the love and feeling of connection with those around you, the sense of being embraced by G d—all that should override any physical discomfort. If you’re still not enjoying the sukkah, then you’re not really in the sukkah in the first place, and you can go inside. But if you know what you’re missing, you won’t want to leave.

There are moments when we are called upon to transcend the material world. Sitting in the sukkah is one of those moments. A little rain, or even a lot, can’t stop that.

Special Guests

According to Kabbalistic tradition, we are visited in the sukkah by seven supernal ushpizin (“guests”) – Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, Joseph and David. On each of the seven days of the festival, another of the seven ushpizin (in the above order) leads the group. The sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn (1880 1950) spoke of seven “chassidic ushpizin” as well: the Baal Shem Tov, the Maggid of Mezeritch, and the first five rebbes of Chabad. The Rebbe would speak each night of Sukkot on the special characteristics of both the biblical and the chassidic ushpizin of the day and their connection to each other and their specific day of the festival.

We’re here to help

For assistance in making your Sukkot plans, including attending services, building a Sukkah, acquiring a lulav and etrog, or any other assistance, visit shaloh.org/Sukkot or contact us.

Pre-Holiday to-do list

• Build a Sukkah or make plans to haveaccess to one

•andAcquiretheFourKinds(a.k.a.lulav etrog)

• Prepare the festival meals in advance

It Takes All Kinds

The etrog has both a taste and an aroma; so, too, do the people of Israel include individuals who have both Torah learning and good deeds... The date (the fruit of the lulav) has a taste but does not have an aroma; so, too, do the people of Israel include individuals who have Torah but do not have good deeds... The hadas has an aroma but not a taste; so, too, do the people of Israel include individuals who have good deeds but do not have Torah.... The aravah has no taste and no aroma; so, too, do the people of Israel include individuals who do not have Torah and do not have good deeds.... Says G d: “Let them all bond together in one bundle and atone for each other.” The message is not just that “all are part of the Jewish people” or “all are precious in the eyes of G d” or even that “all are necessary”; it says that they “all atone for each other.” This implies that each of the Four Kinds possesses something that the other three do not, and thus “atones” and compensates for that quality’s absence in the other three.

Shake the Four Kinds

It is customary to perform the mitzvah of the Four Kinds inside the Sukkah.

1.Blessing. Stand facing east. Hold the lulav in your right hand and recite the blessing: Ba-ruch A-tah Ado-nai E-lo-hei-nu me-lech ha-olam a-sher ki-de-sha-nu be-mitz-vo-tav ve-tzee-vah-nu al ne-ti-lat lu-lav.

Blessed are You, L‑rd our G‑d, King of the Universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us regarding taking the lulav.

2.Pick up the etrog in your left hand. The following blessing is recited ONLY on the first time the mitzvah is performed this year: Ba-ruch A-tah Ado-nai E-lo-hei-nu me-lech ha-olam sheheche-ya-nu ve-ki-yi-ma-nu ve-higi-a-nu liz-man ha-zeh. Blessed are You, Lord our G‑d, King of the universe, who has granted us life, sustained us, and enabled us to reach this occasion.

The Intermediate Days

Chol Hamoed (the “intermediate days”) are, as the name suggests, a fusion of the mundane (“chol) and the sacred (“moed”). These are not holy days like Shabbat and Yom Tov during which work is prohibited, yet they are still festival days that are observed with limited work restrictions. The general principle is to minimize work and as to maximize the holiday celebration. Anything done to cook or otherwise celebrate the festival itself is generally permitted. Driving, lights and using electronics is permitted (but you might want to minimize screen time to be more present with the holiday), and one can do work in order to avoid incurring a loss. Consult your rabbi from more specifics.

The seventh and final official day of Sukkot is called Hoshana Rabbah, and is considered the final day of the divine “judgment” in which the fate of the new year is determined. It is the day when the verdict that was issued on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur is finalized.

3.Shake it Up (and all around)

Bring the lulav and etrog together using both hands. The bottom of all the Four Kinds should be parallel, with the top of the etrog touching the lulav. Your hands should be opposite your heart. Wave the Four Kinds three times in each direction, bringing them back to the heart after each time:

–Right (south)

–Left (north)

–Straight (east)

–Upwards ‑ beware of low ceilings! –Downwards keep the tip pointing up and move your hands downward

–Backwards (west) keep your feet planted, twist backwards to the right

The Moshiach Connection

The sukkah is defined as a temporary dwelling which, for the duration of the seven-day festival of Sukkot, becomes the home of the Jew. The sukkah must be “temporary” but it also must be a “dwelling,” therefore the sukkah has a minimum height, length and width, a maximum height, and many other detailed laws defining its building. All these specifications have one exception: there is no limit to a sukkah’s length and breadth. You can build a sukkah the size of a city, or the size of a continent — it’ll still be a kosher sukkah. The Talmud derives from the verse above that “all citizens of Israel shall dwell in the sukkah.” The Torah wishes to imply that “it is fitting that the entire people of Israel dwell in a single sukkah.”

The quality imparted by Sukkot is unity. Our interdependence and oneness as a people are expressed by the four kinds taken on Sukkot, and by the sukkah’s embrace of every Jew — every type of Jew, and every individual Jew — within its walls.

Thus it is indeed most “fitting that the entire people of Israel dwell in a single sukkah.” The big sukkah — the sukkah large enough to house all Jews together — cannot be a violation of the definition of “sukkah”, since it is actually its most fitting expression. Whatever size sukkah we build, we must ensure that it should be a “big sukkah” in essence — a welcome home to each and every one of our brethren.

i Learn more at shaloh.org/Moshiach

© 2022 Exodus Magazine, a project of Greater Boston Jewish Russian Center. (617)787-2200 | exodus@shaloh.org | shaloh.org. For more holiday information and content visit shaloh.org/Holidays.

SHMINI ATZERET & SIMCHAT TORAH

Oct 16-18, 2022

Shemini Atzeret begins at 5:43pm on Sunday, Oct 16.

Shemini Atzeret (and Simchat Torah) concludes at 6:40pm on Tuesday, Oct 18. All times displayed in this guide are for the Greater Boston Area.

What is Shemini Atzeret?

Shemini Atzeret is an independent holiday that follows Sukkot. Outside of Israel it is a two-day holiday, and the second day is known as Simchat Torah. (In Israel they are celebrated on the same day). This holiday is characterized by utterly unbridled joy, which reaches its climax on Simchat Torah, when we celebrate the conclusion and restart of the annual Torah-reading cycle.

Prayer for Rain

Jews have been praying for rain for millennia. In the ancient land of Israel, rain was a life-and-death concern. A good rainy season meant a good harvest and ample drinking water, while a drought could be fatal to livestock and cripple the economy.

Marking the start of the rainy season (in the Middle East), we begin to mention rain in our prayers on Shemini Atzeret morning. This is dramatically marked with special addition of the The Prayer for Rain to the cantor’s repetition of the Musaf, sung in a traditional tune, evocative of the soul-stirring High Holiday melodies. We are joining Jews all over the world—especially those in our Holy Land, where every drop of water is precious—united in our request for bounty and blessing for all of humanity.

Goodbye Party

Simchat Torah is the grand finale of a season that began with the solemn repentance of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur and then transitioned into the joy of Sukkot and Simchat Torah. The sages compare this final day to the following analogy: A king threw a grand feast for seven days. All citizens of the kingdom were invited for the seven days of partying. He then told his loved ones: We have fulfilled our duty to the citizenry. Now let me and you continue with what remains. This is our final party with G d before we enter the year ahead, supercharge and inspired by the holiday.

“The forty-eight hours of Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah should be dearly cherished, for at each moment one can draw bucketsful and barrelsful of treasures both material and spiritual, and this is accomplished by dancing.”

The Rebbe Rashab Rabbi Sholom DovBer of Lubavitch

Yizkor Remembrance Prayer

When: Monday, Oct 17 Yizkor is a special prayer in which we implore G d to remember the souls of our relatives and friends that have passed on. Yizkor means “Remember.” When we recite Yizkor, we renew and strengthen the connection between us and our loved ones, bringing merit to the departed souls by pledging to perform a mitzvah in their honor (usually giving to charity), which provides a merit that elevates them in their celestial homes. Yizkor should only be recited by someone who has lost at least one parent; those with both parents alive leave the synagogue sanctuary during Yizkor. In addition to reciting Yizkor for one’s parent(s), one may recite Yizkor for any Jew who has passed on, including relatives and friends. When reciting Yizkor for more than one person, repeat the Yizkor paragraph each time.

What gives Yizkor its special power? It is the eternal power of the soul – including the soul of our departed loved ones above, and our souls here below. On the soul level, we are all one and always one. Yizkor is a moving moment when we recite the names of our loved ones whose souls are in the World of Truth above, and realize that at that very moment their souls are present here below.

The Moshiach Connection

The festival of Shemini Atzeret does not have special mitzvahs, customs or rituals like the other festivals – except for one: to be joyous. The mitzvah of joy on this day is actually explicitly ordained by the Torah in the verse “you shall be only joyful.” Commentators note that this verse is not only a precept but also a promise: “if you will fulfill the mitzvah of simchah, you are assured that you will be joyful forever.”

The concept of joy is central in Judaism, and especially in the teachings of Chassidus. The significance of joy is encapsulated in the notion that “joy breaks through barriers.” Through joy, we can transcend all kinds of challenges and obstacles to reach the highest heights, especially in spiritual matters. In this sense, some say that joy is not the goal of life; joy is the engine that drives life.

Moshiach, too, is referred to as “The one who breaks through.” Moshiach breaks through the chains and darkness to bring light into the world, and we see that historically many of Moshiach’s ancestors, from Judah to Ruth to King David, had to overcome intense challenges in order to break through and realize their destinies.

Our joy, which empowers us to break through in our own lives, is the channel that brings about the ultimate break-through – the end of exile and the coming of Moshiach.

i Learn more at shaloh.org/Moshiach

The Climax

The climax of the month of Tishrei—the point at which our celebration of our bond with G d attains the very pinnacle of joy—is during the hakafot of Simchat Torah, when we take the Torah scrolls in our arms and dance with them around the reading table in the synagogue—a practice that is neither a biblical nor a rabbinical precept, but merely a custom.

Now What?

The holiday season comes to a close. It’s time to hit the road and get back to the “real” world. This concept is expressed in the verse, “And Jacob went on his way.” Each word in the verse is significant. The name used to describe the Jewish nation is Jacob, rather than Israel. Israel is the name associated with the unique loftiness and greatness of the Jewish people. The name Jacob, on the other had, means “heel,” expressing the mission to elevate the lowliness of the material world. So, in this context, describing the movement from the holiness of the holidays into the mundane world, referring to ourselves as Jacob clearly indicates that this movement has meaning: The purpose is to bring the spirit and inspiration of the holidays with us into our lives, refine the world around us (and inside us), and thereby make the entire world a dwelling place for the Divine. The method to achieve this is through practical actions of goodness and kindness, which often require us to step out of our previous definitions of self and self-imposed limitations – which is expressed in the word “Jacob went.” Finally, “on his way” (or, more accurately, his “path” or “road”) signifies connectedness; the purpose of transportation infrastructure is to connect remote areas to the central region. The journey of the year is, in a sense, a mission to connect the remoteness of normal material life with the central elevated spiritual life of the holidays.

For it is with our observance of the customs that we express the depth of our love for G d. The biblical commandments might be compared to the explicitly expressed desires between two people bound in marriage. The rabbinic mitzvot, on which G d did not directly instruct us but which nevertheless constitute expressions of the divine will, resemble the implied requests between spouses. But the customs represent those areas in which we intuitively sense how we might cause G d pleasure. And in these lie our greatest joy. a healthy, happy, year of

i Online Yizkor form: shaloh.org/yizkor

BRACHOT FOR CANDLE LIGHTING:

(1) Bo-ruch a-toh A-do-nay Elo-hei-nu me-lech ha-o-lam a-sher ki-dee-sha-nu bi-mitz-vo-tav vi-tzi-va-noo li-had-leek ner shel Sha-bbat ko-desh.

(2) Bo-ruch a-toh Ado-noi E-lo-hei-nu me-lech ho-olom a-sher ki-de-sha-nu be-mitz-vo-sov ve-tzi-vo-nu le-had-lik ner shel Yom Ha-zi-karon.

(3) Bo-ruch a-toh Ado-noi E-lo-hei-nu me-lech ho-olom she-he-che-ya-nu vi-kee-yi-ma-nu vi-hi-gee-an-u liz-man ha-zeh.

(4) Bo-ruch a-toh Ado-noi E-lo-hei-nu me-lech ho-olom a-sher ki-de-sha-nu be-mitz-vo-sov ve-tzi-vo-nu le-had-lik ner shel Yom Ha-kipurim.

(5) Bo-ruch a-toh Ado-noi E-lo-hei-nu melech ho-olom a-sher ki-de-sha-nu be-mitz-vosov ve-tzi-vo-nu le-had-lik ner shel Yom Tov.

TISHREI/CHESHVAN Shabbat and Yom Tov CANDLE LIGHTING

TISHREI:

Eve of First day Rosh Hashana, Sunday, September 256:18 pm (Brachot 2 & 3)

Eve of Second day Rosh Hashana - Monday, September 26after 7:16 pm (2 & 3)

Friday, September 30 – 6:09 pm (1)

Eve of Yom Kippur - Tuesday, October 4 – 6:03 pm (4 & 3)

Friday, October 7 – 5:57 pm (1)

Eve of First day Sukkot - Sunday, October 9 – 5:54 pm (5 & 3)

Eve of Second day Sukkot - Monday, October 10 –after 6:52 pm (5 & 3)

Friday, October 14 – 5:46 pm (1)

Eve of Shemini Atzeret - Sunday, October 16 –5:43 pm (5 & 3)

Eve of Simchat Torah - Monday, October 17–after 6:41 pm (5 & 3)

Friday, October 21– 5:35 pm (1)

CHESHVAN:

Friday, October 28– 5:25 pm (1)

Friday, November 4– 5:16 pm (1)

Friday, November 11– 4:08 pm (1)

Friday, November 18– 4:02 pm (1)

SHALOH SCHOOL OHOLEI TORAH

29 Chestnut HillAvenue Brighton, MA 02135

Celebrate

HIGH HOLID AYS

START YOUR NEW YEAR ON A HIGH NOTE

JOIN SHALOH HOUSE FOR INSPIRING & UPLIFTING HIGH HOLIDAY SERVICES

EVE OF FIRST DAY ROSH HASHANA

Sunday, September 25

Mincha/Maariv 6:20 pm

FIRST DAY OF ROSH HASHANA Monday, September 26

Shacharit . . . . . 9:00 am Shofar 12:00 pm Mincha followed by Tashlich 5:00 pm Maariv 7:15 pm

SECOND DAY OF ROSH HASHANA

Tuesday, September 26 Shacharit 9:00 am Shofar 12:00 pm Maariv 7:15 pm

EVE OF YOM KIPPUR Tuesday, October 4

Shacharit 7:00 am (with Kapparot from 5:30 AM)

Mincha 3:20 pm

Kol Nidrei followed by Maariv 6:10 pm

Y OM KIPPUR Wednesday, October 5

Shacharit 9:00 am

Yizkor around 12:00 pm Mincha 4:45 pm

Ne-eilah . . . . . 5:45 pm

End of Fast/Shofar 7:01 pm

Please stay for light refreshments after the fast

EVE OF FIRST DAY SUKKOT Sunday, October 9

Mincha/Maariv 5:55 pm

FIRST DAY SUKKOT Monday, October 10 Shacharit 10:00 am

EVE OF SECOND DAY SUKKOT Monday, October 10 Mincha/Maariv followed by Kiddush 6:00 pm

SECOND DAY SUKKOT Tuesday, October 11 Shacharit 10:00 am Mincha/Maariv 5:55 pm

EVE OF SHEMINI ATZERET - Sun, Oct 16

Mincha/Maariv 5:40 pm Kiddush 7:00 pm

Festive Dancing & Hakafot . .8:00 pm

SHEMINI ATZERET - Monday, October 17 Shacharit 10:00 am Yizkor 11:30 am

EVE OF SIMCHAT TORAH - Mon, October 17 Mincha/Maariv 5:40 pm Kiddush 7:00 pm Festive Dancing, Hakafot & Whiskey tasting 8:00 pm

SIMCHAT TOR AH - Tuesday, October 18 Shacharit 10:00 am Kiddush followed by Hakafot 11:45 am Mincha after Hakafot 3:30 pm Maariv 6:45 pm