Jewish News Supplement - Rosh Hashanah (September 2023)

Happy 5784!

Dear Readers,

My friend, Cantor Jennifer Bern Vogel, was the first person I ever heard remark that “the High Holidays are never on time. . . they’re either ‘early’ or ‘late’ this year.” This year, however, I think they’re as close to ‘on time’ that they’ll ever get. Rosh Hashanah starts at sunset on Friday, September 15.

Still, a lot of hectic activity is taking place, as if the upcoming High Holidays’ arrival is a surprise. Congregations are busy preparing for services, meals, and other programming and family and friends are planning gatherings before and after services. Clergy, of course, are also a bit occupied . . .

In addition to the obvious (praying and eating together), we’re also making memories, the topic of this section’s feature, in which we asked several locals to share their earliest memories of Rosh Hashanah. From birth to sermons, the recollections begin on page 20. Thank you to all who responded!

Today, a major part of a synagogue’s prep for these days of worship focus on security. Mike Goldsmith, regional security advisor for Secure Community Network, offers some advice on awareness that we can all employ – whether we’re in our sanctuary, in a movie theater, we’re

shopping, or are at work. The article is on page 28.

Each year in advance of the holidays, Jewish Family Service reaches out to Jewish residents of non-Jewish senior facilities and conducts food drives to help feed hungry families. Both are important and appreciated efforts. Learn more on page 32.

Tashlich takes place in various forms throughout Tidewater. Our article on page 29 shows how creative area congregations are in conducting the practice. We hope you enjoy these, as well as the other articles and information in this section. Mainly, however, all of us at Jewish News hope you have a peaceful, safe, healthy, and happy New Year!

L’Shana Tova!

Denison Editor

Terri

What is your earliest memory from a Rosh Hashanah celebration?

That’s the question Jewish News posed to a variety of people of a variety of ages. With the assortment of backgrounds, there’s no surprise that the recollections are also diverse – from serious to playful. No matter where on the spectrum they fall, however, all are heartfelt. What’s your memory?

[ Lawrence Steingold ]

My earliest memory of a Rosh Hashanah celebration was on Spotswood Avenue in West Ghent, the home of my maternal grandparents.

It was a busy and lively time with my mother’s two sisters and brother, along with their spouses and a load of grandchildren. My grandfather, Isaac, who was a trustee at Congregation Beth El, spent most of the holiday at services, and we waited “patiently” for him to get home. At the home, there was lots of cooking – truly authentic Jewish foods that only were made around holiday time.

Grandparents and patience IT’S ALL ABOUT THE APPLES AND HONEY [

With our grandparents having immigrated from Eastern Europe a half century earlier, we were aware of the importance of the holidays with them.

DISHES INSTEAD OF BENCHING

Stephanie Peck ]

Liam Glassman ]

Eating sticky honey with apples. You have to dip the apple in the honey and play apple games.

Igrew up in Baltimore, Md., a Jewish community so large that seven students in my first-grade class had the last name, Cohen (and none were related)!

We celebrated Rosh Hashanah with my Orthodox grandparents who still lived in my father’s childhood home and in walking distance to shul. Each New Year, my grandmother baked the same dessert: a yellow cake with pareve chocolate icing and coconut shavings. Even more memorable to me was after the meal; while my father, grandfather, and brothers were benching, I was in the kitchen with my mother and grandmother handwashing the dishes. I took such pleasure in this activity – while also knowing that I was having fun while Roger and Gregg were stuck at the table!

theDiscussing sermons

Leiderman

My earliest memory is having Rosh Hashanah lunch at my Grandma Lil’s house.

Since we went to Beth El, and my uncle and aunt went to Temple Israel, they were always waiting for us! During the meal, the different sermons from each service were discussed. Eventually, the meals moved to my parents’ and uncle and aunt’s houses. Now, we host one or both of the meals! From generation to generation.

Stolen nose and pinched cheeks

David Leon ]

Iremember attending services at Gomley Chesed in Portsmouth.

Even at a young age, I could sense the excitement of everyone being together. The women were pinching my cheeks, and the men were telling me jokes and “stealing” my nose. I was always fidgety in my seat where we sat behind the Peck clan.

A Rosh Hashanah baby Berkley and Mikro Kodesh [

[ Barb Gelb ]

My father has a great deal of joy when he talks about how he was called up to the bimah on the second day of Rosh Hashanah, just a few days after I was born, and I was given my name, Aviva Yocheved. That would be the earliest memory.

Jay Legum ]

Ihave a vague recollection of my family’s moving in with my grandmother in Berkley for a couple of days, in addition to a “fuzzy” memory of my sitting with my father in the old Mikro Kodesh Synagogue when I was an elementary school boy. It’s so “fuzzy” in my memory because it was so long ago!

For a few years in the late 1970s and early 1980s, we would have lunch after services at my parents’ apartment and then visit my great-uncle and great-aunt Herman and Sallie Sacks at their home. It was always an enjoyable visit.

Tekiah!

[ Gary Baum ]

One of my earliest memories is of my grandfather calling out the notes to the shofar blower. It seemed to me at the time to be an important job, and I felt very proud!

A sense of community –even on the road

[ Janet Mercadante ]

Iremember driving down the FDR Drive in Manhattan and seeing cars full of Jewish families all dressed up heading to Rosh Hashanah dinner. It resonated with me even then and filled me with a sense of community.

• Family owned and operated since 1917

• Affordable services to fit any budget

• Advance funeral planning

• Professional, experienced, caring staff

• Flexible burial options

• Flexible payment options

Approved by all area Rabbis and Chevrah Kadisha

Chris Sisler, Vice President, Member of Ohef Sholom Temple, Board member of the Berger-Goldrich Home at Beth Sholom Village, James E. Altmeyer, Jr., President, James E. Altmeyer, Sr., Owner

High Holiday Service Options in Tidewater

CONGREGATIONS

B’NAI ISRAEL CONGREGATION

420 Spotswood Ave., Norfolk, VA 23517 757-627-7358

bnaiisrael.org, office@bnaiisrael.org

Rabbi Shlomo Eisenberg

ORTHODOX

BEACH COMMUNITY SHUL

3400 Holly Rd, Virginia Beach, VA 23451 757-938-0625

www.jewishvb.org

rabbi@jewishvb.org, info@jewishvb.org

Rabbi Meir Lessoff

CHABAD LUBAVITCH OF TIDEWATER/ CHABAD HOUSE

1920 Colley Avenue, Norfolk, VA 23517 757-616-0770

Rabbilevi@chabadoftidewater.com

www.chabadoftidewater.com

Rabbi Aron and Rychel Margolin

Rabbi Levi and Rashi Brashevitzky

COMMODORE URIAH P. LEVY CHAPEL

Corner of Maryland Ave. and Gilbert St., Naval Station Norfolk 757-444-7361

Rabbi Gershon Litt UNAFFILIATED

CONGREGATION BETH CHAVERIM Temple.Office@bethchaverim.com

Cantorial Soloist Jim Hibberd REFORM

CONGREGATION BETH EL

422 Shirley Avenue, Norfolk, VA 23517 757-625-7821

bethelnorfolk.com

noelle@bethelnorfolk.com

Rabbi Ron Koas

Rabbi Emeritus Arthur Ruberg CONSERVATIVE

KEHILLAT BET HAMIDRASH/ KEMPSVILLE CONSERVATIVE SYNAGOGUE (KBH)

952 Indian Lakes Blvd. Virginia Beach, VA 23464 757-495-8510

kbhsynagogue.org

kbhsynagogue@gmail.com

facebook.com/kbhsynagogue

Cantor David Proser

CONSERVATIVE

OHEF SHOLOM TEMPLE

530 Raleigh Avenue, Norfolk, VA 23507 757-625-4295

ohefsholom.org, ed@ohefsholom.org

Rabbi Rosalin Mandelberg

Cantor Jennifer Rueben

Rabbi Emeritus Lawrence A. Forman REFORM

TEMPLE EMANUEL

424 25th Street Virginia Beach, VA 23451 757-428-2591

www.tevb.org, office@tevb.org

Rabbi Ari Oliszewski

CONSERVATIVE

TEMPLE ISRAEL

7255 Granby St., Norfolk, VA 23505 757-489-4550

templeisraelva.org

TempleIsraelVA1954@gmail.com

Rabbi Michael Panitz

CONSERVATIVE

TEMPLE LEV TIKVAH (HEART OF HOPE)

1593 Lynnhaven Parkway, Virginia Beach 757-617-0334 or 757-937-8393

jzobe@aol.com

Rabbi Israel Zoberman REFORM

TIDEWATER CHAVURAH

Rabbi Cantor Ellen Jaffe-Gill 757-499-3660

tidewaterchavurah1@gmail.com

tidewaterchavurah.org

Wishing

a Sweet

Temple Israel is an egalitarian, multicultural and multigenerational Conservative synagogue.

We offer in person Shabbat service each week, and daily minyan services on Zoom.

We have in person and virtual programs throughout the month, and you can participate in our “Mitzvah of the Month” helping organizations in need.

We are proud of our military families and offer affordable and flexible membership options for those who serve our country. Give us a call for more information.

Dr. Michael E. Panitz, Rabbi Nancy J. Tucker, Executive Director Tammy Conklin, Executive Assistant 7255 Granby Street Norfolk, VA 23505 757-489-4550 www.templeisraelva.org

-Andrew H. Hook, President of Hook Law Center

With the growing threat of a war with Hezbollah, we can’t ensure this Rosh HaShanah will usher in a peaceful year. But with a new campaign to add 300 urgently needed ambulances to MDA’s fleet, we can save lives no matter what 5784 brings.

Make a donation today or contact us about how you, your family, or synagogue can provide the ambulances MDA will need.

Visit afmda.org/give or call 866.632.2763.

High Holiday prayers not working for you? Try remixing metaphors.

Andrew Silow-Carroll

(JTA) — One of the centerpieces of the Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur liturgy is the “Avinu Malkeinu” prayer — Our Father, Our King. It’s a desperate and emotional appeal for forgiveness, set to powerful melodies over the centuries.

It’s also a hurdle for many people, regular and occasional synagogue-goers alike. Some can’t relate to a “king,” or bristle at the gendered implications of “father.” Whatever they hoped to feel or achieve in prayer is undermined by the archaic language and metaphors that don’t speak to them.

That’s the challenge described in Rabbi Toba Spitzer’s book, God Is Here: Reimagining the Divine. The spiritual leader of Congregation Dorshei Tzedek in Newton, Mass., Spitzer understands how the language of Jewish prayer can stand in the way of the meaningful spiritual experience many people are seeking. Her solution is to “dislodge” unhelpful metaphors of prayer and look for meaning in different ones — ancient and modern — in ways that help people think and talk about “something that is greater than ourselves.”

The book asks what might be useful if we were to think of God as water, or fire, or a place, or yes, even a king. All are metaphors for God found in the Torah and the Jewish prayer book. You don’t need to ask whether you believe that God is a parent or a monarch, she says, but rather explore where the poetry of metaphor can take you. “My hope,” she writes, “is that we can recapture the alive-ness which once pervaded our holy texts, and reconstruct our metaphors so that they are once again engaging and meaningful.”

Spitzer is the past president of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association and is the first LGBTQ rabbi to head a national rabbinic organization. She spoke with me via Zoom.

Our conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

Jewish Telegraphic Agency: It’s the High Holidays. People find themselves in a synagogue for the first time all year, where even regular synagogue-goers face that firehose of liturgical language that may not speak to them. For both sets of people, there may be a sense that

the Iron Age metaphors of the prayer book — God is king, heavenly father, shepherd, or even a potter — don’t resonate with them. You say, “people don’t have a God problem as much as a metaphor problem.” Can you explain that?

As Israelis rejoice in the sound of the shofar, we’re also preparing for the wail of the siren.

Rabbi Toba Spitzer: When I started this journey into metaphor and cognitive linguistics, I realized, and this is a quote from the anthropologist Barbara J. King, that “the religious imagination thrives on the human yearning to enter into emotional experience with some force vaster than ourselves.” There is some foundational human experience of the sacred that’s existed at all times and at all places. And at some point, people started using metaphors to think about and interact with that experience:

“God is a big person” or “God’s an old man in the sky.” It’s not that that is a bad metaphor, but there are some problematic aspects to it. Or the “king” one: I think Americans have a huge problem with royalty. We’re trained to not like authority, so it doesn’t work for a lot of Americans.

So, the metaphor problem is, “Wow, I do have spiritual experiences. I do want to feed my spirit. And then I turned to a metaphor that doesn’t work for me, what do I do?”

I use this analogy of a restaurant — like I just walk out of the restaurant, because there’s nothing on the menu that satisfies me. And yet our ancestors had a much richer palette of metaphors to choose from that could convey their experiences of the sacred. So, the book is nothing new. It is just trying to say, what if we took these other metaphors seriously?

So, when you try to reclaim metaphors, you’re still drawing on some of those found in tradition: God is fire, or a warrior, or an eagle, water, a rock.

I want to reclaim all of it. In the first couple of chapters I lay out this argument, which is the argument of cognitive linguists George Lakoff and Mark Johnson, that in order to apprehend reality and get our minds around abstract things, we need metaphor. I feel like these were metaphors that were very alive in our ancestors’ lives and not just words on the page, so it’s not surprising a lot of them are from the natural world. I tried out more modern ones, like electricity and GPS, but I love the ancient ones.

JTA: I want to dig into a few of those in a second, but I like your framing of how to deal with doubt. Instead of asking, “Do I believe

this?” we can ask of a prayer: “Where is this trying to take me?” How might that work in practice?

TS: Let’s go back to the High Holidays and some of the human metaphors. We say, “Our Father, our King.” Do I believe God is a king? No. But if I say this is poetry and my ancestors were trying to evoke something, it takes me to a few directions. I think the big theme of Rosh Hashanah is like, “I’m not the center of the universe. There’s something much bigger than me.” So, what did a king represent to the ancients? Something powerful, someone who held the power of life and death in their hands, but who is also largely beneficent. The High Holiday liturgy is asking me to confront my mortality and confront the fact that I’m extremely, extremely miniscule in the scheme of the cosmos. I was just doing some research and found that referring to God as a king in the Roman period was subversive — at a time when the Roman emperor was considered God. So, the metaphor is saying that while we have earthly rulers, there’s something higher than that. So even if the word “king” might not work for me, that’s powerful, and I want to go in that direction.

JTA: How might that work with water, which you write is one of the most common metaphors for God in the Hebrew Bible, as in Psalm 42: “As the deer longs for water, so does my soul long for You, O God.”

TS: Water adds a few things. We say we are created in God’s image, and I’m 70% water. There is sacred stuff literally flowing through me. So that’s one piece. And that psalm leads me to ask, how am I dry? How do I nourish myself spiritually, what do I need? Water is also a metaphor for godly power in the Bible. If in the Bible, God’s justice is often imagined as water, how do we align ourselves with the flow? How do I get my values and my actions aligned in the new year? Right now, in New England, we’re in a drought and in other parts of the world they are getting too much water. That’s scary, and God is scary. So, it’s both: We need both a sense of awe and sustenance, and as we move through the High Holidays, those

two pieces are a big part of the liturgy.

JTA: You write that in the early rabbinic period, or the first two centuries of the Common Era, the term “HaMakom” — “The Place” — had become a fairly well-known Jewish name for God. I always thought of it as just a euphemism and not really a metaphor, the way the people in Harry Potter’s world talk about “the one who shall not be named.” How is it useful to think of a place as a metaphor for God?

TS: The rabbis call [God] that for two reasons. One is because wherever you

are, there’s godliness. The rabbis were in a period when the Holy Place — literally, the Temple — had been destroyed and they were recreating connections to the Divine everywhere. So literally HaMakom was where we experienced the Divine in every place. It’s always associated with compassion, and a sense of God’s nearness. I’ve found that when people are in distress, whatever they think or don’t think about God, I ask them to describe for me experiences of the sacred. And they almost always talk about places. I think it’s very easy for most people to conjure up places where they feel sheltered, where they feel a sense of wonder or the sacred. Place is very accessible.

Sweet savings for Rosh Hashanah & Yom Kippur

High Holiday security: Be aware and prepared

Stephanie Peck

While many area synagogues hire off-duty police officers or sheriff’s deputies during High Holiday services, Michael Goldsmith, regional security advisor for Secure Community Network, emphasizes the role each congregant plays in recognizing and preventing a disturbance. As the High Holidays approach, Goldsmith suggests taking these precautions to help prepare for any unforeseen disruptions:

• Maintain good situational awareness as you worship and celebrate. Pay attention to anything that seems out of place or odd while on the way to or from your destinations. Look for behaviors, situations, or vehicles that do not fit the usual pattern for the community at this time of the year.

• Make certain a close contact knows your plans. Should there be an incident at a synagogue (or anywhere for that matter), having someone who

knows where you are will assist First Responders in locating you and your family.

• In synagogue, note the locations of exits, first aid kits, and Automated External Defibrillators. Many congregants do not attend synagogue on a regular basis, so they may not be as familiar with the facility as those who attend more frequently. Whether you are worshipping somewhere new or just haven’t been in the building for a while, look around for the exits, ushers, and medical equipment before fully engaging in the service.

• Have a plan. Make sure you know what to

do should an incident take place. Be ready to act and Commit to Action to save your life or the life of another.

In advance of the High Holidays, Goldsmith shares the dates with area police departments so the departments can plan to increase patrols or practice random patrols to provide additional coverage to synagogues and their neighborhoods. – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Two training sessions: Countering Active Threat and Stop the Bleed, will take place on Sept. 13, and 14 at the Sandler Family Campus. For information and to register, visit

L'Shana Tova 5784

THE BOARD AND STAFF OF THE UNITED JEWISH FEDERATION OF TIDEWATER AND THE SIMON FAMILY JCC

WISH YOU A SWEET & HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Mike Goldsmith

Tashlich takes place in various forms in Tidewater

Tashlich comes from the Hebrew word, meaning “to cast.” Each Rosh Hashanah, Jews cast away their sins during the Tashlich service, often by symbolically throwing their sins (pieces of bread) into a body of water and reciting prayers of praise and repentance.

Many explanations exist as to why Jews cast away their sins into water, but one suggestion is that like fish caught in a fisherman’s net, Jews too are caught in a net of judgment. Water also represents the opportunity to cleanse the body and soul and take a new course in our lives.

This year, many area congregations will hold Tashlich on the second day of Rosh Hashanah, since the first day of the Jewish New Year falls on Shabbat. Interestingly, but not surprising, each congregation has their own style of observing the tradition. In no particular order, following are some that will take place in Jewish Tidewater:

• Tidewater Chavurah and Temple Israel will observe Tashlich at the Lafayette River in Norfolk.

• KBH traditionally meets at the synagogue and walks three blocks to a small stream.

• Members of Temple Emanuel gather and walk together to the 25th Street beach.

• Congregants of B’nai Israel and Beth El will recite Tashlich at The Hague in Ghent.

• Instead of tossing bread as a stand-in for their sins, members of Chabad will shake their tzitzis over The Hague, symbolizing the spiritual goal of shaking sins from the soul.

• This year celebrates the sixth, worldwide Reverse Tashlich, an effort to tackle the global pollution problem by cleaning up waterways. As an alternative to the traditional Tashlich,

Ohef Sholom and Beth El will join this effort on Sunday, September 10. Repair The Sea, a global organization “where science and spirituality intersect, from a Jewish perspective,” refers to this initiative as “the global Jewish waterfront cleanup.” Since September 10 is also the first day of Religious School at Ohef Sholom, Reverse Tashlich will be a community effort (in partnership with Norfolk Beautiful) involving students, their families, and new members. Beth El will meet at the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art (in partnership with Lynnhaven River Now) to clean up waterways in Virginia Beach.

Stephanie Peck

This year celebrates the sixth, worldwide Reverse Tashlich, an effort to tackle the global pollution problem by cleaning up our waterways.

Seven sweet facts about Rosh Hashanah you may not know

Leah Kadosh

This story originally appeared on Kveller.

Shanah Tovah, Happy, Healthy New Year! The Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, is nearly here.

Rosh Hashanah, or “Head of the Year” is observed this year from sundown on Friday, September 15 through Sunday, September 17. Rosh Hashanah celebrates the beginning of the next year on the Hebrew lunar calendar and is a time of great reflection, repentance and, of course, guilt.

In honor of this very important Jewish holiday, we eat special foods, don white attire, hear the shofar, attend, or stream services, give tzedakah, and, in many families, make brisket and

tzimmes. Perhaps most importantly, we contemplate how we can improve our actions in the coming year. With all the food, remorse, praying, and thinking, Rosh Hashanah is the classic Jewish holiday.

So, take a break from whatever you’re doing and enjoy these fun facts about Rosh Hashanah:

1. This New Year corresponds to 5784

The year 5784 counts the years since God created the world, as described

in the very first portion of the Torah, Genesis Chapter

1. Just how did we arrive at this number? Many estimates were suggested by scholars, although Rabbi Yossi Ben Halafta’s calculation (which he made around 165 CE in Israel) became the most widely accepted.

Through careful study of the Hebrew Bible, with special emphasis on the dating of biblical figures’ lifetimes and kings’ reigns, the established date of 70 CE (the destruction of the Second

Temple) was used as the end point and counting started backwards from there. Rabbi Yossi Ben Halafta established that God created the world on Monday, October 7, 3761 BCE. (using Gregorian calendar terms). And now it’s math time: 3761+2023=5784!

2. The name “Rosh Hashanah” is not mentioned in the Torah

It’s true: This major Jewish holiday is not mentioned by name in the Torah. Instead, it is referred to as Yom Teruah (Day of Sounding the Shofar) and Yom HaZikaron (Day of Remembering). The holiday becomes identified as “Rosh Hashanah” during the 1st century CE in Mishnah Rosh Hashanah 1.1.

3. Rosh Hashanah celebrates the New Year, but falls on the first day of the seventh month

Like so many Jewish holidays and traditions, there are several and conflicting theories as to how Rosh Hashanah evolved and how the new year came to be celebrated in the seventh month on the Hebrew calendar. Among the numerous interpretations, one is: In the 13th century, Sephardic sage, Rabbi Nachmonidies, equated the counting from the months of Nissan (the first month of the Hebrew calendar) to Tishrei (the seventh) to be the same relationship as the first day of the week (Yom Rishon, which literally means “the first day”) with Shabbat (the seventh day). The number seven in Judaism holds sacred significance. It is associated with God’s six days of creation to the seventh day of rest, Shabbat. Counting seven months from the time of the Exodus from Egypt — which, you guessed it, happened in the month of Nissan — emphasizes the holiness of the seventh month of Tishrei, and is therefore the perfect excuse for a new year celebration.

4. Rosh Hashanah is a two-day festival, everywhere

As the song goes: “Wherever you go…” not only will you find someone Jewish, but Rosh Hashanah is celebrated for two days. That’s true whether you’re in Israel or elsewhere. This contrasts with other important biblical festivals, such as Sukkot, Passover, and Shavuot, which are observed for an extra day in the diaspora (outside of Israel) — just to be sure the correct day is commemorated. (Why? Nearly 2,000 years ago, holiday start times were determined by moon-witness testimony, and then word was dispersed by foot. Extending the holiday by one day compensated for inevitable delays.)

So, why is Rosh Hashanah celebrated for two days even in Israel?

Maimonides, 12th-century scholar, and philosopher, explains that it is the only Jewish holiday that begins on the first day of a new month, and therefore, witnesses were not permitted to travel to alert their communities on the sighting of a new moon. To enable complete worship, two days were established and came to be known as “yoma arichta,” – a long day lasting 48 hours. Ask any Rosh Hashanah host at the end of the second day, and you’ll find that “yoma arichta” is the perfect description.

5. Apples and honey aren’t the only traditional foods

Because Rosh Hashanah is a rather serious holiday filled with introspection, repentance, and self-improvement, traditional foods symbolize those themes as well. In Ashkenazi tradition, apples are dipped in honey for the delight in literal sugary sweetness and the hope for a fulfilling year ahead. But that’s hardly the only traditional Rosh Hashanah food. There’s also round challah, as opposed to oblong braided challah, which represents the yearly cycle and God’s crown or majesty. Fish heads are traditional in Sephardi Rosh Hashanah feasts. (“Rosh” is also the Hebrew word for “head,” and therefore, there is a literal connection to beginnings.) Pomegranates are in season during this time in Israel, and are another traditional Rosh Hashanah treat. They were once thought to contain 613

seeds, the same number of mitzvot (commandments) in the Torah.

6. Strangely, it’s tradition to avoid nuts

It is a custom to abstain from eating nuts during Rosh Hashanah for a couple of reasons. According to the Shulchan Aruch, one of the most consulted Jewish law books written by Joseph Caro in the 16th century, nuts increase the production of saliva and phlegm, and perhaps could hurt one’s pronunciation of words recited during services.

7. The shofar is an integral part of the High Holiday season, although it’s never blown on Shabbat

As mentioned previously, one of Rosh Hashanah’s biblical names was “Day of Sounding the Shofar,” and only two details are included in its observance as written in the Torah: to hear the shofar and to abstain from work. Shofars are horns taken from kosher animals and can vary greatly in size, color, and shape. It also takes a skilled musician to make a decent sound.

The shofar is an ancient instrument of communication and had a multitude of purposes: to declare battle, welcome Shabbat and a New Moon, announce the reign of a new king and so on. Nowadays, one can hear the shofar blown after morning services every day (excluding Shabbat) in the month of Elul, the month preceding Rosh Hashanah — except for the last day, the day before Rosh Hashanah.

The unique sound of the shofar reminds congregants of an alarm, a reflective wake up call. Maimonides reasoned that the sound awakens our souls and calls to our attention our actions of our past and what we want to change in the future. We are tasked to analyze our relationship with God, ourselves, and others and to change for the better.

As for the reason for abstaining from blowing the shofar on Shabbat, that’s due to the fear of carrying the instrument itself. The Talmud explains that it was not the actual sounding of the shofar that was forbidden, but the worry of an inadequate shofar blower carrying their shofar to an experienced shofar blower for help and training on Shabbat that was prohibited.

Jewish Family Service: Outreach during the holidays

Stephanie Peck

Among its many activities, Jewish Family Service attempts to make all the major Jewish holidays better for those who might need a bit of a boost or metaphorical hug.

Prior to Rosh Hashanah, for example, Jewish Family Service will deliver holiday gift bags to Jewish residents living in non-Jewish senior facilities. These offerings include challah rolls, apples and honey, a Jewish calendar, and a handmade card created by members of the “Come Together” series hosted by KBH in August. In facilities such as The Talbot on Granby, First Colonial Inn, and Westminster Canterbury, where five or more Jewish individuals reside, JFS wants “seniors in the area to know that they’re not forgotten,” says Jody Laibstain, JFS director of volunteer services.

Often, these individuals are unaware that the

Jewish New Year is ahead, and this outreach serves as a reminder of the upcoming holiday. JFS provides similar outreach during Hannukah, Purim, and Passover. Know someone who could benefit from this free service? Call Jody Laibstain at 757-321-2227.

September is Hunger Action Month

For Yom Kippur, Jewish Family Service encourages area synagogues to host food drives. This summer, JFS’s Food Pantry saw an increased need due to the high cost of groceries, making the anticipated Yom Kippur donations even more important to help

resupply the Food Pantry for the fall.

Non-perishable food items, cleaning supplies, detergent, and other household items are all in high demand. Donations are needed and appreciated. To give, check for congregational food drives or drop food and supplies at the Sandler Family Campus.

Families in need

Jewish Family Service offers food and financial assistance to local families in need during the holidays and all year. If you or someone you know could benefit from this assistance, contact Maryanne Kettlye at 757-459-4640.

L’Shana Tova!

The Tidewater Jewish Foundation would like to wish you a sweet and happy New Year filled with health and happiness for you and your loved ones.