The Jewish New Year is unlike any other. Here’s why: Israeli culture

The best Siman for Rosh Hashanah

The simanim are special foods that form a central part of the festive meal on Rosh Hashanah.

We dip an apple in honey and wish for a year that will be good and sweet. We also eat a pomegranate and pray that our merits will be as numerous as the seeds of this fruit.

Rabbi Yisrael Meir HaCohen of Radin, known as the Chofetz Chaim, spoke about the most important siman – one that is important not only on Rosh Hashanah, but throughout the year.

“We know that there is meaning and power in the symbolic foods we prepare for Rosh HaShanah, and that is why we strive to eat sweet foods and to bless and pray for these foods,” he said. “But if we are so particular about seeking meaningful simanim, there is nothing better than a pleasant disposition, a smile, and the patience we show to others. And there are no worse simanim than anger and stubbornness. After all, our behavior also has influence and consequences, as the Gemara states: “Whoever shows compassion for others receives compassion from heaven” (Shabbat 151b). On Rosh Hashanah we should pay special attention to the simanim of affection, love and kindness.”

APPLES AND HONEY: The classic Rosh Hashanah combination. (credit: SUFECO/FLICKR)

Sound of the soul

While other countries celebrate the new year with a raucous party, we start the new year in a very different way, spending a few minutes in silence and just listening. Accordingly, the blessing we recite, “Baruch Ata…lishmo’a kol shofar,” reflects that we are participating in a mitzvah where we do not have to do anything, just listen.

The sound of the shofar evokes important events in our history: the Akeida when a ram was sacrificed in place of Yitzchak; the blasts of the shofar heard at the giving of the Torah at Har Sinai; and the Yovel (Year of Jubilee), when slaves were freed. It also reminds us of the future redemption, which the prophets say will be heralded by the sounds of the shofar.

We don’t speak, respond or discuss for a few moments – we just listen. We don’t jump in and express our opinion; we quiet the noise of all the hustle and bustle around us and within us and concentrate on a pure sound: the voice of the soul.

Which ‘Ruben’ do you want to be?

What is your opinion on Rosh Hashanah? Rabbi Kalonymous Kalman Shapira, the Rebbe of Piaseczno, advises that instead of looking at the past year, we should mainly look ahead to the year ahead and think about what exactly we want from ourselves in each area of life.

Rabbi Shapira was murdered during the Holocaust, but he left a valuable educational legacy: “If you want to serve Hashem and elevate yourself, and not be in the same place at the age of seventy as you were at your Bar Mitzvah, then do so. this: Set a goal for yourself every year. For example, if your name is Reuben, imagine the Reuben you would like to be a year from now: his achievements, work, character traits, and everything else about him. With this imaginary Ruben in mind, you measure yourself against him all year long. This way you can see exactly where you fall short and what kind of work you have to do to become him. Strive that your daily service to God and your personal refinement will be sufficient to achieve your goal of becoming the Reuben you want to be a year from now.

Welcome home Bubby’s

Yaakov Selavan is deputy head of the Golan Regional Council. Explaining his decision to remain in the North during these tense weeks, he wrote: We chose to stay and hold the country, despite the challenging situation. And if anyone thinks we are crazy, they should know, and so should Hezbollah, that despite the difficult year that Israel has gone through, last week another plane full of new immigrants landed at Ben Gurion Airport.”

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Yaakov wrote that after years of deliberation, right now, in the midst of these hardships, many in the diaspora realized that it was time to come home. Among those who came to this realization were Yaakov’s grandmother, Jacqueline Yocheved Hirsch, 87, and her sister, Marsha Rubkin, 89, both of Atlanta. Jacqueline will live in Jerusalem and Marsha will live in Rehovot.

“Most of Bubby and her sister’s grandchildren have been in Israel for many years, and they both have dozens of great-grandchildren here,” Yaakov continued. “We no longer have a ‘Grandma from America.’

“This makes it clear to us that we should not take the fact that we get to live here for granted and that, despite the challenges, there is no better place to be. So while I was spending Shabbat here in the north, Bubby was at the Kotel, where as an Israeli she first heard the haftarah, a haftarah that spoke directly to her: ‘Lift up your eyes and see them all gathering together and coming to you ; your sons will come from far away. ”