Falling (get it?) on the same day is the autumnal equinox and the Jewish New Year.
Rosh Hashanah is a Jewish holiday that commemorates the birthday of the universe, year 5786, and is the beginning of the High Holy Days.
Fall weather in SoCal usually brings our hottest Santa Ana winds and high temperatures, but yesterday was a drizzly, showery day and we were all so grateful for it because we hadn’t had any rain in months.
Today, the first day of autumn, is still a bit gloomy, but it’s heating up again. The leaves are turning yellow so we know change is on the way.
Mythically, the autumnal equinox relates to the story of Persephone and marks the moment the goddess descends into the underworld to rejoin her husband, Hades.
It’s a good day to write down what we want to release alongside what we want to attract. It’s all about balance.
Happy New Year and Happy Autumn! L’shanah tovah! Remember to eat apples dipped in honey and hope for an end to war and long lasting peace.
The elephant in the room is what’s happening in Israel. October 7 will mark one year since the armed conflict between Israel and Hamas-led Palestinian militant groups in the Gaza Strip and Israel. It’s the fifth war of the Gaza–Israel conflict since 2008, and the most significant military engagement in the region since the Yom Kippur War in 1973. I don’t have an opinion to share because I think all the killing is terrible with horrendous collateral damage.
Now is the time for an end to war and hope for long lasting peace.
Happy New Year! Shana tovah!
Rosh Hashanah is one of Judaism’s holiest days. It’s also a powerful new moon, which enhances the overall spirituality of this holiday.
Meaning “head of the year” or “first of the year,” Rosh Hashanah — the Jewish new year — marks the creation of the world.
It also marks the beginning of the Jewish High Holy Days leading up to Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of atonement.
As is the custom with all new years, it’s a time to reflect on the past and how we can improve in the future.
This is the time for apples and honey to represent a sweet new year, to be eaten with challah bread and pomegranate seeds.
L’Shanah Tovah Tikateivu “May you be inscribed [in the Book of Life] for a good year.”
Tonight’s the first night of Hanukkah and Hello Kitty reminds us to let our light shine!
Our Jewish Festival of Lights lasts for eight days and nights in honor of a 2,000-year-old miracle in which light won out over darkness.
During Hanukkah 1931, Rachel Posner, wife of Rabbi Dr. Akiva Posner, took this photo of the family Hanukkah menorah from the window ledge of the family home looking out on to the building across the road decorated with Nazi flags.
While it’s definitely a time for serious reflection, it’s also all about fun with latkes, gold coins, dreidels, lots of presents, and this iconic song by Adam Sandler:
The Talmud (study or learning) is a compilation of ancient teachings regarded as sacred by Jewish people. It’s the link between the Torah and Jewish practice and beliefs. The Talmud is also a way to see and comprehend discussions between thousands of rabbis spanning centuries before the work was compiled and put onto paper. The Talmud states that the Torah was mostly written by Moses. That’s a LOT of historical documentation to absorb and think about.
I studied both the Torah and the Talmud at Sunday and Hebrew school, even learning to read and write in Hebrew, but I remember virtually nothing. However, with recent tragic events, this quote from the Talmud seems appropriate.
(The kind of things I remember is to look at the calendar and note that Hannukah comes early this year, December 7!)
The Talmud states, “Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief. Do justly now, love mercy now, walk humbly now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.”
The Night of Broken Glass, or Kristallnacht, was a wave of violent attacks against Jewish people, coordinated by the Nazi regime on November 9–10, 1938.
Nazi Party paramilitary groups and Hitler Youth carried out the attacks, but countless ordinary Germans watched and even participated.
My grandfather was a rabbi. Although he had already emigrated from Hungary at the the turn of the century, my mom assured me that it most definitely COULD happen again and that’s why we should never forget.
On November 9–10, 1938, the Nazis staged vicious pogroms—state sanctioned, anti-Jewish riots—against the Jewish community of Germany.
These came to be known as Kristallnacht (now commonly translated as “Night of Broken Glass”), a reference to the untold numbers of broken windows of synagogues, Jewish-owned stores, community centers, and homes plundered and destroyed during the pogroms.
Encouraged by the Nazi regime, the rioters burned or destroyed 267 synagogues, vandalized or looted 7,500 Jewish businesses, killed at least 91 Jewish people, and 30,000 Jews were “arrested” and sent to camps.
They also damaged many Jewish cemeteries, hospitals, schools, and homes as police and fire brigades stood aside and offered no help.
Kristallnacht was a turning point in history. The pogroms marked an intensification of Nazi anti-Jewish policy that would culminate in the Holocaust—the systematic, state-sponsored murder of Jews.
Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light. -Dylan Thomas
I learned a lot from mine about a lot of things, and I think that’s also most likely where the ancestral sarcastic form of humor emanated from as I passed it on to my son, the master of snarky, biting, brilliantly accurate commentary,
DNA is strong here…always a daddy’s girl.
He’s the one who first started calling me “Rosebud”. The addition of “Princess” seemed to make a lot of sense, especially when he did things like giving me HIS birthday so I’d be able to have another day of celebration (and presents).
I’m sorry he never got to meet the original Angel Boy; they could have talked for hours about literature and life.
At the time my dad was college age, he was prohibited from pursuing a medical career all because of Jewish quotas, the barriers Ivy League universities erected to limit the number of Jewish students.
He would have been so proud of Angel Boy’s Yale doctorate. where they previously practiced overt and rampant anti-Semitic and racist policies.
According to Dan Oren’s book, Joining the Club — A History of Jews and Yale, Yale University’s informal admissions policy to restrict the school’s Jewish student body to around ten percent ended in the early 1960s.
That’s pretty disgusting part of America’s history, don’t you agree?
Anyway, after a little detour to protest racism, I hope everyone has a happy Sunday!
Mostly for me Hanukkah was all about getting presents for eight days, haha, but I know there’s another meaning, because I went to Sunday school and even Hebrew school for a while, which was kind of expected considering my grandfather was a rabbi.
Our Jewish Festival of Lights lasts for eight days and nights in honor of a 2,000-year-old miracle in which light won out over darkness.
This year Hanukkah started yesterday at sundown, and ends Monday, December 26.
Hanukkah commemorates the dedication of the second temple in Jerusalem. In 164 BCE, the Jewish people revolted against the Greeks in the Maccabean War. After their victory they cleansed the temple and re-dedicated it.
There was an oil lamp there that only had one day of oil, but the lamp burned for eight days. This is called the miracle of the oil and is where the eight days of celebration comes from.
Like most of our holidays, food is key. Traditional Hanukkah foods include latkes and doughnuts fried in olive oil to represent the miracle of the burning oil lamp.
A bygone tradition was to give gold coins called gelt but today children are often given chocolate coins in a gold wrapping to make them look like gelt.
Besides receiving gifts, the star of the show is the menorah.
Menorah candles are to burn for at least half an hour after the sun sets.The menorah is a special candelabra with nine candles. Each day an additional candle is lit. The ninth candle is called a shamash. This candle is usually in the middle and set higher from the other eight candles to separate it from the rest. It’s the only candle that is supposed to be used for lighting the others.
Since this country seems to be in the middle of a disgusting new dark age of anti-Semitism and racism, it’s even more imperative that we stand up and speak out against prejudice and discrimination, once again bringing light into darkness.
There’s a lot of abhorrent history in this powerful image from Germany…
During Hanukkah 1931, Rachel Posner, wife of Rabbi Dr. Akiva Posner, took this photo of the family Hanukkah menorah from the window ledge of the family home looking out on to the building across the road decorated with Nazi flags.
The melody is extraordinarily pure; it brought to mind one of the Dalai Lama’s favorite mantras and mine, too: Om Mani Padme Hum.
I like the recitation of this mantra much better than the traditional way to commemorate Yom Kipper — Day of Atonement — to atone and repent for any personal sins and to resolve to be and do better in the new year by fasting along with other ascetic, restrictive behaviors.
In my opinion, working to be a better person should be a daily goal, not simply once a year to narcissistically flaunt one’s artificial moral righteousness to the world.
Did you know that you’re supposed to wear white on Yom Kippur? This is the clearest and most visible nod toward the idea of purity. By wearing white on Yom Kippur, you’re trying to appear truly angelic.
My mom thought that public displays of verbal flagellation for Yom Kippur were so hypocritical – one more reason why I was taught to question any type of authority.
Enchanted Seashells | Princess Rosebud 