March 28, 2024 The Best Source of News, Culture, Lifestyle for Culver City, Mar Vista, Del Rey, Palms and West Los Angeles

Jewish New Year begins, Rosh Hashanah to be observed at sundown today

 

Celebrants eat apples dipped in honey to symbolize the wishes for a sweet new year. Courtesy Photo
Celebrants eat apples dipped in honey to symbolize the wishes for a sweet new year. Courtesy Photo

At sundown today, Jews will begin the observance of Rosh Hashanah, the two-day holiday marking the Jewish New Year.

Rosh Hashanah is “metaphorically the birthday of the world” and a “time of new beginnings, of second chances,” said Rabbi Laura Geller, the senior rabbi of Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills.

In preparation for the new year, Jews conduct what is known in Hebrew as “Cheshbon HaNefesh,” an “accounting of the soul,” Geller said.

“We are to look at the lives we have lived in the past year and decide from whom we need to ask forgiveness, whom we to need forgive, what we need to let go of and what we need to bring with us into the new year,” Geller said.

Services ushering in the year 5775 on the Hebrew calendar will feature the blowing of the shofar, a ram’s horn, which Geller called “a very ancient spiritual alarm clock that is meant to wake you up to the real work of the season.”

“It’s a very powerful, primitive sound,” Geller said. “The commandment of the season is to ‘hear the voice of the shofar.’ In that sound is the call to do the spiritual work,” examining how to “make the most” of our “limited time here on Earth.”

“Most of our lives we spend pretending that isn’t true, but in High Holiday season, we are confronted with that truth — how are we going to live lives of meaning, so the shofar really wakes us up,” Geller said.

Rosh Hashanah is a festive time when Jews gather with family members to reflect on the past year and the new one that is beginning. Celebrants also eat festive meals featuring apples dipped in honey, symbolic of the wishes for a sweet year.

A round challah, a loaf of bread, is used, rather the the customary twisted one, to symbolize that “the year is round,” Geller said.

Rosh Hashanah is a “period of deep personal and communal introspection” and the beginning of the “10 Days of Awe” leading to Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, Judaism’s most solemn and somber day, “really focusing on the best version of ourselves and trying to return to that vision of ourselves,” Geller said.

Jewish tradition holds that God records the fate of humankind in the Book of Life during the High Holy Days.

The theme of Temple Emanuel’s observance of the High Holy Days is “If Not Now, When?” a quote from the sage Hillel the Elder who lived about 2,000 years ago.

“We have challenged our congregation to tweet the answer to “If not now, when will I?” to set an intention for the year,” Geller said.

Related Posts

Cantonese Dim Sum Master Chef Tony Opens Hollywood Dim Sum at TCL Chinese Theatre

March 27, 2024

March 27, 2024

Experience Exquisite Dim Sum Creations in the Heart of Hollywood 97 years after its founding, the TCL Chinese Theatre will...

Fleurs et Sel Bakery Opens Storefront in West Adams, Welcomes Customers Three Days a Week

March 27, 2024

March 27, 2024

Indulge in Freshly Baked Cookies at the New West Adams Location Fleurs et Sel Bakery, known for its delectable cookies...

Easter Specials Guide: Brunch Spots, Desserts, and More in West Los Angeles

March 27, 2024

March 27, 2024

Discover the Best Easter Eats and Treats in LA for Your Holiday Celebration Easter is almost here, so here are...

(Video) Director Adam Wingard Talks About His Influences While Making GODZILLA X KONG: THE NEW EMPIRE

March 27, 2024

March 27, 2024

Director Adam Wingard Talks About His Influences While Making GODZILLA X KONG: THE NEW EMPIRE at the Beyond Fest Screening...

Attorney for Sean “Diddy” Combs Denounces Investigation as “Witch Hunt”

March 26, 2024

March 26, 2024

Legal Representative Criticizes Probe Amid Federal Sex Trafficking Inquiry An attorney representing Sean “Diddy” Combs criticized the investigation into the...

Culver City Police Department to Conduct High Visibility Traffic Enforcement Operation

March 26, 2024

March 26, 2024

Operation Targets Hazardous Traffic Violations on the West End The Culver City Police Department announced plans to conduct a high...

Historic Union Contract Ratified by Thousands of Hotel Workers At 34 Hotels

March 26, 2024

March 26, 2024

UNITE HERE Local 11 Negotiates Agreement Ensuring Wage Increases  Hotel workers, who spearheaded the largest hotel strike in modern U.S....

Human Rights Campaign’s Los Angeles Dinner Celebrates LGBTQ+ Advocacy and Unity

March 25, 2024

March 25, 2024

Notable Figures Gathered to Champion LGBTQ+ Rights and Combat Discrimination By Aneesha Pappy  The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s...

California Bars and Nightclubs Must Offer Drug Testing Devices Starting July 1

March 25, 2024

March 25, 2024

New Law Mandates License Holders to Provide Drug Testing Kits to Patrons Beginning July 1, establishments with Type 48 licenses...

Opinion: West Los Angeles Needs to Care about Veteran Homelessness

March 25, 2024

March 25, 2024

By Kelly Kravchuk  Veteran homelessness is a public health concern that impacts my West Los Angeles community. As a USC...

Culver City City Council Recap: Bruce Lee Alley, Historical Discrimination Study, Women’s History Month

March 25, 2024

March 25, 2024

Council Deliberates on Racial Equity, Infrastructure Upgrades, and Fire Department Strategic Plan The Culver City Council convened its latest session...

Federal Agents Raid Property Linked to Music Mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs In Holmby Hills

March 25, 2024

March 25, 2024

Authorities Conduct Searches in Los Angeles as Part of Ongoing Sex Trafficking Probe Federal agents from the Department of Homeland...

Biden Signs Government Funding Bill with Ban on Pride Flags at Embassies

March 25, 2024

March 25, 2024

White House Vows Repeal Amid Controversy Over LGBTQ Provision President Biden signed a huge government funding package on Saturday, which...

Staples Store in Westchester Could Become a Senior Housing Complex

March 24, 2024

March 24, 2024

Redevelopment Plans Unveiled for Property Near LAX The current site of a Staples retail store near Los Angeles International Airport...

City of Los Angeles Pays Nearly Half a Billion in Liability Claims Over Four Years

March 24, 2024

March 24, 2024

LA Controller’s Report Reveals Significant Payouts from General Fund LA City Controller Kenneth Mejia has continued to audit the City...