Teaching Your Family The Meaning Behind the Traditional Jewish Holidays

by Slav Kandyba

As the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur fast approach, Jews everywhere will celebrate with their customary beliefs and traditions. With so many different denominations and sects of Judaism around the world, the diversity of unique traditions is astonishing. So, how will Jewish families celebrate?

Beginning with Rosh Hashanah

Rosh Hashanah, meaning "head of the year," is commonly known as the Jewish New Year. It is observed on the first and second day of the seventh month of the Jewish calendar (Tishrei), coming in the fall season of the western calendar, usually in September. This will mark the year 5767, which dates back to what ancient Jewish scholars calculated to be the creation of the world.

Marking the New Year, it also represents the Day of Judgment, Day of Remembrance, and the Day of Shofar Blowing. Jews worldwide gather in their synagogues to look back on the previous year, examine their deeds and ask for forgiveness of their sins. The shofar (the ram's horn) blowing in the synagogue represents the beginning of the 10-day High Holy Day period.

Another custom of this holiday is eating apples and honey. A prayer is said over the food to wish for a sweet year.

It is believed that on Rosh Hashanah, the destiny of all mankind is recorded by God in the Book of Life. As the congregants leave Rosh Hashanah services, they say to each other, "May you be inscribed in the Book of Life." Jewish belief says that those who sincerely repent and have good deeds that outweigh sins will be inscribed in the Book.

Atoning on Yom Kippur

On the eve of Yom Kippur, called the Kol Nidre, the community congregates at the synagogue. Men put on prayer shawls (tallit), which are not usually worn in the evenings. Then, confessions take place as Jews verbally admit their transgressions in hope of God's forgiveness. Because community and unity are an important part of Jewish life, the confessions are said in the plural, as one group.

As the "Sabbath of Sabbaths," Yom Kippur includes some of the laws that apply to the weekly shabbat, such as praying, resting, and making all activities holy. On Yom Kippur, many Jews also refrain from washing, wearing leather shoes, having sex, applying perfumes or lotions, and eating or drinking for a 24-hour period (the famous "fast").

At the last hour of Yom Kippur, a service called Neilah offers a final opportunity to repent. It is the only service of the year during which the doors to the Ark (where the Torah scrolls are kept) remain open from the beginning to the end of the service, signifying that the Gates of Heaven are open. By the end of Yom Kippur, the Book of Life is closed and sealed. Those who have repented for their sins are supposed to be granted a good and happy new year.

Family Traditions

While prayer and synagogue attendance are a big part of the High Holy Days, the interaction of family and friends is integral to the celebrations. Despite differences in traditions during these special days, all Jews are "connected by a common thread--their Jewry," says Daphne Orenshein, a kindergarten teacher and mother of four boys who affiliates herself with the Modern Orthodox denomination of Judaism. At a local bakery, according to Orenshein, she sometimes talks with Jews who belong to different denominations, and each person shares how he or she celebrates the holidays.

In addition to bakery exchanges, Orenshein and her family invite new people from their synagogue, Young Israel of Century City, to join them for a Rosh Hashanah meal. The family wears white to services on Rosh Hashanah, because it is "a happy holiday (when) we try to better ourselves," Orenshein says. She dresses her four sons, ranging in age from nine months to eight years, in white to make them look "like angels."

In the Orenshein household, it's also important for the kids to understand that the holidays are about self improvement. "They interpret it as 'I am not going to ask for as many toys'," Orenshein jokes.

At Yom Kippur, more critical rules create a more serious and thoughtful atmosphere for the adults. On this day, "services are brutal," Orenshein notes, as according to tradition, she goes without food for 25 hours. At this time, she focuses solely on "being close to God and redeeming myself" while attending her synagogue. Her kids, however, don't have to fast on Yom Kippur.

Customs Vary, But Themes Are Similar

Ricki Kaufman, who works in syndication management and is a Conservative Jew, said she usually splits Rosh Hashanah dinners between her and her husband's families. Like Orenshein, Kaufman and her family welcome friends and family to their holiday dinner and have even made it a tradition to bring a light picnic for a meal after the Rosh Hashanah services. "If people have no place to go, we open our home to them," Kaufman says.

Jack Israel, a Sephardic Jew who writes and publishes newsletters for Tifereth Temple in Los Angeles, says his family's "traditional observances of the Jewish holidays are a reflection of the way in which their forefathers and mothers observed the holidays" before arriving in America from the Ottoman Empire at the beginning of the 20th century. On the first night of Rosh Hashanah, Israel and his immediate family have a festive meal that includes using sugar in place of salt to welcome a "sweet" year.

After a meal on the evening of Yom Kippur, which occurs 10 days after Rosh Hashanah, the family then fasts until the next night. Before preparing to eat again, everyone eats a white milky substance called pepitada, which is an extract of melon seeds made from a generations-old recipe. "We have been told that this liquid lines the stomach before we partake of food making it more readily digestible," Israel says. The following meal consists of such items as homemade bread dipped in olive oil and fried fish.

Although traditions and meals are varied, one thing is quite clear--the High Holy Days are an important part of the Jewish calendar, a time when families unite in body and spirit, reflect on the past year, and look forward to the next.