Today is the first day of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. It is now 5784 on the Jewish, or Hebrew, calendar.
It is also the Jewish Sabbath, which means that certain Rosh Hashanah traditions, like sounding the shofar (or ram's horn), will be deferred until the second day, tomorrow.
The reason: we cannot carry items outside of a private domain on the Sabbath, and there is a worry that we might carry the shofar to the synagogue.
Why are there two days of Rosh Hashanah? It's not because of the usual reason many Jewish holidays last two days, at least outside of Israel, which is that people living outside Israel in the days before modern technology could not be sure exactly when the holiday was.
Rather, Rosh Hashanah is two days -- even in Israel -- because it was declared on the first day that witnesses saw a new moon in the sky, and if the witness testimony could not be confirmed until late in the day, that would mean that some of the Rosh Hashanah commandments could not be performed. Hence the second day -- because everyone needs a second chance, after all.
People observe the holiday by attending synagogue, and by eating festive meals, including apples dipped in honey. Some may even dip their Sabbath bread, or challah, in honey. We also wish each other a "Shanah Tovah" -- "Happy New Year" -- or "Shanah Tovah u'Metuka" -- a sweet and happy New Year.
The Torah reading for today is the story of the birth of Isaac, which is paralleled in the additional reading from Samuel. In both cases, a barren woman was given a child -- no doubt the subject of many prayers at this time of year.
This week’s portion launches the great story of Abraham, who is told to leave everything of his life behind — except his immediate family — and to leave for “the Land that I shall show you.”
There’s something interesting in the fact that Abraham is told to leave his father’s house, as if breaking away from his father’s life — but his father, in fact, began the journey, moving from Ur to Haran (in last week’s portion). His father set a positive example — why should Abraham leave him?
Some obvious answers suggest themselves — adulthood, needing to make one’s own choices, his father not going far enough, etc.
But I think there is another answer. Abraham (known for the moment as Abram) needs to establish his own household. This is not just about making one’s own choice, but really about choosing one’s own starting point. It’s starting over.
Sometimes we start over in fundamental ways even if much that surrounds us remains the same. Sometimes the journey we have to ...
The story of Noah is familiar; the details, less so.
Noah is often seen as an ambivalent figure. He was righteous -- but only for his generation. What was his deficiency?
One answer suggests itself: knowing that the world was about to be flooded, he built an Ark for the animals and for his own family -- but did not try to save anyone else or to convince them to repent and change their ways (the prophet Jonah, later, would share that reluctance).
Abraham, later, would set himself apart by arguing with God -- with the Lord Himself! -- against the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, saying that they should be saved if there were enough righteous people to be found (there were not).
Still, Noah was good enough -- and sometimes, that really is sufficient to save the world. We don't need heroes every time -- just ordinary decency.
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Look for cancelation in the very near future. Thank you for your support!
