L’Shana Tovah! Happy New Year!
While I am not the most religious of Jews (I married the son of a Greek Orthodox Priest for pete’s sake!), I am a sucker for tradition. For me, my judaism is my family – it’s my heritage – and something I cannot leave far behind. I identify as a Jew. I’m proud of it, and I make no excuses for it.
That said, I’m a twice a year Jew when it comes to synagogue. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Why do I go? Because I think everyone needs a time of year set aside for reflection and repentence. Who among us has been the perfect individual – always kind to our family and friends and the strangers we meet? Not me. So I like to repent in my own way. I ask for forgiveness in my heart. I also really, really like the prayers. They’re soulful and mournful and old worldly and they’re only said once a year. On the High Holy Days, we use a different prayer book filled with prayers specific to the holidays. Kol Nidre is one of my absolute favorites, said on the evening of Yom Kippur. Done the right way (read: by a cantor I like) I can be moved to tears.
One of my favorite Rosh Hashanah traditions is Tashlich. Literally, the word means “you will cast away” and the way it works is that on the afternoon of the first day of Rosh Hashanah (unless it’s on a Saturday, but that’s a whole other ball of wax) you go down to the nearest body of flowing water and throw away your sins by tossing stale bread crumbs into the water. When we were little we used to go with my grandmother’s synagogue. We’d all walk as a group to Pennypack, following the rabbi, and throw away the bread my grandmother had been saving for weeks. Stale. Very stale bread. Then, on the way back, congregants would open their homes and we’d go from house to house for cookies and cakes and wine.
In the most recent years, it’s become a family event. We’d gather at my grandmother’s house and walk to the part of Pennypack creek that runs nearby and say our own prayers and toss our breadcrumbs and sins. I love this tradition.
So today, since I’m not with my family, I will walk to the Hackensack River that runs behind my house and toss some bread. For me, and my husband, and my family. I will make peace with myself for at least an afternoon. Forgiving my self is harder than forgiving anyone else for sure. And I will say the Shehecheyanu:
Ba-ruch A-tah Ado-noy Elo-heinu
Me-lech Ha-olom She-he-che-yanu
Ve-kee-ya-manu Ve-hi-gee-ya-nu
Liz-man Ha-zehBlessed are You,
our God, Creator of time and space,
who has supported us, protected us,
and brought us to this moment.
The Shehecheyanu is one of those all around wonderful prayers. Jews are encouraged to say it during times of unusual circumstances, at milestone life events (weddings, bar mitzvahs, brit milah). I’m pretty sure I said it at my wedding. And this afternoon I will say it – thanking God for getting me to this place in my life.
The sleeve fits on the Almost Everyday Cardigan! Jen came over yesterday and I did a hasty sew-up job and now it’s blocking for the real sew-in. I cast on for the second sleeve, but my wrist is bothering me, so I think I will take the day off today. And Jen also helped me see that the size 8 needles on my new shawl are working out just fine! Pictures when I get close to something resembling anything.
Have a lovely day!
Great post Cara – thanks for sharing with us. And that flower picture is breathtaking.
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year. Aren’t family traditions the best! They always give me a sense of belonging and security, which lets face it we need in this day and age.
Happy New Year, Cara! And thanks. ; )
Hey, Cara. Happy New Year! I didn’t know about the tradition of throwing stale bread crumbs in the water but I like it. When my brother died, then my mother, and then my mother-in-law, we went to the river behind our house with flowers from their graves. Somehow throwing their flowers in the moving water made sense – a cleansing and a moving on with life. The symbolic is important in life. Enjoy your afternoon.
Last night as went to sleep I thought “Need to make sure and tell Cara Happy New Year tomorrow.”
A very Happy New Year, indeed!
XOXO
M.
Happy New Year and thank you for sharing your tradition!
That was a beautiful post. Happy new year.
Thank you for sharing this! That was wonderful. Happy New Year.
Happy New Year, Cara!
And thanks, now I’ll remember to call my Dad (I too used to be a twice a year Jew but then my Dad and I moved further away from each other so I sadly do not go to the synagogue any longer).
Thank you, Cara for sharing that with us. I love to hear of other people’s holiday traditions and if I learn something along the way, it’s a great thing. I love the symbolism of tossing the bread into water.
I’m into things like that.
🙂
L’Shana Tovah! May your dreams come through this year.
Have a wonderful holiday. Tashlich sounds like a fabulous tradition. Although I am “nothing,” I married Jewish and intend to keep a mixture of traditions going. (Moxie comes from one of those nutty Jewish families who celebrate Christmas – his dad was a Quaker – so maybe that’s why?)
Love the photos, as usual, and the statement on gay marriage. Hopefully we’re evolving into a more accepting society where many different types of families can coexist.
Thanks for this post. Happy New Year.
L’Shana Tovah, Cara! We did tashlich today for the first time — I loved reading about your family tradition. Hope this year is one of sweetness for you.
What a beautiful prayer! Happy New Year!
Happy New Year, Cara!
Happy New Year!
L’shanah tovah! Great entry, Cara–I loved reading every word of it.
L’hitriot 🙂
The Shehekianu is our Official Family Prayer. We say it liberally, not just on special occasions, it’s more like ‘who has preserved us and brought us to enjoy this …. dinner.’
Hubby always says it wrong. Mr. Jew. But he always says it wrong.
We tossed not-quite-stale hot dog buns in the direction of the Hudson River yesterday. But I think the only thing moving was the Henry Hudson! xoxo Kay
happy new year cara! i am little bit late to this post but i hope you had a wonderful rosh hasahana.