Rosh Hashanah
Tue., October 4, 11:32 AM
Rosh Hashanah. The Head of the Year. The Birthday of the World. (A little creationism here.) Day of Remembrance. The beginning of the Ten Days of Repentance.
Part of the synagogue service for Rosh Hashanah pictures the Almighty writing in the Book of Life: who shall live and who shall die, who shall prosper and who will be poor, who will be healthy and who will fall ill…. You get the picture. Thus the traditional greeting, L’shanah tovah tikatevu, may you be written for a good year.
The service continues: On Rosh Hashanah it is written, and on Yom Kippur it is sealed. Other sections remind us that by charity and good deeds, one may reverse the prophecy. It doesn’t cease to amaze me that, even though I don’t attend synagogue these days, the service stays with me.
It occurs to me that all through the year, I try to do the things that are important during the ten days. Either it’s something I do all the time, or else it’s something that I have no intention of doing. Hypocritical actions don’t make you a good person. Then again, my interpretation of religion is somewhat different from the orthodox. It’s not that I don’t believe, it’s just that I try to look at the bigger picture. What was right for Abraham (who was ready to sacrifice his son because he was commanded to do so) is not necessarily right for me. And I will bet you that Abraham did not keep kosher!
I’m interested to note that today also begins the Muslim month of Ramadan. The two holidays don’t coincide very often; one site I looked at said something about two thousand weeks. (I didn’t try to check that figure; it’s probably irrelevant.) The last time, it said, was Israel’s Six-Day War, in 1967.
Do you think this concurrence foreshadows some great happening (kind of like when the planets all line up)? As a matter of fact, I don’t expect something astronomical, but I’m a little worried about terrorism.
That’s not to imply that Muslims are all fanatics. Most of them are not. Ramadan is a time of contemplation and self-restraint, and I expect that Muslims will observe the holiday more or less as most of us observe holidays: they will follow what is right for them. What worries me is that if someone is bent on mischief, he will find a “good reason” to perpetrate it.
I was going to finish this post with what I have often heard at the end of newscasts at this time of year: “To those of the Jewish faith…” No. To all of you, whatever your belief – or lack of belief – I wish you a good year. May you find health, prosperity, and love.
