Shabbat Rosh HaShanah Shana Tova!!!

Dear Friends,

I hope you will join us on Zoom for Rosh HaShanah services on Friday evening at 8 pm, as well as on Saturday morning at 9:30 am. Cantor Ruth Ross will be with us for both of these services, lending her unique warmth and soothing sound to our High Holy Day prayers.

On Saturday evening at 5 pm we will gather once again on Zoom for the Family Rosh HaShana Seder, led by our Education Director, Gavrielle Bargash, and Cantor Ross. This promises to be a wonderful event.

And…on Sunday morning at 10:30 am, we will gather in our cars, in the RST parking lot for the Shofar Service.

I look forward to sharing these wonderful services and events with you!

In the meantime, I am happy to share with you some Rosh HaShanah thoughts:

We are all looking for “signs” that the new Jewish Year of 5781 will be a year of blessing, of healing, of health and of happiness. Even if we don’t see any “signs”, our tradition encourages us to never lose hope for the future. Hope is a basic concept that we repeat over and over in the month of Elul and throughout the entire High Holy Day season, as we recite Psalm 27 daily during this time. Psalm 27 ends with the words: Kaveh el Adonai, which translate to “Place your hope in Adonai.”

I believe that we need all of these “reminders” about having hope because sometimes it becomes difficult to hold onto hope!

Here is where I found my personal “sign” of hope….This week, when I watched the signing of the Peace Accord and Declaration of Peace between the United Arab Emerites and Bahrain and Israel at the White House, and when I heard their leaders speak of a new “official” relationship with the State of Israel, I felt that I was seeing a “sign” of hope for our times. Although this is a far cry from an all encompassing peace in the Middle East, and despite the fact that these two Arab countries were not actually at war with Israel, I felt that this is a step toward peace. The UAE and Bahrain will now, for the first time ever, have embassies in Israel and will “normalize” their relations with Israel.

I remember seeing Anwar Saadat making peace with Israel many years ago. That was truly momentous, especially since Egypt had been at war with Israel for such a long time. That was amazing. Nevertheless, the new recognition of Israel by two Arab nations that had not previously officially had ties with Israel, seemed to me to be a “sign” of potential blessing in this world.

I try my best to hold onto the sentiment of Psalm 27: “Place your hope in Adonai” at all times. But, in the midst of all the difficulties we are facing in our country and in the world at large at this time, I must say that seeing something concrete that actually points to possible avenues for peace in our world is helpful.

“Hopefully”, we will see more and more “signs” of peace, of healing, and of blessing as we move into the new Jewish year of 5781!

That is my prayer!

And now, please enjoy some tips on traditional observance of Rosh HaShanah:

Candle lighting on the first night of Rosh Hashanah should be at least 18 minutes before sunset. We recite two blessings as we light the candles: Baruch atta Adonai, eloheynu melech haOlam, asher kiddeshanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu l’hadlik ner shel Shabbbat v’shel Yom Tov.

Baruch atta Adonai, eloheynu melech haOlam, sh’heh’cheyanu v’kiyyemanu v’higianu lazeman hazeh.

On Saturday night, the second day of Rosh HaShanah begins and we light the candles (from a pre-existing flame) on Saturday night at least 25 minutes after sunset.

The blessings on the second night of Rosh HaShana are as follows:

Baruch atta Adonai, eloheynu melech haOlam, asher kiddeshanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu l’hadlik ner shel Yom Tov.

Baruch atta Adonai, eloheynu melech haOlam, sh’heh’cheyanu v’kiyyemanu v’higianu lazeman hazeh.

It is customary to have either a new fruit (first time you eat it this season), or to wear new clothing on this night and have them in mind when we recite the Sh’he’cheyanu blessing on the second night of Rosh HaShana.

I take this opportunity to wish you and your loved ones all the best for the new Jewish year of 5781.

Shabbat Shalom and Shana Tova!

Rabbi Gilah Dror