by Chaplain Joel Grossman.
The Jewish High Holy Days are 10 day period, comprised of Rosh Hashanah, “head of the year”, to Yom Kippur, “day of atonement.” This year the holiday is from Sunday evening, 9/29, to Wednesday evening, 10/9. The only words in the Torah about Rosh Hashanah (that name is actually not mentioned) is in Leviticus 23:23 - 23:25: “in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, there shall be a solemn rest for you, a sacred convocation commemorated with the blast of the ram’s horn. You shall not work at any of your ordinary labor, and you shall bring a fire offering to the Lord.” Regarding a "fire offering,” when the Temple was destroyed and the people were exiled to Babylonia, not having the Temple at which fire offerings were made, prayer became the substitute. Regarding the “blast of the ram’s horn,” that is the “shofar”, which is blown daily in the month leading up to Rosh Hashanah, and during the High Holiday services. During the month before Rosh Hashanah, preparation is made with study, reflection and saying of the 27th Psalm daily.
The High Holy Days are a time of personal spiritual reflection and a time of communal gathering. For many Jews, it’s the one time of the year they go to synagogue. It is a period of renewing our relationship to G!d* and to fellow humans. During this period we ask for G!d’s forgiveness for things gone astray in our relationship with G!d, but we also need to ask others for forgiveness for issues with them.
It is said that on Rosh Hashanah the writing in the “book of judgment” starts, and on Yom Kippur the book is sealed. During this period, three things can help in making our case: repentance, prayer, and doing good deeds, particularly giving to charity.
*Observant Jews do not spell out this name for the Divine, knowing the paper or electronic writing will be discarded at some point. Typically it’s written as G-d, but I like G!d better.
R
ev. Joel Grossman is one of the founders of the Chaplaincy Institute of Maine (ChIME), and was the Director of ChIME’s Massachusetts campus. He has been a hospice chaplain for over fifteen years. Joel has been a president of his local synagogue, Ahavas Achim, in Newburyport, MA, and has led Kabbalah and Jewish meditation sessions there. He is the leader of the “Spiritual Breakfast Club.”Image of shofar by Olve Utne
