happy new year? Or, sorry to spoil the fun
I'm still feeling worn out from being at the polls all day yesterday. I think I won't work as an election judge for the general election.
In my mind tonight feels like Friday night since it's Rosh Hashanah. I am not marking it in any way, really, though my mother is at the neighbors' for dinner and will be going out for meals and attending shul for the next few days.
For some reason the seriousness of it - it *is* called the day of judgment - looms far larger in my head than the happy, fluffy, apples-and-honey aspect. It was always impressed upon me that getting rid of sins and wiping the slate clean is more complicated than the symbolic tossing of breadcrumbs into the water - there is no free lunch in Orthodox Judaism. In school the days leading up to Rosh Hashanah were marked by people begging each other's forgiveness for anything they'd done and lots and lots of review about the steps to repent for sins. The whole thing was inextricably linked to Yom Kippur, which is marked by fasting and trying to atone for sins and praying that God would accept us even though we're not good enough. I used to buy into it, but I think I connected to the guilt and worry more than the "wow, now the slate is clear! we made it!" aspect.
I can't dump the fire and brimstone and keep the apples and honey. My mind doesn't work that way. If yours does - or if you've never been exposed to the fire and brimstone - I'm sorry for raining on your parade. I hope you (and everyone, I suppose) have a good year.
In my mind tonight feels like Friday night since it's Rosh Hashanah. I am not marking it in any way, really, though my mother is at the neighbors' for dinner and will be going out for meals and attending shul for the next few days.
For some reason the seriousness of it - it *is* called the day of judgment - looms far larger in my head than the happy, fluffy, apples-and-honey aspect. It was always impressed upon me that getting rid of sins and wiping the slate clean is more complicated than the symbolic tossing of breadcrumbs into the water - there is no free lunch in Orthodox Judaism. In school the days leading up to Rosh Hashanah were marked by people begging each other's forgiveness for anything they'd done and lots and lots of review about the steps to repent for sins. The whole thing was inextricably linked to Yom Kippur, which is marked by fasting and trying to atone for sins and praying that God would accept us even though we're not good enough. I used to buy into it, but I think I connected to the guilt and worry more than the "wow, now the slate is clear! we made it!" aspect.
I can't dump the fire and brimstone and keep the apples and honey. My mind doesn't work that way. If yours does - or if you've never been exposed to the fire and brimstone - I'm sorry for raining on your parade. I hope you (and everyone, I suppose) have a good year.