Like I mentioned earlier this week, Rosh Hashanah begins tonight and I will not be online again until Saturday night. Simon and Zachary brought home some projects for Rosh Hashanah that I wanted to share before the holiday!
This is Simon’s tin foil shofar.
“The shofar is a ram’s horn which is blown somewhat like a trumpet. One of the most important observances of [Rosh Hashanah] is hearing the sounding of the shofar. A total of 100 notes are sounded each day [of the holiday]. One [reason for this observance] that has been suggested is that the shofar’s sound is a call to repentance.” – jewfaq.org
This is a picture from school of Simon making his shofar!
Simon also made honey cookies! Eating sweet foods on Rosh Hashanah symbolizes our wish for a sweet new year.
And he brought home this Happy New Year card. I asked him what he drew in the middle and he said he doesn’t know!
This card is from Zachary. It says “A Good Year to the Family” and at the bottom it says “name: Zecharia” (his Hebrew name).
This is a plate that Zachary made. In the middle is a cup for honey. Around the sides it is decorated with some of the symbolic foods some people eat on the nights of Rosh Hashanah. There are certain prayers that go with each food and the foods were “specifically chosen because their Hebrew names are related to other Hebrew words that convey our wishes for the coming year.”:
Apples and Honey: We pray for a good and sweet new year.
Dates: Related to the word meaning “to end.” We pray for “an end to our enemies, haters and those who wish evil upon us.”
Leeks: Related to the word meaning “to cut.” We pray “that our enemies, haters, and those who wish evil upon us shall be cut down.”
Pomegranate: Because of all the seeds inside. We pray “that we be filled with mitzvot [good deeds] like a pomegranate [is filled with seeds].”
Gourd: Related to the words meaning “to rip apart” and “to announce.” We pray that evil decrees are torn and our merits are announced.
Fish head: We pray “that we be a head and not a tail.” (And with the fish itself, we pray “that we be fruitful and multiply like fish.”
“The ten days starting with Rosh Hashanah and ending with Yom Kippur are commonly known as the Days of Awe or the Days of Repentance. This is a time for serious introspection, a time to consider the sins of the previous year and repent before Yom Kippur. Among the customs of this time, it is common to seek reconciliation with people you may have wronged during the course of the year.” – jewfaq.org
Zachary drew the following, relating to apologizing to others:
“Not good.” His drawing shows a boy hitting another boy with a ball.
“Sorry.” The boy says he’s sorry because the other boy is crying.
“Good.” The two boys play with the ball together.
To those celebrating, Happy New Year! If you want to read a bit more from me, I have a guest post up over here today!
This year, use Blurb to make a small book for each of those relatives or good friends you want to say thank you to. Create your books now and give yourself more time to shop for Thanksgiving dinner! Blurb makes book making simple and from now through 9/9, get 15% off with the code: TAKE15!!