Segacs's World I Know

Posts Tagged ‘rosh hashanah’

Happy new year to all the MOTs out there!

It’s been a time of new initiatives and new beginnings for me. New job, new outlook, new projects… I do love the fall and the fact that Rosh Hashanah  always seems to signal a renewed sense of motivation in my life.

Wishing you and yours all the best for a happy, healthy and sweet New Year.

My New Year’s Resolutions for 5769 are:

1. Walk to (and from) work. See the post below. This one’s an easy resolution to make now, and might be tougher to stick to when the minus-30 weather begins, but I’m certainly going to try to stick to it!
2. Pack my lunch. I’ve lapsed into laziness, and the cost of buying lunch several times a week is adding up fast. Bringing lunch is cheaper and healthier; eating out should be for special occasions only.
3. Eat healthier. Kinda follows logically from #2, but also includes a clause against sitting in front of the TV eating chocolate chips out of the package. (Yes, okay, we all know I’m a chocoholic!)
4. Improve my Spanish from Sesame Street-level to semi-conversational. The Coffee Break Spanish podcast is awesome.
5. Find a new volunteer project. I haven’t been involved in a good project in a while, and it’s time.

I usually end up not keeping new year’s resolutions. But this time, maybe by making them in September instead of December, it’ll be a better time of year to kick off new habits. It’s all about baby steps, anyway, not big leaps.

Shana Tova, everyone!

These ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are traditionally the days when Jews ask forgiveness from people and from G-d for any wrongs we might have done throughout the year.

I’m not religious by most definitions, but I’ve always liked the concept, and particularly the notion that we need to be forgiven by people before we can be forgiven by G-d. The latter part is personal, but the former is, I believe, a prerequisite for all people of any religion or background who live in a society. See, a sin against G-d, such as failure to keep Shabat or eating pork, could only potentially affect the person committing it, so it’s up to each of us to decide for ourselves what we choose to observe. However, sins against our fellow human beings cause real harm to people. It’s the so-called “victimless crime” argument; a crime becomes more serious due to the consequence of committing harm to someone else.

So, in that spirit, I ask forgiveness from anyone reading this who I may have wronged in the past.

And, if you’re in the process of doing the same, and one of the people you happen to have wronged last year is Stephen Colbert, here’s how to make amends:

Best wishes to all for a happy and healthy new year.

That’s pommes as in apples, not pommies as in Brits, by the way. Which suits me just fine, because it’s apple season and they are incredibly good this year.

And just in time for Rosh Hashanah too. Apples and honey… mmmmm….

It’s also leaf-peeping season, an activity with a comical name but lots of great photo ops. It was a beautiful day today, sunny and clear and hot enough to be mistaken for summer, but with that fabulous fall crispness in the air that just makes it great to be alive. Here are a few pictures from today’s foray out to Parc Saint-Bruno:

Soon enough, it will be winter and we’ll all be grumbling about the cold. In the meantime, let’s all enjoy fall, while it lasts.

Here in Montreal, anyway… when Rosh Hashanah is “late”, like this year, it coincides with the peak of apple season. Fresh-picked apples and honey… mmmmm….

Just in time for Rosh Hashanah: the High Holidays Seating Request Form.

A very happy New Year to all my MOT readers. L’Shana Tova.

The latest statistics according to Shin Bet say that 1,017 Israelis have been killed since the beginning of the current intifada. 70% of them were civilians.

The civilian figure would probably be higher if off-duty soldiers were included as civilians. As virtually the entire country aged 18-21 is in the army, a fair number of soldiers were probably included in the statistics who died in pizza parlours or nightclubs or in other situations completely unrelated to their military service.

The report also tallies Israelis wounded by terrorism, targets Arafat for directly funding and authorizing terror attacks, and credits the security fence for a massive drop in suicide bombings and other attacks.

It’s hard to look at dry statistics and see the faces they represent. But consider this: 1,017 Israelis in a population of 6 million. On a per capita basis, that’s the equivalent of 9/11 in the USA… 14 times over.

In 5762, 408 Israelis fell victim to terrorism. 240 were killed in 5763 and 126 in 5764. Less than two weeks ago, we ushered in the New Year 5765. One of the most important prayers of the holiday was the Netaneh Tokef which includes the following questions:

On Rosh Hashanah will be inscribed and on Yom Kippur will be sealed how many will pass from the earth and how many will be created; who will live and who will die; who will die at his predestined time and who before his time; who by water and who by fire, who by sword, who by beast, who by famine, who by thirst, who by storm, who by plague, who by strangulation, and who by stoning. Who will rest and who will wander, who will live in harmony and who will be harried, who will enjoy tranquillity and who will suffer, who will be impoverished and who will be enriched, who will be degraded and who will be exalted.

It’s quite common, during the recitation of this prayer, for people to reflect on loved ones who have passed away during the year, or on new babies who were born, or on how our lives – or the lives of our friends and loved ones – have changed in the past year. And to wonder what lies ahead for the coming year. Whether you believe that this is foreordained and decreed in the heavens at the New Year, or – like I do – that it is determined by the exercising of free will on the part of human beings, it’s only natural to reflect at New Year’s on the bigger picture.

This year, I couldn’t help but wonder how many more innocent victims will be claimed by senseless terorrism between this Rosh Hashanah and next. What will next year’s Shin Bet statistics show?

10. Pick a long song, like “American Pie”, and try to remember all the words.

9. Play anagrams with the English side of the Machzor text.

8. Start a rumour that a high school classmate is engaged to a political figure… but refuse to say which one.

7. Insert random words into the songs where everyone sings along, and see who notices.

6. Make eye contact with a relative on the other side of the mechitza and try to communicate using rudimentary sign language.

5. Say hello to all the people who you haven’t seen since last year and have no intention of seeing again till next year, and score them on a scale of 1 to 10 based on how convincing their fake conversation is.

4. Debate what would be more appropriate for the the President of the congregation who deems it necessary to bore everyone to tears with his 45-minute speech during Kol Nidre services – a hook, a band, or a slow clap.

3. Start a chorus of boos when the same president stands up the next night at ne’ila to give yet another speech 5 minutes after the shofar was supposed to be blown.

2. Sleep. Especially effective during the Rabbi’s sermon.

1. First row of the men’s balcony section method: Start a betting pool as to how long the Rabbi’s sermon will be, and buy the winner a steak dinner at a popular “kosher-style” restaurant after the holidays.