Eat, of course!
I kid, I kid. (Although, there will be punny food for Rosh Hashanah, along with the traditional apples and honey.)
Any way, most of you probably don't know that Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, starts tonight. (Yes, go ahead and say tonight is "Jew Year's Eve" very funny.) And that made me think about some things, namely: what am I going to do to celebrate? I did some refresh-the-memory reading on the internets and was reminded that this whole High Holiday period is traditionally about penitence for sins (Rosh Hashanah being the "day of judgement", and Yom Kippur being the "day of attonement") from the past year.
Okay, yes. That doesn't really mean anything to me because I don't believe in sin -- I'm just that far reform. But wait, what's all of this really about? Mindfulness. Ooooohhhh. Before the New Year, we begin to reflect on the past year -- you thought the reflection blog was an accident? You thought that my finishing a journal this week was a coincidence? Well, actually the journal part was, or I did all of that subconsciously -- during the Rosh Hashanah celebration, you make promises to be a better you during the next year; in the days between the day of judgement and the day of attonement, you are to be mindful of your deeds so that you don't do anything to hurt anyone (especially god, who resides in each one of us... is each one of us, so: be good to people and be mindful of your actions); and on Yom Kippur you fast, think about god, godliness, mindfulness, and pray for forgiveness.
Well, when you take my more esoteric, non-dualistic approach to the process it breaks down to: the High Holidays are a time for being especially mindful of ones words, actions, thoughts, and prayers because all persons are representatives of god and forgiveness can be granted by first forgiving yourself and then forgiving those who have hurt you. Of course, you don't need Hebrew prayers, temple services, special foods, or fasting to do any of that. Hell, you don't even need to be Jewish to do that!
So, tonight when you have dinner with your family, friends, loved ones, make a little pun about your food. "This mushroom will symbolize the hope for mushroom for personal growth this year." And after dinner, cut up some apples and dip them in honey, and wish each other a sweet and prosperous new year. Make the next 10 days your time for reflection and internal growth; and even if you're not Jewish, take the time on the 10th day to forgive yourself for the things that have hurt yourself or others, and in your heart forgive those who have hurt you.
You don't have to be Jewish to be mindful right now, but I guarantee that mindfulness during this Holy time will pay off for you in the short and long run.
Affectionately,
Rachel
i don't think i've ever heard "jew year's eve" before, but it definitely made me chuckle.
happy new year's, i suppose! =)
--stacie
That's what my boyfriend called it... but he's Polish so I let it slide.
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If I had had more time I would have written less. -- Thomas Jefferson
RachelSetzer.com
Rachel,
I really enjoyed your post and your take on the High Holidays. I am not Jewish but the more I do my best to learn from all religious traditions. I think I'll take your advice and try to be more mindful this following week. I'll also do my best to forgive on Yom Kippur. If you don't mind my asking, why don't you believe in sin?
Sincerely,
Jaime
I believe that the concept of "sin" was created by bureaucratic religious officials who wanted to scare people into doing what they said. Back in the bad old days of the Torah, things were pretty wild, and in order to keep the people in line, the religious officials had to say "no, you can't marry a camel, it's an abomination", and when, like a three year old the man in love with his camel asked why, the Rabbi was left with no choice but to say "because god said so".
There are so many different interpretations of sin too. And while, some of these so-called sins, like murder, are actually morally wrong (morality, is another story all together...), some so-called sins, like masterbation are not. The skirt I'm wearing is 60% polyester and 40% cotton: according to Leviticus, it's a sin for me to wear it. Nylons are a sin if you're going to be strict and literal.
I also don't believe that god is a person with feelings that can be insulted, or enraged, or hurt, because I said "Jehovah", or because my best friend is in love with another man. I believe in living well, and doing unto others and all of that. Sin doesn't even come into it. If I hurt someone, I hurt them, and it's not a sin but I should apologize.
There's a lot more to it than this, and I suppose I should get my thoughts together and write another blog about why I don't believe in sin, but these are the basic reasons.
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If I had had more time I would have written less. -- Thomas Jefferson
RachelSetzer.com
I have no apples and honey...
I really appreciate your discussion of sin. I think we have the same idea: Judaism is about being good to people.
b-money
"A cactus is the opposite of a chair. In my house you can sit anywhere but there."
Happy New Years, Rachel! I am Polish, but have little knowledge of Jewish holidays and traditions. Thanks for the info, now I want some apples and honey!! Yum Yum!
Leighanne
I thoroughly enjoyed this. I love your take on the whole "sin" thing. I'm not so sure I believe in sin either, because... well, I have my own reasons. Not gonna go into that right now. But I loved this. So I gotta be nice for 10 days? Lol. Naw. I like to think I'm a fairly "good" person. Not always, but I'm only human. This was very well written and entertaining. And I could relate, even though I'm not Jewish. I don't exactly believe in sin, as I said and I feel it's more about being a good person, like you said.
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Reading is FUN...damental!
"We must always take sides. Neutrality aids the oppressor not the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented."
Rachel,
Thanks for taking the time to explain your views about sin to me. I can tell you've thought about this and that you are intelligent. I have to say that I do believe in sin but instead of detailing that here maybe I'll just right a blog. Again, thanks for the explanation. I hope you do take the time to write a blog to further explain your views. I look forward to reading it. Have a great day.
Sincerely,
Jaime
I really enjoyed your post. I basically consider myself deist/agnostic by religion and Jewish by culture. But I agree with you, whether you believe in sin, God and whatnot, you should still reflect on what YOU did and make YOURSELF better.
Seems a bit of a Buddhist philosophy, but it works great.
I don't think one needs to pay the $1200 synagogue membership to be a better person. It is up to the person and his/her actions to make oneself a better person.