It's the most
wonderful time of the year! It's the most wonderful season of all! That's
right ladies and gentlemen, the Holiday Season has arrived! I know what you're
thinking: "Isn't it a little early for the Holiday Season? I haven't seen any
decorations or anything!" Well, here in Israel, the Holiday Season comes a
little early. There are no Christmas trees and crazy sales on electronics this
time of the year, but there is certainly a tremendous sense of holiday spirit.
We are currently in the middle of the first Jewish month, Tishrei, which is
laden with many wonderful holidays, beginning with Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New
Year, followed by Yom Kippur, Sukkot, and Simchat Torah. While I have been
celebrating these holidays for the last 18 years, celebrating Jewish holidays
in the Jewish state is a completely different experience.
In any
synagogue in America,
there are obvious differences between a regular Shabbat and the High Holidays,
like in the size of a congregation or having to purchase tickets to attend
services. In Israel
however, there are obvious differences everywhere you go. Before Rosh Hashana,
there are vendors selling apples, honey, and flowers for the New Year on every
street corner, every supermarket is having deals on wine and honey cake, and
most noticeably, every person you pass on the street stops to say "Shanah
Tovah," meaning happy new year. On Rosh Hashana itself, all the stores in Israel are
closed, and it is a day for everyone in the country, religious or secular, to
spend the New Year with their families and relax.
The ten
days between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur are called the Aseret Yemai Tshuva, or
the Ten Days of Repentance. During these ten days, there are special services
customarily us held late at night called Slichot, or apologies. Shalem took us
on a trip to Jerusalem
to daven our Slichot at the Kotel. I have been to the Kotel many times, but I
have never experienced something like this. The entire Western Wall was packed,
there were more people there than I could have imagined. The chazzan, or leader
of the prayers, was reciting his prayers into a loud speaker so everyone could
hear him, and every so often we would hear the sound ofa Shofar being blown over the loudspeaker.
Countless Jews from all over Israel
and all over the world, of all different religious backgrounds were gathered
together to repent and pray together
The fact
that this incredibly spiritual experience was only an hour busride away from my
apartment in Bat Yam
is amazing to me. Additionally, I was fortunate enough to be able to spend Yom
Kippur, the holiest day of the year, in Jerusalem,
the holiest city in the world, which was remarkable. On Yom Kippur, the entire
city of Jerusalem
stops. There is not a single car in the street. I walked back and forth from
synagogue three times on Yom Kippur, all of which I was accompanied by tons of
people walking in the middle of the street, dressed in white, and wishing each
other inscriptions in the book of life, what we ask God for on Yom Kippur.
Sukkot is
about to begin here, and once again the country will transform for the holiday.
Sukkot are already being built everywhere, and people will soon be eating,
sleeping, and just hanging out in these temporary huts we build for the eight
day holiday. Living in Israel
year-round is a phenomenal cultural experience, but this time of year
specifically, the entire country transforms to celebrate Jewish holidays. You
can't get that anywhere else in the world.
