Mango Languages

Shanah Tovah! (Happy New Year)

Today, at sunset begins the Jewish New Year called ראש השנה (Rosh Hashana), literally meaning the “Head of the Year.”  On the Hebrew calendar, this will be the first day of the year 5772.

Rosh Hashanah symbolizes a time of reflection called the aseret yamei teshuva, ten days of penitence. Jews believe that while they can find forgiveness for sins committed against the Boss,  it is left to them to seek out and apologize to people they feel they have wronged in the previous year. The aseret yamei teshuva end on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Many Jews go to Synagogues for Rosh Hashanah, asking  for forgiveness and pray to be inscribed in the “Book of Life” for a sweet and healthy New Year.

The most famous symbol of the holiday, the Shofar, is sounded in synagogues on Rosh Hashanah, and is critical to the obligations on Rosh Hashanah. The Shofar is  fashioned from a ram’s horn. Yonah Bookstein, from the Washington Post, says, “The blasts of the Shofar are likened both to the wordless cries of the humanity speaking to God and a wake-up call to the soul which transcends rational explanation.”

“Some  other cherished customs include: dipping challah and apples into honey and eating honey cake to symbolize our wish for a sweet new year; consuming  huge meals with too many courses, calories, and cousins; tossing bread crumbs into living waters during a ceremony called ‘Tashlich‘ to symbolically cast away our sins; and renewing synagogue memberships.” Rosh Hashanah brings the whole family together to celebrate the New Year.

A typical greeting is שנה טובה (shaNAH toVAH) meaning “Happy New Year.”  Shana means “year” and tovah means “good.”  Another common greeting is שנה טובה ומתוקה (shaNAH toVAH ve metooKAH) meaning “Happy and Sweet New Year.”  Metookah means “sweet.”

Wishing you all a happy, healthy and sweet New Year! Shanah Tovah!

Jewish Passover Traditions

Once, a non-Jewish guy asked his Jewish friend: “what is so unique about the Jewish holydays?” His friend looked at him and said: “Well… it is very easy, actually.  You can sum up all the Jewish holydays in 9 words: they tried to kill us, we won, let’s eat.”

Many of the Jewish holydays celebrate the victory of the Jews over their enemies, and the survival of the Jewish people and their tradition.  And always, yes, always, the celebration is accompanied by a huge meal.  Passover is the biggest culinary event of them all.  The traditional Passover meal includes: chopped liver with boiled eggs, Gefilte Fish (sweet fish balls with carrots), Matzoth Balls soup, brisket with potatoes and vegetables, an assortment of cakes, and lots of wine.

Passover is the holyday of freedom and redemption.  After 400 years of slavery under the rule of several Egyptian Pharaohs, Moses led the Israelites to freedom.  Every year Jews all over the world celebrate this miracle of redemption with several customs that commemorate and revive that special night when slaves became a free nation, and when God stained every Egyptian home with grief, while passing–over the Jewish homes.
Since the Israelites sneaked out of Egypt in the middle of the night and did not have time to bake bread for the journey, Jews are forbidden to eat bread or anything that has flour or yeast for a week.  Instead of bread, Jews eat Matzo, a flat cracker made of special flour.

On Passover Eve all families gather for a big meal called “The Sader.”  “The Hagadah” (the book that tells the story of Passover) is read out load, and special songs are sung.  The table is set with fine china and in the middle of the table is the “Passover plate” that includes: a boiled egg (a symbol for hardship and slavery), bitter herbs (to symbolize the misery of the Israelites in Egypt), a drumstick (a symbol for God’s strong hand against the Egyptians), and Haroses (a mixture of nuts, apples, and dates that symbolizes the materials used by the Israelites to build the Pyramids).

Elisha the Prophet is the Jewish Santa, who visits every Jewish home on Passover night to drink some wine from a special cup called “Elisha’s cup.”  (No milk and cookies for the Jewish Santa.)  I spent scores of nights waiting to see Elisha.  I never did, but in the morning his cup was always empty.  A miracle!  But, the best thing of all is the “hide-and-seek” Passover game.  Grandpa hides a piece of Matzo and all the children are going nuts looking for it.  The kid who is lucky enough to find the “treasure” gets a special present.  In my time it was a basketball or even a bike.  Nowadays, the kids won’t settle for less than an IPod or an IPhone.