My Jewish blog

Tzom Gedaliah

I make it a habit now to follow the Jewish Calendar, and blog about every holiday as it appears. My mission: to re-educate myself about the Jewish holidays. ‘Re-educate’, is perhaps too strong a word, for a secular being like myself, who grew up in Jerusalem and moved to America, my knowledge of Judaism and Jewish holidays is nothing to be proud of. I should probably just stick to the term educate.

I  have to admit, I was very nervous when Tzom Gedaliah showed up in the calendar. I had to stare at it for a few days, before  I could tackle that ‘problem’, and start learning about it. You see, Tzom Gedaliah is  another Jewish occasion, I should say, because it’s not really a holiday, that I know nothing about. I speak Hebrew, so  I know that ‘Tzom’ means “fast”, a day which does not involved any eating, thus I am not really surprised when I chose to ignore it most on my life.

So who is that guy that we stop eating for, and why is he so important? I had to find out! It’s time to start googling.

According to Wikipedia,  Tzom Gedaliah occurs at the third day of Tishrei, the seventh month in the Jewish Calendar, in memory of Gedaliah, the governor of Judah, who was assassinated, strangely enough by another Jew named Yishmael Ben Netaniah.  As the story goes (and as you can read at Wikipedia), when Nebuchadnezzar, conquered Jerusalem, he destroyed the temple sanctuary in Jerusalem and exiled the Jewish people to Babylonia.  He let a small minority to stay in Judah and appointed Gedaliah Ben Achikam, as governor of the province. Ballis, king of Ammon,who was hostile and envious of the Judean remnant, talked a Jew by the name of Yishmael, who apparently was a descendant of a royal family of Judah, into assassinating Gedaliah. The remaining fearful Jews in the area fled to Egypt.

Interesting story. However, why is it so significant? Because it signifies the end of the Jewish rule and completed the destruction of the first temple.  Quite a significant event in Jewish history, I would say. I was put to shame. Not knowing it, and publicly admitting it in my blog (oh well, no one reads it anyway),  made me somewhat uncomfortable. I have to do something drastic. my mind was set. This year this secular girl is going to observe Tzom Gedaliah. No food for me from dawn to dusk… Let’s see how that  goes.

Rosh Hashanah

It’s almost the year 5770. You would expect the technology to be more advanced, flying cars, vacations packages in space, inter-racial marriages between aliens and humans that are strictly forbidden by Jewish Rabbis.  Oh well, it is indeed the year 5570, that is according to the Jewish calendar. The Gregorian calendar is still showing 2009.

Growing up in Israel I vaguely remember Rosh Hashanah. We used to eat apples dipped in honey, the head of a fish, ram or other kosher animal, and a pomegranate. My g-d, those things seem so random. However, each one symbolized something, I am pretty sure.

Going to a service in the synagogue depended on how much my parents begged, when they even felt like going themselves. Other times they forced me, if they were in that particular mood.

I have been celebrating Rosh Hashanah my entire life, in my own special way, not as a religious person, but as a secular Jewish girl in Jerusalem.  I thought blogging about Rosh Hashanah would be easy. I know all the basics, don’t I? I can hum some Rosh Hashanah songs & recognized the foods, however, I have to admit I had to do some serious research before I started writing this blog. First, it dawned on me, Jewish people celebrate the first day of the year in the first day of the seventh’s month of their calendar. I am sure teachers were trying to explain it to me for at least 15 years, starting in pre-school, but like anything else that is related to religion, it came into one ear and went our of the other as if it had never happened. OK, now this Jewish gal, in her mid-30s is very curious. I am used to the concept that Jews have to do it all so different, but can someone explain this one? I am not sure anyone can, except by saying that is how it was ordered in the book of Leviticus 23:24, and we should not question it. Should we?

Someone once told me, that Knowledge can be captured by the mind; and faith must be comprehended by the soul. Unfortunately, my soul does not seem to apprehend, because I keep searching for knowledge.

Rosh Hashanah, does not fit to the usual mold or other religions’ new year. Where others see it as a happy beginning of a new year, The Jewish Rosh Hashanah (which literally means head of the year), is in fact the beginning of of The 10 days of Repentance, referred to as the “days of awe”. 10 days, starting in Rosh Hashanah and ending in Yom Kippur, that were set aside for Jews to think about their sins, and to express sincere regret and remorse about their wrongdoings towards g-d, but mostly towards other beings. Even the cynic in me thinks it’s not such a bad idea. But there is more to it. The regret should be real, true and sincere. According to Judaism, if you did wrong this year, those 10 days are like a probationary period, and you are being judged. So if you are not truly sorry, wipe that silly smile of your face and start feeling sorry, if not, there is a chance that you will be “blotted” out of the book of life. That’s why sometimes you hear Jewish people wish each other during this period “may you be written and sealed for a good year”.

So, may you all be written and sealed for a good year. Shana tova