Karen S. Kim
Temple Sinai of Glendale is getting ready to bring in the new year
as the High Holy Days quickly approach.
Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year 5763, will be celebrated Sept.
7, and Yom Kippur, a day of quiet reflection and repentance, will be
observed Sept. 16.
"The importance of the days concerns our recognition that we're
another year older and our understanding that maturity is growth
spiritually as well as emotionally," Rabbi Jonathan Biatch said.
"That growth also requires us to examine our behavior for the year
gone by, to search out our faults and to pledge to behave in better
ways in the future."
One of the main parts of the Rosh Hashanah service will involve
the blowing of the ram's horn, or shofar. Some believe the loud sound
of the horn is meant to wake congregants "literally and figuratively
to a period of reflection and introspection," Biatch said. At Temple
Sinai, worshippers can bring their own shofars and participate in the
blowing of the horn.
After the service, temple members will feast on apples and honey,
traditional foods for a celebration such as Rosh Hashanah, Biatch
said. The treats represent hopes for a full and sweet new year.
Temple Sinai of Glendale will host three services for Rosh
Hashanah starting with one at 8 p.m. Sept. 6, the eve of the holiday.
The following services will be at 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. on the day of
the holiday.
Rosh Hashanah kicks off 10 days of reflection and atonement. The
culmination of those days lands on Yom Kippur, a day of fasting and
refraining from bodily pleasures and comforts.
"It's a day where many people spend all day in the synagogue in
contemplation," Biatch said. "And it's the day you have the final
opportunity to commit oneself to better behavior."
It's not unusual for worshippers to apologize to people they may
have wronged intentionally or unintentionally throughout the year on
Yom Kippur.
"If we make peace with our fellow human beings, it's the belief
that then God will forgive us for our sins against us and God,"
Biatch said.
The temple will host four services for Yom Kippur, kicking off at
8 p.m. Sept. 15.
For more information, call 246-8101.
