With many major Jewish holidays occurring within a short period, the fall is an auspicious time for those who observe Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, and Simchat Torah (collectively known as the “High Holidays”). There are many ways to celebrate these holidays, with variations for family traditions and according to different countries, communities, and Jewish denominations.
At Moldaw in Palo Alto, CA, we are proud to encourage residents of our senior living community to honor and commemorate special religious and cultural days. Read on to learn more about the Jewish High Holidays and how they are celebrated!
Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah, which directly translates from Hebrew to English as “Head of the Year,” marks the beginning of the Jewish New Year. A time spent with friends, family, and loved ones, the holiday can involve festive meals, special prayers in synagogue with the blowing of the shofar (ram’s horn), and reflection on both the year that has passed as well as the new year that is starting.
Traditional foods of Rosh Hashanah include:
- Apples and honey, for a “sweet new year”
- Special round challah rolls, to symbolize the never-ending annual cycle
- Pomegranates, whose seeds symbolize all the blessings we hope to receive in the coming year.
- Carrots, which in Yiddish is the same word as “more”, are also a traditional food for this reason.
Want to wish someone a happy Rosh Hashanah? Say “have a happy and sweet New Year!” — or, in Hebrew, “Shanah tovah u’metukah!”
Yom Kippur
The holiest day of the Jewish year, Yom Kippur, or “The Day of Atonement,” is a solemn day of reflection, when those observing think back on the past year and how they have acted, and what they would like to change and accomplish in the upcoming year. It is common for people to fast from both food and water on this day in order to concentrate on the solemnity of the day, rather than daily concerns. This is why rather than wishing someone a happy Yom Kippur, a common greeting for the holiday is “may you have an easy and meaningful fast.”
Another common greeting for Yom Kippur is the Hebrew phrase “G’mar chatima tovah”. In English, this roughly translates to “may you be inscribed in the Book of Life.” Jewish tradition teaches that on Yom Kippur, the “Book of Life,” a person’s destiny for the upcoming year, is determined.
Sukkot
Sukkot commemorates the fall harvest and is named after the sukkah, a temporary outdoor hut built and decorated prior to the holiday and used throughout the festival to eat meals in. A week-long holiday, Sukkot also commemorates the 40 years the Jewish people spent wandering the desert after leaving Egypt (during which time they would have lived in temporary huts similar to the sukkah).
Two other special items for Sukkot are the lulav and etrog. An etrog is a citrus fruit similar to a lemon, and the lulav is a combination of 3 different kinds of plants bound together: a palm branch, willow branches, and myrtle branches. These four items together symbolize many different things, including the different types of people in the world, different parts of the body, and togetherness.
Simchat Torah
The final festival of the Jewish High Holiday season, Simchat Torah marks the conclusion and beginning again of the annual cycle of publicly reading from the Torah, or Jewish bible. The holiday commonly involves communal dancing, festive foods, and a public reading of the Torah in synagogue. The final chapter of the holy book is read from a Torah scroll, and the beginning, starting with the seven days of creation, is immediately started after.
High Holidays at Moldaw
At Moldaw, we are proud to be located on the Taube Koret Campus for Jewish Life and share a campus with the Oshman Family Jewish Community Center (OFJCC) of Palo Alto. The JCC regularly hosts religious and cultural Jewish events.
Contact us to learn more about Moldaw and tour our warm and welcoming senior living community in Palo Alto, CA.
