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Excitement In the air
High Holy days in
by David Solomon
The two days of the Jewish
New Year (Both Hashana) and
the Day of Atonement (Yom
Kippur) are the only three holy
days in the Jewish calendar
which are purely religious, har
ing no other derivation; they
have no agricultural framework,
as does Sukkot (Tabernacles); no
historical underpinning of the
“Giving of the Law,*!- as in the
case of the Shavuot (Pentecost)
holiday, etc.
On these three days, Jews are
called upon to give an accounting
of themselves before their
Maker for their deeds during the
past year; Jewish belief main-
tains that on this occasion the
Almighty weighs the deeds of
men and women upon earth, in
order to decide whether a
positive or, maybe, negative ver
dict will be forthcoming by the
time Yom Kippur, or the Day of
Atonement has arrived.
How is all this reflected in
modern Israel? On the face of it,
the celebration of these oc
casions in the reborn Jewish
State is similar to that found
wherever Jews are able to prac
tice their religion freely. Men
and women; young and old; rich
and poor, pour into the syn
agogues for prayer: into
spacious, ultra-modern prayer
halls, or into others, large
enough to allow no more than a
“Minyan” or two — yet all are
filled to overflowing. Of courae
Rosh Hashana is also celebrated
like this in New York, London,
Paris or Toronto. But what is
unique to Israel is what has
transpired before the services
begin, on the eve of the holiday.
An electricity Alls the air in the
fast-paced cities and towns or on
tranquilly pastoral kibbutzim or
moshavim. Amidst the hectic
confusion and noise of speeding
cars, the usual lowing of the cat-
tie on the farms, one can feel a
pulsating excitement charged
with a very special tension miss
ing on other days of the year.
Stores and street markets are
crammed with shoppers, whose
bags contain very special items:
Pomegranates, dates and figB,
over which Jews will utter, on
the first day of Rosh Hashana,
the blessing for the first fruit of
the new Hebrew year; honey,
which one will taste hoping for a
sweet year to come; and fish (of
which those who can brave it:
will eat the head, to mark the
"Head of the Year”, the Hebrew
meaning of Rosh Hashana).
In streets,, in homes and of
fices, in factories and army
bases, hundreds of thousands
are saying “Shana Tova” —
(“Happy New Year”) — and the
entire country seems to vibrate
with these verbal greetings.
Noon passes, and as afternoon
approaches, shops are shut,
bolted tight, till the holiday’s
end. Streets are empty, buses
make their last hurried rounds
and — there it is, that strange
atmosphere of a reverent
stillness, interspersed only by
the noise of an occasional private
car.
Rosh Hashana approaches.
Shadows have lengthened con
siderably by now and the first
few individual worshippers are
joined gradually by more and
more and more — until the en
tire dty, it seems, is making its
way to synagogue.
The service is solemn but
joyous. Yet the event most
eagerly anticipated, especially
for the young, is to take place in
the following two days’ services.
For it is during the late pre-noon
prayers that the ; shoftur, the
ram’s horn, will be sounded. The
“trumpeter” will emit the
elongated or curtailed-staccato
bursts of sound and children will
crowd as close as possible to the
horn-blower, watching every
movement and taking in every
sound.
Hardly a street does not
reverberate with the spine-
tingling Masts, meant to remind
every Jew that he must mobilise
himself in the service of the
Lord, to abide by his commands
as laid down to Moses and
transmitted through endless
generations of sages.
Yom Kippur, or the Day of
Atonement, concludes the Ten
Days of Penitence, which com
menced with Rosh Hashana.
Synagogues are jammed on Yom
Kippur Eve for the solemnly
beautiful “Kol Nidre” service,
and services last all through the
following day; and, of course,
Yom Kippur is a 25-hour fast, a
period of soul-searching.
Yet all these aspects are the
same in Jewish communities all
over the world. What then, is
special to Israel? Probably the
most awe-inspiring aspect of
this most awe-inspiring of days
in the Jewish homeland, is the
way the entire country comes to
a total standstill. The only
vehicles in the streets are oc
casional ambulances or police
cars. Airports are closed. Radio
and television stop broadcasting.
The only sound one hears are
footsteps echoing in this im
pressive utter silence, which
envelops the entire country from
sundown to sunset, twenty-five
hours later.
Jewish tourists to Israel,
many of whom have celebrated
these holidays all their lives in
their countries of birth, find that
Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur
gain added relevance when
celebrated in Israel, as not only
religious but national holidays.
... to the Jewish Community
In the spirit of strength and perseverance for the cause of
Zionism, may the year 57S8 bring happiness and everlasting
peace to the people and the land of Israel
mron naia ns is*?
Atlanta Zionist District
CANTOR ISAAC GOODFRIEND
President
NEAL SU8CH
Viet President
ARTHUR GEDULDIG
Vice President
BERNARD HALPERN
Vice President
NAT KATZ
Vice President
LOUIS GEFPEN
Secretary
NATHAN COHEN
Corres Secretary
JOE COHEN
Treasurer
HAROLO MARCUS
Parliamentarian
Gracious Greetings
To The Jewish Community
ALLSTATE ELECTRONIC
S. Greenberg
. MICRO WAVE OVEN SERVICE
ALL MAKES
2189 Briardiff Rd„ N.E.
Atlanta, Georgia
l
Le Shorn Tova
The officers, board and general
membership add our
greetings for the New Year
to all our friends.
Atlanta Lodge
B’nai B’rith
Our 30th Year
LEE M. WEINSTEIN,
PRESIDENT
All of the Chapters of tha Atlanta Raglon of Women’a
American ORT wish you and yours a vary happy and
healthy New Yaar.
As ORT celebrates SO golden years In tha City of
Gold In October, we pray for peace and good will this
yeat in Jerusalem and evermore.
L’SH/IM TOV1A TIK4TGMU
fROM:
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ISRAELITE September 9, 19?7