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Jewish World Review
Sept. 24, 2008
/ 24 Elul 5768
Home for the Holy Days
By
Greg Crosby
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Happy Rosh Hashanah! Can you believe it's 5769 already? Time flies. It seems like it was only yesterday that I was dating my checks 5760. Jewish New Year celebrates the creation of the world and is a time for reflection and self evaluation. It is one of the Jewish tradition's holiest days, the days when Jews most commonly attend services at synagogue. Rosh Hashanah begins this year (2008) on the evening of September 29th. Save the date.
| DREADING JUDAISM'S MOST SPIRITUALLY
UPLIFTING SEASON? YOU AREN'T ALONE! |
| Every year at this time, JWR receives requests from SINCERE Jews who, knowing Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are just days away, are frustrated. They want to get something meaningful out of the season, but don't know where to turn.
The synagogue or temple they DON'T attend during the year doesn't lift their spirit. It may be because the rabbi's sermons -- which often include a political bent -- aren't to their liking. It may be because they don't want to compete in a fashion show. Or, simply, that their level of Hebrew fluency isn't adequate.
In the past, I've directed my correspondents to local groups that I felt they'd grow and gain from. THIS YEAR, a friend has compiled an online list of such places. Each service is MEANINGFUL, COMFORTABLE & NON-JUDGMENTAL --- and EASY TO FOLLOW AND UNDERSTAND. Many are FREE. The ones that aren't, are reasonably priced. (No memberships to buy, either). And, truth be told, NOBODY WILL TURNED AWAY IF IN FACT THE SITUATION WARRANTS IT.
Here's the website: http://www.HighHolidayService.com.
PLEASE forward and post this info to those who might gain from it.
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There's an old joke that really says more of the modern secular Jewish American family then it does about Rosh Hashanah itself. It goes like this: A father calls his son, David, in New York and says "I hate to tell you this, but your mother and I can't stand each other anymore and have decided to get a divorce! Enough is enough! I want to live out the rest of my life in peace. I'm telling this to you now so that you and your sister shouldn't go into shock later when I move out!"
The father hangs up and the son immediately calls up his sister in the Hamptons and tells her the news. The sister says, "I'll handle this!" She immediately calls Florida and gets her father on the phone. "Please, Daddy, please don't do ANYTHING until David and I get there! We'll be there Friday night." "Alright," the father says. "We won't do anything until you get here." He hangs up the phone and hollers to his wife, "Okay, Sadie, they're coming for Rosh Hashanah but we'll have to come up with something else for Passover."
It might make for a funny joke, but the idea that mom and dad have to coerce their kids to come to a religious family get together is a sad commentary on Jewish American life. According to internet encyclopedia, Wikipedia, assimilation into our modern secular culture has been a major factor in the declining rate of religious Jews in America.
"The same social and cultural characteristics of the United States of America that facilitated the extraordinary economic, political, and social success of the American Jewish community have also been attributed to contributing to widespread assimilation, a controversial and significant issue in the modern American Jewish community. While not all Jews disapprove of intermarriage, many members of the Jewish community have become concerned that the high rate of interfaith marriage will result in the eventual disappearance of the American Jewish community."
The article goes on to say that intermarriage rates have risen from roughly 6% in 1950 to approximately 40%-50% in the year 2000. This in combination with the comparatively low birthrate in the Jewish community, has led to a 5% decline in the Jewish population of the United States in the 1990s with only about 33% of intermarried couples raising their children with a Jewish religious upbringing. That's a lot of people not coming home for Rosh Hashanah.
Our Jewishness is a lot more than bagels and lox and an extensive Barbra Streisand record collection. It goes deeper than uttering a few Yiddish phrases and putting on a yarmulke at weddings and funerals. Its even more than just a way of life - it's a way of thinking.
For those non-religious Jews who would like to rediscover their heritage, there's no better time to do it than the High Holy Days. And there's no better way to do it than to contact a local synagogue. There are plenty around.
A lot of the time a synagogue won't want to turn away a Jew who wants to pray on the High Holidays, so if you want to go and cannot afford it, then call up a synagogue and see what they can do.
Have a happy and inspirational Rosh Hashanah. And go be with your family for the holidays if you can.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
JWR contributor Greg Crosby, former creative head for Walt Disney publications, has written thousands of comics, hundreds of children's books, dozens of essays, and a letter to his congressman. A freelance writer in Southern California, you may contact him by clicking here.
Greg Crosby Archives
© 2006, Greg Crosby
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