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Let the soul searching begin

The most sacred, introspective days of the Jewish calendar will start at sundown Friday.

By WAVENEY ANN MOORE
Published September 20, 2006

ST. PETERSBURG - It was about half an hour before midnight Saturday when worshipers began to file out of Congregation B'nai Israel's sanctuary. As they left, each received a small apple and a packet of honey.

"May you be inscribed and sealed for a good, sweet and healthy new year!" was the message attached to the bagged gifts.

The Jewish new year, Rosh Hashana, begins Friday at sundown. It marks the start of the 10-day period known as the High Holy Days or Days of Awe when, it is believed, God writes people into the Book of Life - or Death. That fate will be sealed on Yom Kippur, which begins this year at sunset on Oct. 1.

The idea is expressed in a fearful High Holy Day prayer: "On Rosh Hashana it is written and on Yom Kippur it is sealed: how many shall leave this world and how many shall be born into it, who will live and who will die, ... who shall perish by fire and who by water ... who by hunger and who by thirst, who by earthquake and who by plague ... who shall be poor and who shall be rich, who will be humbled and who shall be exalted."

Redemption comes with "repentance, prayer and charity," the prayer says. Consequently, this period on the Jewish calendar is steeped in introspection, repentance, forgiveness and prayer. The purpose of Saturday night's Selichot, or penitential prayer service, at Congregation B'nai Israel was to formally begin preparation for this most sacred time.

"You can't begin Rosh Hashana without preparation," said Rabbi Jacob Luski, head of the Conservative congregation at 300 58th St. N. "It takes time for introspection, to think, to talk, to evaluate. And (Selichot) formally begins that difficult process." Selichot, Luski told his congregation Saturday night, carries a message of urgency; it is not business as usual.

Selichot prayers will continue to be said early each morning until Yom Kippur, which is also known as the Day of Atonement. "By rising when it is dark outside, you feel the uncertainties of life," Luski said. "It adds to the drama and importance of asking for forgiveness," he said, adding that forgiveness must be asked from God and in person from one's fellow human beings.

During last weekend's service, which began about 10:45 p.m., the choir led the congregation in a series of plaintive chants. Worshipers stood as one before the open Ark that holds the Torah scrolls beating their chests, confessing their sins and asking God's forgiveness. The confessions are designed to be both communal and individual, Luski said. "Every time you beat your heart, you're tapping your heart to remember that which applies to you," he remembers being told by a respected rabbi.

These prayers, referred to as ashamnu and al het, list sins alphabetically and are repeated at every service on Yom Kippur, he said.

On Sunday afternoon, members of B'nai Israel will gather at Lake Pasadena for a tashlich service, during which they will symbolically cast their sins onto the water, as taught by the prophet Micah. This year, the shofar, or ram's horn, traditionally sounded on Rosh Hashana, will not be heard until Sunday, the second day of the holiday. The shofar is usually sounded on both days of Rosh Hashana, except on the Sabbath, when it is silent. This is one such year.

Rosh Hashana traditions include dipping apples in honey in the hope of a sweet new year. People eat round challah, an egg bread, made with raisins and other sweet ingredients for the same reason. As well, the new year is a time of family gatherings and well wishes.

The celebratory aspect of Rosh Hashana was evident early Saturday evening, in the hours before the somber Selichot service and after Havdalah, a brief service marking the end of the Sabbath. B'nai Israel youth group members Josh Ludin and Evie Gross led the soothing service, which was followed by rousing songs in Hebrew and English by former Israeli soldier Lior Sibony and a classical piece, Fantasy on High Holiday Themes, by Eli Marger on the cello and Matthew Bloom on the piano.

This week, Luski is preparing his High Holy Day sermons. He'll touch on several themes. "I want to address how we speak to each other on Rosh Hashana. I'll be talking about the fact that we live in a society that admires heroes and will address the concept of what that means and how can we become heroes," he said. He'll encourage his congregation to invest in the annual State of Israel Bonds campaign, a High Holy Days tradition he began 25 years ago at the synagogue.

Luski also plans to talk about listening. "We're so good at talking, but when do we listen? That's where I'm headed (with the sermons), unless something happens," he said. "But the Days of Awe are eternal. The themes of renewal, forgiveness and new beginnings, hope for the future, gratitude for what has happened in the past, these are eternal."

[Last modified September 19, 2006, 23:01:20]