Have a Happy and Sweet New Year! Shana Tovah Umetukah
SAN DIEGO — This weekend we will celebrate Rosh Hashana. This holiday, which starts on Friday evening, marks the beginning of the new Jewish year.
One of the special things that happens on Rosh Hashana is the shofar is blown one hundred times. (This year, Rosh Hashana falls on Shabbat. The shofar is not usually blown on Shabbat.) The shofar calls to us: WAKE UP and work hard to make this year a better year than the last one.
Some think the shofar is also a wakeup call to God to remember to forgive anyone who has done something wrong. But, before God can forgive us, we have to tell our friends and family we’re sorry if we did something that hurt them or made them sad.
Rosh Hashana begins a time of deep thinking about the year that has passed and the year to come. What can we do differently this year to be more helpful? How can we help to make our world a better place?
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Marcia Berneger is a retired elementary school teacher as well as a teacher at Torah school. She is the author of such children’s books as Buster the Little Garbage Truck, and A Dreidel in Time.