A time of reflection

Bryce Alderton

Monday marked the beginning of a period of reflection for the Jewish

community.

Rosh Hashana, the start of the Jewish new year, began at sunset Monday

and ended at sunset Wednesday across Huntington Beach and the world. It

is a time when Jews celebrate a new year with family and friends.

The 10-day reflection period will end with the conclusion of Yom

Kippur on Sept. 27. Yom Kippur, known as the “Day of Atonement,” is

considered the holiest day of the year on the Jewish calendar, when Jews

are to atone for any sins of the past year.

Congregation B’nai Tzedek, a temple in Fountain Valley, celebrated

Rosh Hashana with a service at 8:15 p.m. Monday at Sts. Simon and Jude

Catholic Church in Huntington Beach.

“Rosh Hashana signals the beginning of the High Holy Days, when Jews

become devoted to assessing the nature of their relationship to God and

other humans,” said Rabbi Stephen Einstein of Congregation B’nai Tzedek.

Einstein said Sts. Simon and Jude Church donated its facilities for

both the Monday night and the 10 a.m. Tuesday services.

A holiday meal typically follows the evening service, in which

friends and family gather to light candles and enjoy either wine or grape

juice with their meal, while reciting blessings for the new year.

The meal usually includes raisin egg bread and slices of apples dipped

in honey, he said. Each food has meaning.

“We begin the meal with hollow egg bread that is round to symbolize

the year will be a smooth one and not have jagged edges,” Einstein said.

The bread “has raisins in it for a sweet new year. We eat a lot of sweet

foods.”

Bread dipped in honey is also a popular food during this time of year.

No work is permitted on Rosh Hashana, as much of the day is spent in

the synagogue.

The high point of Rosh Hashana occurs during the 10 a.m. service, which took place Tuesday. The customary shofar, a ram’s horn, is blown

during the service, which Einstein said, “signals a call to conscience, a

wake-up call to begin the year on a serious note and to look inward to

figure out how we are living and how we can improve in the new year.”

Einstein said services can last two to three hours.

The shofar is also blown during the second morning service, held at 10

a.m. Wednesday at the Congregation B’nai Tzedek temple.

After Tuesday morning services and the afternoon meal, worshipers head

to a body of water to participate in the popular custom of Tashlich, to

symbolically cast sins into the water.

“We typically go to Huntington Beach and symbolically cast sins into

the sea by throwing bread crumbs into the water,” Einstein said. “We

realize the real work goes on internally, but [throwing bread crumbs] is

just an outward way of showing it.”

Congregation B’nai Tzedek will also hold an 8:15 p.m. service Friday

called “The Sabbath of Return.”

“The service will be a time to focus on themes of the season, such as

repentance and self-improvement,” Einstein said.

The temple is at 9669 Talbert Ave., Fountain Valley.