The High Holidays are upon us. Whether your family attends synagogue for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur or observes the holiday in your own way, it's undoubtedly a time for sweetness, creation, waking up, and casting away.
Below are some of the ways you can honor the High Holidays together as a family.
SWEET-TASTING TRADITIONS
One of the themes of Rosh Hashanah is, of course, sweetness. (A traditional greeting is “May you have a good and sweet new year.”) Apples dipped in honey symbolize that sweetness.
Before Rosh Hashanah, make a trip to a local apple orchard to collect several varieties of local apples. On the holiday, sample the apples using sweet recipes.
If you are hosting a potluck holiday meal, ask your guests to bring a dish featuring apples or another traditional, symbolic food.
NATURE & THE SHOFAR
According to Jewish tradition, Rosh Hashanah is the anniversary of the sixth day of creation. To celebrate the completion of our beautiful world, spend some holiday time surrounded by nature.
Whether it’s a hike, or a picnic at a local park, point out and enjoy the many beautiful things God created.
Take a shofar with you on a hike, and allow your children to use it. Or have the kids pretend making their own shofar sounds.
Want to know how to blow the shofar? Watch this video:
BimBam also has an app that will let your kids blow the shofar right from your very own phone! Download it here.
A TASHLICH CEREMONY
Traditionally,
Tashlich, is a ceremony performed on the afternoon of the first day of the holiday. Most synagogues hold this ritual, which involves tossing bread crumbs into a body of water to represent the casting off of one’s sins.
The Tashlich ceremony is also great fun to do as a family or in a small group at a favorite watering hole. You can learn more by reading the story
Tashlich at Turtle Rock.
These are just a few of the ways you can enjoy observing the High Holidays together as a family. For even more ideas for celebrating the holidays, browse the
PJ Library blog or visit our
Facebook page.
September 26, 2016