Days of Awe and Promise

Part I: High Holidays
7:30 PM, Monday, March 10, 2003

The Jewish New Year ushers in the Ten Days of Penitence, a season for examination of conscience and reconciliation with others. It is a time of solemn joy, beginning with Rosh Hashana, a celebration of the anniversary of creation. The season culminates on Yom Kippur, a day of atonement observed with total fasting and nearly continuous prayer. We will discuss Jewish concepts of sin and atonement and some highlights of the High Holiday liturgies.

Summary of the High Holidays Presentation

Introduction
What's the most important Jewish holiday? Most people would answer "Yom Kippur," but the Scriptures emphasize observance of the Sabbath much more. In fact, there are relatively few Scripture verses on the Jewish High Holidays (Lev. 23:23-32), as compared to other holidays. The High Holidays were not always as prominent in Jewish observance as they are today. Their gradual ascendance is rooted in the agrarian/historical nature of most Jewish holidays. For example, the three pilgrimage festivals (traditional times for pilgrimages to Jerusalem) each commemorate a historical event and mark a significant turning point in the agrarian cycle:

Although Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, is considered an anniversary of Creation, neither historical nor agricultural elements figure prominently in the celebration of the High Holidays. Their observance gained importance in the Jewish calendar during the Diaspora, as Jewish society became less agrarian and pilgrimages to Jerusalem became less frequent.

Rosh Hashanah
Leviticus 23:23 stipulates that the first day of the seventh month should be observed with the blowing of horns and a holy convocation. The term Rosh Hashanah literally means "head of the year" not "beginning of the year." There were two ancient calendars. According to one, Rosh Hashanah was the first day of the year; according to the other, it was the first day of the seventh month. Announced with the blowing of the ram's horn or shofar, Rosh Hashanah is a day of judgment during which God records both the good and the bad deeds committed by each person during the previous year. The piercing sound of the ram's horn is meant to draw people's attention to the judgment time. The horn itself is a reminder to God and to the people of Abraham's faith expressed in his willingness to sacrifice Isaac: God provided a ram, caught by the horns, for the sacrifice.

Rosh Hashanah is observed both at home and in the synagogue. Special foods eaten at home include apples, an autumn fruit, and honey to symbolize the hope for a sweet year. The braided challah bread usually eaten on the Sabbath is formed into the shape of a circular crown to symbolize the kingship of God. A special prayer book called a Machzor is used for High Holiday liturgies. As God records good and bad deeds, the people pray that the good will ultimately outweigh the bad. Many of the High Holiday prayers focus on God's kindness and mercy. Among the Scripture passages read in the synagogue on Rosh Hashanah are the story of God watching over Hagar and her son Ishmael (non-Jews) and the story of Abraham preparing to sacrifice Isaac.

Days of Penitence
The Ten Days of Penitence, from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur, are days to seek forgiveness for sins committed during the previous year. Jewish teachings on sin and atonement differ somewhat from those of Christianity. Jews believe that people are born morally neutral (not guilty of original sin) with both good and bad inclinations. Even the bad side of human nature can work out for good. Selfish desires may, for example, lead people to marry, buy homes, and raise children. The Hebrew word for sin is chet, an archery term that means "missing the mark."

Judaism recognizes two types of sins: sins against God and sins against other people. Sins against God include violations the dietary laws, e.g., eating a cheeseburger. God's forgiveness, sought in prayer, is required for sins of this type. For the second type, however, a two-step reconciliation process is needed: one must first ask forgiveness of the person offended and then seek forgiveness from God. During the Days of Penitence, Jews contact one another to ask forgiveness for sins committed during the previous year.

Yom Kippur
God's record of good and bad deeds, written on Rosh Hashanah, is sealed on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Jews believe that they can be closer to God on this day than on any other day of the year. Yom Kippur is observed with total fasting from both food and water from one sunset to the next-a twenty-five hour fast. This is difficult for most people, but suffering brings people closer to God, and it is usually through suffering that people change.

The story of Jonah is read in the synagogue on Yom Kippur. In this story, the fish that swallows Jonah is at first a male fish, but when it spits him up on the shore, the fish is female. According to legend, the female fish was pregnant and no longer had room to hold Jonah. The Jonah story is appropriate for Yom Kippur since it tells of a people who repented of their sins.

The pilgrimage festival of Sukkot follows Yom Kippur. To mark the end of Yom Kippur, Jews pound the first stake into the ground for the family Sukkah (tabernacle or booth).

Concluding Remarks
The High Holiday liturgies reflect the Jewish belief in God's love and care for all people. In the story of Hagar and Ishmael, read on Rosh Hashanah, God sees the suffering of the non-Jewish outcasts and responds to Hagar's prayer. The Ninevites, also non-Jews, are the only people mentioned in the Bible who repent en masse in response to the preaching of a prophet. Thus the story of Jonah and the Ninevites, read on Yom Kippur, may be seen as a reminder of God's forgiveness and concern for non-Jews as well as Jews.

Part II: Passover
7:30 PM, Monday, March 31, 2003

Passover commemorates the deliverance of the Jews from slavery and their rebirth as the People of God en route to Mount Sinai and the Promised Land. We will focus on important elements of the Passover season in Jewish tradition, including the seder, special dietary laws, and liturgy.

Note: the Passover Ensemble (piano, guitar, flute, and vocals) has prepared a 30-minute presentation of Lenten and Passover music to precede the Rabbi's talk. The "Passover Sing-Along" begins at 7 PM.

Summary of the Passover Presentation

Introduction
Two elements that characterize most Jewish holidays can be remembered as the "two H's": "Harvest" ( significance in the agrarian cycle) and "History" (commemoration of a historical event). Passover marks the first full moon after the spring equinox and commemorates the liberation of the Jews from slavery in Egypt. Even the word Pesach combines the two elements: it refers both to the lamb, a symbol of spring, and to the "passing over" of the Jewish homes in the plague of the firstborn (Ex. 12:13). Before the Exodus from Egypt, it was celebrated as a spring festival.

The Biblical story of the Exodus from Egypt (Ex. 1-15) is familiar to Christians. The seder ritual is meant to draw each person into the story through narrative and symbolic activities. The ritual, for example, involves dropping ten drops of wine onto a plate to symbolize the fact that the joy of liberation (symbolized by the wine) was diminished by each of the ten plagues on the Egyptians. Jewish tradition also adds some details to the story. When the Israelites got to the Red Sea, for example, the waters did not begin to part until one person jumped in. Then the waters parted and everyone walked through–a lesson in the value of one person's example.

The Meaning of Passover
Passover is significant to the Jewish people for several reasons:

Passover Celebration
The Passover seder, celebrated at home, is the ceremony most widely observed in the Jewish community today. (Hanukkah and Yom Kippur come in second and third, respectively.) The seder involves story-telling, symbolic foods, and sometimes re-enactment. The Passover story is read from a Haggadah, a book that gives text and instructions for the seder. Many Haggadahs also contain beautiful artwork. (Four examples were passed around during the lecture. One is available in the St. Charles library.) Symbolic foods include parsley (representing spring) dipped in salt water (representing the tears of the slaves). The seder plate holds symbolic foods such as an egg (spring) and bitter herbs (slavery). Children's "plague kits" are now available, providing materials for re-enactment of the ten plagues. All these activities are meant to help participants realize that they are part of the Passover story.

The Passover season is a time to connect with family and community. No work is done during the first two days of Passover. Families unite at the seder, and the larger community shares in synagogue liturgies which focus on thanksgiving and praise for the miracle of the Exodus.

Passover Dietary Laws
No leavened foods may be eaten during the week of Passover (see Ex. 23:15). In preparation for Passover, Jewish homes and cars are completely cleaned to make sure they are free of chometz–leavening agents and the five varieties of grain (wheat, barley, etc.) that rise naturally when baked with water. Matzo, the unleavened bread that is allowed, is made from wheat, but its baking is watched carefully to ensure that no rising occurs. It may not be eaten with liquid toppings, since these can cause the flour to ferment and begin to rise. Foods forbidden during Passover include all leavened breads, cakes, and cookies, as well as legumes and their derivatives, which include corn syrup, a sweetener contained in most processed foods.

Because of the dietary laws, a Jewish home must have four sets of dishes: a meat foods set and dairy foods set for Passover plus meat and dairy sets for the rest of the year. The house must be thoroughly cleaned and all chometz and ordinary dishes sealed away before the Passover dishes can be brought out of storage. If the Passover dishes come in contact with any chometz, they are no longer kosher for Passover. All chometz is technically sold to a non-Jew for a token price and repurchased after Passover.
In recent years, the trend in the Jewish community has been toward increasingly strict observance of the Passover dietary laws. One rabbi jokingly dictated that orthodontic braces should be purified with a blowtorch (while being worn) to remove any chometz left from previous meals. At the same time, however, supermarkets offer an increasing variety of "kosher for Passover" foods, including special Coke, baking mixes, and many sweets. These combine with the air of community celebration to make Passover easily a "five pound week," in spite of the many dietary restrictions.

Messianic Expectations
In the Haggadah, Elijah rather than Moses is the hero of the Passover story. Passover anticipates Elijah's return, which will signify the coming of the Messiah. At the Seder meal, a place is set for Elijah, and a door is opened to receive him. According to tradition, the Messiah will usher in an age of worldwide peace. The dead will be raised to life, and the righteous will live on forever in Jerusalem. Thus, although Jews do not accept Jesus as the Messiah, Christians and Jews share a similar hope for the Messiah's coming, the resurrection of the dead, and universal peace.